Foudys: New store dedicated to women’s football to open at Great Northern Warehouse

A new store dedicated entirely to women’s football is set to open at Manchester’s Great Northern Warehouse.

Founded in 2020 by Helen Hardy, Foudys was launched to address the lack of access to official merchandise for women’s football fans. The first step for the company was to provide shirts with women’s players’ names on the back, a service that wasn’t widely available.

This quickly evolved into working with major global brands including Nike, Adidas and Puma.

Foudys is now set to open a bricks-and-mortar store in Manchester, stocking official merchandise from leading global brands alongside exclusive handpicked collaborations, limited-edition ranges and performance products tailored specifically for female athletes.

Hardy says: “Women and girls are underserved by traditional sport retailers. Currently we see store environments created through the male lens, an overwhelming focus on male products and aesthetics that are geared toward football-mad boys. The staff are used to selling to men and boys who often grow up with an innate knowledge of football products.

“Through our online store we can see what our customers want and need is different.  They like a mix of performance and lifestyle products, more specialist advice and a non-intimidating environment where they feel comfortable to ask any product questions.  This is what our Foudys store will deliver.”

Staff will be trained to provide a personal experience. There will be a strong focus on boots, where the expert team will help customers through fit, feel and which options are best for their position on the pitch. Women and girls will have a safe space to get sports bra advice and fittings, plus advice on the best period underwear for performance.

“There’s been huge progress on the pitch and in media coverage, but the commercial ecosystem hasn’t fully caught up,” Hardy added. “Retail is a critical part of that. This store is about creating a space where fans and players feel seen, represented and catered for, something that hasn’t existed before at this scale.  Foudys has always led from the front, being the first to put female players’ names on the back of shirts and providing exclusive access to products from the US NWSL League and the TOGETHXR range. This is the next step in that journey.  We want to break barriers and show what women and girls need from a sports store.”

Along with the product offering, events at the store will include watch parties, panini sticker swaps, player panel discussions and sewing workshops to fix damaged football kits.

Foudys will open at the Great Northern Warehouse on Wed 25 Jun.