First Atelier Lole opens on Montreal's St. Denis Street

17 Sep '10

4 min read

The first Atelier Lole (workshop) officially opens in Montreal. Located on Rue St-Denis, the Atelier expresses the innovation and creativity behind the Lole brand and its commitment to encourage women to move every day. This first Atelier Lole will serve as a model for 40 other locations that the brand hopes to establish in North America and around the world over the next five years.

Although well known for its versatile, intelligent feminine active wear and health-based philosophy, Lole wants to establish an emblematic outlet to symbolize its involvement in the priorities of today's women. "The Atelier is intended primarily to serve as a source of inspiration, as well as a showcase for our new products and concepts, and also as a place where women who share our values can connect with one another," explains Bernard Mariette, president and CEO of Lole.

"Our brand is already well positioned in the feminine and technical clothing market, due to its many points of sale. The aim of our first Atelier Lole is therefore to complement our distributors' efforts and further support the kind of lifestyle we're promoting," adds Mr. Mariette.

The concept behind the Atelier, developed with Groupe Cossette's Identica in collaboration with the architectural firm of Aedifica, is an expression of the Lole woman's lifestyle, in all its active and social aspects, in harmony with the environment and stimulated by the latest technologies. A key feature of the Atelier is a "green" wall evoking a city park, which is the natural habitat of the Lole woman. The Atelier will also feature various technological functionalities, including a new application, developed in partnership with the Montreal firm Whereclouds, that will launch a kind of living Facebook.

Fifteen iPads have been integrated into the Atelier's design to help promote this innovation. "The application we've developed will enable us to establish a dynamic link with the community of active women in Montreal, as well as with Lole devotees all around the world," explains Nathalie Binda, vice-president marketing at Lole. By downloading the Lole application, users can "flip" photos directly on the iPads located along the Atelier's social wall, to share special moments: a travel experience, bike ride with friends, etc. Through this application, Lole will also be able to determine "zones" on the planet from which the photos can be sent in real time on the Montreal Atelier's iPads. The technology will not only serve to drive this new application: all transactions will also be handled via an iPod Touch available on site.

Active women can meet up at the Atelier Lole to participate in free activities organized in parks, attend talks and presentations, or experience shopping sessions with stylists, etc. The bi-weekly classes in parks will be led by Lole ambassadors and experts in various disciplines like Outdoor Fitness, hula hoop and yoga. In this way, the Lole brand managers will create an "inspirational movement" to urge women to make the most of life and get moving with friends. There will also be a delivery service via the Bixi public bike system. Lole's new Website will act as a bridge between the experience offered at the Atelier, the park-based activities and Lole clothing, which is designed to follow the lifestyles of women seeking to enjoy life to the fullest!

The Atelier Lole Montreal concept is laying the groundwork for a network of similar outlets in more than 40 locations in North America and Europe over the next five years. Since last winter, Lole has opened a showroom in Annecy, France; on October 7th, it will open a first Atelier Lole in Zurich; and in November, a showroom in New York.

Lole

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