LINES COMFORT - SMART STYLES FOR KIDS 2017 RETAIL STRATEGIES UBIQUITOUS BOOTS - Footwear Insight
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COMFORT
LINES
THE BACK STORY
SMART STYLES FOR KIDS
2017 RETAIL STRATEGIES
UBIQUITOUS BOOTS
F O O T W E A R I N S I G H T. C O M • J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 7
WORK THE BODY
FREE THE MIND
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FEBRUARY 21-23, 2017
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BORN IN THE USA RETAIL 2017 COMEBACK STARS CASUAL STORIES SMART STYLES UBIQUITOUS BOOTS Oct; and Nov/Dec by Formula4 Media LLC.
A glimpse at what New stores dotting Two industry veterans Interested in a good In the kids’ footwear The all-around appeal
Subscriptions: one year, $24.00 (U.S. Funds)
the next generation the landscape all have are back on the scene story line? Casual world, tiny takes on of boots is undeniable in the United States. All other countries, $54.00
of domestic more going for them and preparing to footwear brands grown-up styles are all in 2017. From casual to (U.S. Funds) for surface mail. Postmaster: Send
manufacturing than just the products make waves with their have more than a few the rage. Take a look at work styles, we’ve got address changes to Footwear Insight,
P.O. Box 23-1318, Great Neck, NY 11023
will look like. being sold there. respective brands. stories to tell. these smart styles. you covered.
footwearinsight.com
Cover: Marcia by Dansko. Photo by Frank James. Above: Montlake Rain Boots by See Kai Run.
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TIMEOUT | MARK SULLIVAN
Pumping
the Prices
I
n one of my first jobs during high school, I worked in a gas station. I worked the night
shift so my tasks were simple: I pumped gas and checked oil. The only stress came
when the gas station across the street would change its prices. Then I would call Dave
the station owner and he would talk me through how to change our prices by manipu-
lating the master controls on the gas pumps. After I did that, I’d go out and change the
big sandwich board we had by the entrance to the station to reflect the new prices
and match the prices posted by the guy across the street.
This exercise provided an early lesson in price matching and free market economics. Dave
would explain to me that if we sold 1000 gallons of gas that week and were able to boost the
price by a penny, he’d make an extra $100. “That $100 covers your salary,” he’d tell me. In
fact, it more than covered my salary. Gas was less than $1 a gallon then and my wage was less
than $2 an hour. However, I did receive commission on every quart of oil I sold, but I digress.
I suppose my experience working at that gas station qualifies me to work at Amazon.com. I
could be the guy who brings prices down every time “the algorithm” at the company discov-
ers that one of the re-sellers has dropped
the price on a particular pair of shoes. If I
ran Amazon, I’d probably do the same thing,
but the pricing model on the giant web mar-
ketplace seems to punish everyone if one
seller gets an itchy cursor finger.
Protecting prices is tougher today than
it’s ever been. If a web re-seller in a god-
forsaken place like Seattle drops the price
Protecting of a pair of shoes by $4, the ripple is felt
prices is everywhere. Amazon’s vaunted algorithm
tougher ensures that all prices on its marketplace
today than it’s are dropped accordingly. That price drop
ever been. may well then impact brick-and-mortar
retailers around the country who would
conceivably have to drop their price to
match what’s happening online.
A brand executive recently told me that trying to monitor the selling prices of online sell-
ers is like playing “Whack A Mole,” the kid’s game where little plastic moles randomly pop up
and you have to knock them down with a hammer. The challenge of the game is every time
you whack one down, another pops up. And that is how life is for any brand executive trying
to ensure that prices are maintained online. You whack some, and a few others pop up.
Many brands are doing what they can to maintain price. It’s in their interest, but it’s not
easy, especially when they don’t have a clear brand management strategy. If you sell the
same shoes to a bunch of different retailers, one of them is going to go “off-price” and in
today’s instant information pricing model, everyone else will follow. Face it, most of the
brands sell direct from their websites, so if they can maintain a price of $150 instead of $99,
they stand to make more money, too. If a brand’s strategy is simply “let’s sell whatever we
can to whoever we can,” they are setting themselves and their customers up to fail.
