Advanced Sports International (ASI) has opened its first-ever Pop-Up Showroom. Located in the former Wilbur chocolate factory under Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Bridge, the 5,000 square foot space features innovative, non-retail concept stores for each of the company’s five main brands: Fuji, SE, Breezer, Kestrel, and Oval Concepts.
Developed to give its visitors an exclusive first-look at the brands’ 2014 model lines, the showroom gives dealers the unique opportunity to see, touch, and feel 2014 bikes before they’re launched to the world later this summer, and before placing their pre-season orders.
Constructed in a glorified cement basement, the showroom’s atmosphere is unexpected and raw. Its designers chose materials pulled mostly from the company’s Philadelphia warehouse in order to keep the rooms attuned to their industrial shell.
The showroom’s pallet-wood structures, chain-link walls, and dirt/grass floors fit comfortably within the basement’s 13-foot ceilings, and rooms are defined by the building’s century-old pillars. Traditionally a secondary shooting location for owner/photographer Jim Graham (whose main studio sits three stories above it), the space was at first harsh and intimidating. But ASI’s designers saw potential in the rough-but-clean slate and acted.
The Pop-Up Showroom, which houses over 110 Fuji, 40 SE, 30 Breezer, and 15 Kestrel 2014 models, will be open to dealers and press until 5 August 2013. For more information or to schedule a visit, contact ASI Events & Promotions Coordinator Charlotte Flynn at cflynn[at]advancedsports.com.
ASI also offers a discounted rate at the nearby Hotel Monaco for out-of-town visitors.
