Athleta Brings Fitness Apparel Aplenty to 50th & France

So far in the Midwest, Athleta—fitness sister to apparel staples , and —has been exclusively online. All that changed this week with the opening of Athleta’s first Midwest location at Edina's own 50th & France, in the prime corner space previously occupied by Ann Taylor Loft.  

Still largely an online and catalog business, Athleta has just nine locations nationwide but is on track to open more.

Julie Boehm, marketing director of the 50th & France Business Association, was thrilled to welcome the chic fitness apparel store to the fashion forward corner. 

“We were so excited to learn that Athleta chose 50th & France for their first Midwest location,” Boehm said. “We love the company and the brand and believe that Athleta is a great fit to our thriving, trendy corner. Our customers are going to be pleased with the Athleta experience and the amazing staff.”

Athleta’s general manager Jennifer Sheedy, who was most recently general manager at an Old Navy location, echoed Boehm’s sentiment.

“This is definitely the right location for us in terms of who our customer is,” Sheedy said. 

Case in point: Athleta’s grand opening took place Black Friday at 10 a.m., but the shop had an unannounced soft open on Wednesday. Customers were waiting as the doors opened. 

Sheedy also cited Minneapolis’ now widely recognized fit culture—recently named “Fittest City in America” by Shape magazine and American College of Sports Medicine—as a great reason for our area to host the first Midwest location of Athleta. 

“We’d certainly love to expand to other places and we hope to,” Sheedy said, “but I think with the first store we’ll plant ourselves where our customer is–being so close to the lakes and being so close to active people.”

Fitness-minded folks should also enjoy this offering from Athleta: free yoga and other fitness classes held right there in the store. 

Beginning Saturday, Dec. 3, complimentary classes will be held two to three times a week (schedules are available at the store). There’s no studio space, per se, but the plan is to move tables and make it work in the general space of the store. This arrangement also offers the unique opportunity to browse Athleta’s activewear, fitness accessories, and casual clothes from the comfort and stretch of your down dog. 

About half of the classes will be taught by fitness instructors who are also Athleta sales associates—evidence, Sheedy says, that the store has the right associates for the job.

Abra Coleman, a fitness instructor and sales associate, will be offering yoga sculpt classes the last week of December.

“The store is so beautiful—it’s such an exciting opportunity and it’s such a great addition to the community,” Coleman said.

Athleta has arrived, and early indicators show the fit and fashionable community is ready.