Featuring Lynco® orthotic support I thought about my old boss Dave recently when I received a Christmas card from him.
and memory foam cushioning Dave sold his gas station and opened a car dealership and did very well selling Hybrids
(ironic, I know). But he was always a shrewd guy. The difference between what Dave did
for superior comfort with prices and what is going on in today’s shoe business is that Dave was always look-
ing to bump prices up. He was looking to make that extra few cents a gallon to earn a few
more bucks.
And Dave didn’t even need an algorithm to do it. He had me. Interestingly, the Amazon
algorithm apparently lowers prices at a moment’s notice, but takes days to raise them back
up. So, the lesson is that algorithms can travel downhill faster than they can climb uphill.
This is valuable information for me if I ever get that job at Amazon. l
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THEFOOTWEAREYE
MARKETING
SAS Rolls out Lifestyle Express
The SAS Lifestyle Express is a 24-foot truck filled with shoes that visits independent shoe stores across America.
S
ometimes retailers come to that the company makes it shoes in the United
the factory and sometimes, but States. “Our shoes come from our factory, not
very rarely, the factory comes some unknown warehouse,” says Mark Foster of Two Industry Veterans
to them.
That’s exactly what’s hap-
SAS. “We take pride in our craft as shoemakers
and the video and other materials we bring to
Start New Year with
pening now as the SAS Lifestyle these events help establish that emotional con- New Positions
Express wraps up the second year of visits to nection with the customer.”
independent shoe stores across America. The Express tour has evolved from its simple Larry Paparo has joined Esquire Footwear as
The Lifestyle Express is a 24-foot truck that beginnings when Rodney would show up with President, Sales and Business Development.
carries 3,000 pair of shoes, promotional materi- a plain white truck and display shoes out of Paparo, previously Founder and CEO of LJP
als and a small exhibit called “SAS University,” cardboard boxes. The international, is a 30-year veteran of the footwear
all part of an effort by the Texas-based shoe The Express truck is now wrapped with industry. He has deep experience and a track
company to educate retailers and consumers tour has SAS branding and pho- record of creating, producing and building many
on the changing face of the brand. evolved from its tography and the in-store well-known men’s, women’s and children’s
“Our objective is to highlight to retailers, sales simple begin- presentation is divided brands, including Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden,
associates and consumers that SAS is a lifestyle nings when into three main segments: Candies, Nine West Kids, Mootsies Tootsies,
brand,” said Rodney Muhammad, who has been Muhammad the company’s classic Bruno Magli, Robert Graham, Limited Too and
on-site for most of the Express’ 114 store visits would show heritage product; current Bare Traps.
since the tour was launched in April of 2015. up with a plain season merchandise and Esquire Footwear licenses and manufactures
“Many retailers we’ve been doing business with white truck and “coming attractions,” a brands for women’s, men’s and children. It pro-
for years associate us with our classic heritage unload shoes sampling of shoes from duces footwear for such brands and characters
styles. We want to show them and their sales out of card- the coming season. as Disney, TY, Nickelodeon, Build A Bear, Marvel,
staffs that we’ve expanded our line into a true board boxes. The in-store sessions for
Hasbro, Mattel, Peppa Pig, and Limited Too.
collection and have a great deal to offer.” sales associates include
In other news, Mark Diehl has joined J.Renee
The store visits by the big white truck work line reviews and clinics on new SAS features such
Group as Executive Vice President of Sales. Diehl
something like this. In advance of the planned as S-Motion outsole technology and SAS-Flex.
is a longtime executive at Dansko, who also put
visit date, SAS provides the store with a flyer to A typical stop at a store lasts for two days,
in stints at Earth and Naot.
promote the event to its customers. Muhammad and Muhammad says on the more successful
J.Renee is a women’s footwear and fashion
and his colleague Ignacio Munoz then arrive at visits the brand has helped the retailer sell
the store and unload an average of 1,800 pairs more than 200 pair of shoes. accessories brand that offers a wide variety of
of shoes and decorate the store with SAS signs, In the first quarter of 2017, the Lifestyle dress shoes, special occasion and bridal shoes,
display fixtures and an interactive display they Express will visit Florida where it will spend casual sandals, boots and accessories, J.Renee
have dubbed SAS University. The University is three months before heading back to Texas and also offers extended widths and sizes to accom-
made up of educational components such as then on to the West Coast where Foster says modate every customer. The company owns the
leathers, shoe lasts and a video to help commu- it may visit several non-store venues such as L’Amour Des Pieds brand.
