Focus on: Lighting

From a virtual basketball court to a projected hologram image, Rookie USA, a new children’s athletic apparel and footwear concept in New York City, deploys the latest in cutting-edge technology to engage customers and gain a competitive edge. The strategy extends to the decision to rely primarily on LED lighting to illuminate the 5,500-sq.-ft. store.

The lighting concept, developed by Phoster Industries and Osram Opto Semiconductors, is expected to provide significant cost savings of up to 85% annually compared with standard incandescent lamps, conserving energy, and reducing maintenance and replacement costs. It also provides a crisp, fresh look for the store.

Sam H. Haddad, principal, Rookie USA, explained what factored into the company’s decision to use LEDs (over more traditional incandescents) for the general lighting.

“We chose LED lighting for the Rookie store for many reasons: long-term cost efficiency, less frequent lamp replacement and less heat emission, which results in less HVAC expenditures,” he said.

The appearance of the LEDs also came into play.

“The aesthetics of a fixture for the general illumination as well as the performance was a major deciding factor, being that the space has an open plenum,” Haddad added.

Additionally, the luminaires had to be functional but also unique.

“The design of the luminaires was very important to us (because the space is an open plan),” Haddad said.

The lighting used at Rookie USA features Phoster’s High-Bay Replacement luminaires and PAR 30 LED lamps.

The luminaire systems are powered by Golden Dragon Plus LEDS from Osram. The Golden Dragon LEDs have a rated life of more than 50,000 hours and a color-rendering index of 85.

In addition to the LED lighting technology, the store also includes linear fluorescent lighting.

“The linear fluorescents are used to illuminate back of the house areas, and LEDs are used for the sales areas,” Haddad said.

In addition to its New York City store, Rookie has thee other locations: Melbourne, Australia; Shanghai; and Beijing. There are plans to roll out 200 stores globally by 2016, according to Haddad.

“And LEDs will be used in all Rookie stores,” he added.