NexCen Brands presents Vision for 'Next Generation' Athlete's Foot
13 Jun '07
4 min read
Awnings and banners are meant to evoke a "race day" atmosphere, while fixture details are influenced by design elements of athletic equipment.
The Athlete's Foot cites other new in- store elements, such as a community bulletin board, as pivotal to the company's commitment to serving the needs of local consumers.
In addition to new merchandising methods for existing product lines, TAF will launch its own line of TAF branded apparel. The line, which is in development now, is expected to be made available to franchise owners in the first quarter of 2008.
"The TAF line of branded apparel will be a premier collection of athletic attire and accessories that provides our franchise owners with the added bonus of attractive margins. We anticipate that there will be significant demand for the line which will be distributed exclusively through TAF stores for a time and may ultimately become available at other retail outlets," said Mr. D'Loren, going on to say, "The TAF branded apparel line is an ideal conduit for raising the profile of the brand."
When NexCen Brands Inc acquired The Athlete's Foot in October of 2006, the company publicly pledged to drive the growth of the brand worldwide through NexCen's branding and marketing expertise, supplier relationships, and the guidance of its global retail franchise management and support team.
While the planned developments in merchandising and design may be the most visible changes to TAF shoppers, NexCen-supported franchise operational tools will enable even greater success for TAF owners.
TAF will launch a company-wide intranet to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of corporate communications. Company officials cite the ability for franchise owners to share best-practices and for franchise management teams to easily connect with a geographically diverse franchise system as among the most valuable benefits of the new system.
"We are fully committed to growing the global dominance of The Athlete's Foot brand by remaining locally relevant in each of the communities we serve. We want to empower our franchisees to make informed decisions about what will maximize their performance," said D'Loren of the operational support plans.
Though the Global Franchise Convention is an annual event, this year marks the first that TAF has planned the event to coincide with the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association's (SGMA) Spring Market, which will open on June 11th at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.
marketing@alchempro.com
