New Balance to set up shop in London as it takes aim at Nike and Adidas

New Balance, the sportswear brand favoured by Rihanna, is planning to open a flagship store in Oxford Street next year as it aims to challenge Nike and Adidas.

It will be the 110-year-old firm's first foray onto the British high street in a standalone capacity.

Fran Allen, New Balance's vice president for Europe, said: "It will allow us to present the brand to millions of consumers with a powerful retail message."

Allen also said that the opening "fires our ambition to be amongst the top three global sporting brands".

To this end, earlier this year New Balance inked a sports sponsorship and merchandising deal with Liverpool potentially worth £300m ($464m, €416m).

It also sponsors Stoke City, Sevilla and Porto in addition to footballers Vincent Kompany and Marouane Fellaini.

In cricket, the firm sponsors a number of superstars such as South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn and England batsman Gary Ballance.

New Balance operates a UK manufacturing facility in Cumbria which produces over 28,000 pairs of shoes per week, 90% of which are sold to European markets.

The Boston-based firm raked in $3.3bn in revenue last year, with around 25% of sales coming from international markets.