Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel for athletes of all ages and abilities, from consumers with active lifestyles to professionals looking for quality, stylish active wear. The company opened a flagship store – its biggest shopping location in the Middle East – at The Dubai Mall in May 2021.

The project

Blue Rhine Industries, the Middle East region’s leading provider of digital and static signage and digital wayfinding solutions in Dubai, was chosen by Under Armour to deliver the design, setup, and activation of its latest technology at the company’s new flagship store in The Dubai Mall.

Offering 1,300 sqm of physical space, the client envisioned a seamlessly integrated digital retail technological experience for its customers and visitors, incorporating intuitive signage boards, interactive screens with crisp, bright LED displays. Blue Rhine partnered with Under Armour to deliver a personalised consumer experience, with the aim of putting the store on the map as the largest and most technologically advanced fitness destination in the region.

Our solutions

The Blue Rhine team installed its “Smart Mirror” solutions in six fitting rooms at this store, which integrating an interactive screen, compact PC, and scanners to create an unparalleled in-store shopping experience for customers. The technology provides a personalised approach that allows shoppers to instantly find out more information about the product they are trying on and its availability. Additionally, the Smart Mirrors have an inbuilt functionality that allows customers to call for assistance from the in-store sales team, such as requesting them to bring additional or alternative products straight to them, without ever leaving the comfort of the fitting room. Under Armour has complete control of the information being displayed, and the customer-facing interactive screen even enables shoppers to receive recommendations for products based on their items of choice.

The team also installed “Pick ‘n’ Learn” smart touchscreens across the store, the intuitive design and functionalities of which offer an interactive system to assist shoppers and personalise their experience by enabling them to access, browse and compare product details. The smart functionalities enable a customer to instantly view detailed product information on the screen the moment they pick up an item. Picking up two items will activate a product comparison feature, allowing customers to make more informed purchase decisions according to their budget and needs.

The moment a shopper enters the store they are also greeted by two “Rotating Screen” solutions, which offer a combination of digital and static displays, providing an unparalleled visual experience to visitors and allowing Under Armour the ability to customise the content they push out to customers. Each “Rotating Screen” has a set of six rotating LED screens powered by a motor. The rotation of each individual screen can be stopped at a preset angle between 0-180 degrees, all with the simple push of a button, meaning all Under Armour employees can operate the equipment with ease. The opposite side of each screen houses a static signage display, providing immense flexibility to the brand by having both digital and traditional means of promotion. This solution was developed entirely in-house by Blue Rhine Industries.

Other world-class digital signage and interactive screen installations at the store include:

• A massive 50 sqm LED screen installed on the ceiling
• Four-pillar LED screen walls with seamless edge-to-edge displays
• Two “Endless Aisle” screens which can showcase all of Under Armour’s products at a single location

Blue Rhine Industries is also one of the few organisations in the region that has accomplished the remarkable feat of installing approximately 170 sqm of LED screens at Under Armour, with all screens bearing a high-quality Pixel Pitch of 1.9.

To further enhance shoppers’ retail experience, Blue Rhine Industries also integrated the in-store 65-inch LED screens with Map My Run by Under Armour, an iOS and Android mobile app, which syncs to Under Armour’s smart shoes. The app tracks all activity during the user’s fitness system, from pace and stride length to cadence, as well as providing personalised coaching tips along the way. This integration of technologies pioneered by Blue Rhine Industries gives customers a platform to track their fitness journeys in the comfort of the Under Armour store.

Our delivery

Blue Rhine Industries was able to implement all these solutions in record-breaking time. The entire project was delivered in an unprecedented and quick turnaround time of only seven days, following a thorough two-month planning and design phase.

The project was also unprecedented in terms of sustainability. Project data demonstrates that through the work of the Blue Rhine Industries team, the rate of power consumption across the store’s signage network was re-engineered to save between 15% and 20% power compared to the original setup.

• Rotating LED screen solutions that offer tremendous range and flexibility for promoting the brand through up-to-the-minute, interactive content
• Pick ‘n’ Learn interactive smart-store solutions provide value to customers by helping them to make more informed purchasing decisions
• Six Smart Mirror solutions that elevate the personalised customer retail experiences at Under Armour, The Dubai Mall to new levels
• Our LED screen solutions like the ceiling mounted display and the column LED screens with seamless edge-to-edge displays provide unparalleled visual experiences at the store