nicate the high quality of SAS shoes and the fact state fairs and women’s shows. l
10 • Footwear Insight ~ January/February 2017 footwearinsight.comPREVIEW FALL '17
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BRANDING
Redefining Easy Spirit
T
he addition of Easy Spirit to the Marc Fisher portfolio is a
homecoming of sorts. Both Fisher and company president
Susan Itzkowitz were involved with the brand when it was
owned by Nine West, but they promise a different look
and feel for the brand that they acquired early in January.
“Easy Spirit is an iconic brand with a huge customer base,”
Itzkowitz tells Footwear Insight. “Very soon, retailers will see us redefine
that brand for a modern customer with new designs and technologies.”
Easy Spirit is an The company has been looking to get into the comfort category for a
iconic brand with
a very strong
while, she says, and saw the acquisition as a great opportunity. “Easy Spirit
customer base. has a following with women in their 40, 50s and 60s and it’s a wonderful
addition to our portfolio,” says Itzkowitz.
Fisher is best known for its licensed collections, which include Guess,
Tommy Hilfiger, Tretorn, Ivanka Trump, Unisa and Sigerson Morrison.
Easy Spirit represented an opportunity to own an established brand in
the comfort category and diversify from the company’s core business,
which targets millennial women.
“The comfort category is in turbulence right now,” Itzkowitz says. “We
see an opportunity to bring something new with a brand that retailers
and consumers know.”
The first Easy Spirit collection under Marc Fisher design will be out in
June, according to Itzkowitz. Department stores are the target retail base. l
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Footwear Insight
footwear ~ January/February
insight.indd 1 2017 footwearinsight.com
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Insight 1
~ January/February 2017 1/18/2017 3:27:48 PM
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BRANDS
Brooks Expands Focus for 2017
By Jennifer Ernst Beaudry new tool for the specialty running
B
channel this spring that will let
rooks will expand its retailers drop-ship Brooks styles to
focus in 2017 beyond customers from an easy-to-use app.
self-identified run- The moves come after a year that
ners to target a Sheridan characterizes as “one of
broader fitness audi- the most challenging for the busi-
ence with product ness.” Despite the Sports Authority
and a marketing message to sup- and Sports Chalet bankruptcies
port it, according to Dan Sheridan, and a difficult performance running
Brooks’ EVP and GM of global sales. market, especially in the first six
The brand’s new “all who run” posi- months of the year, Sheridan says
tioning will help it reach a much the brand finished the year with
larger audience, Sheridan says, and sales back over $500 million, and
make more headway with Millennial in Q3 North America grew more
shoppers — as will new product The Ghost is leading the way. than 13 percent in sales in dollars,
releases, like the flat-knit Revel shoe, largely driven by strong demand
which is designed to be used for for the Ghost 9. (Sales for the Ghost
running, but with gym and lifestyle or yoga,” he says. at a media breakfast in Salt Lake were up 30 percent in the fourth
appeal, too, at an attractively lower But the brand will keep technical City during Outdoor Retailer Winter quarter and up 40 percent for the
$100 pricepoint. running as its center of gravity, even Market in January. Other priorities comparable back-to-school period
“The shift is that many people as it branches out. “Performance is for the year include a mid-year re- last year.) According to the brand,
who run don’t define themselves timeless,” Sheridan says. launch of BrooksRunning.com, which Brooks controlled 25 percent of
as runners or even by the activities Sheridan gave an overview of the Sheridan calls “the number one place the footwear market share in run
they do, like Orange Theory classes Seattle-based brand’s 2017 strategy we’re investing,” and FastTrack, a specialty doors in 2016. l
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16 • Footwear Insight ~ January/February1 2017 12/16/16 9:10 AM
footwearinsight.comTRENDS
Montreal-based
boot brand
Kamik makes
73 percent of
its total product
line in Canada
and the U.S.
Manufacturing Gets Domestic
By Jennifer Ernst Beaudry needs of consumers.” Bill McInnis, Reebok Head of Future,
Sister brand Reebok separately is put- says his team turned to the automotive
W
hat will the next generation Will the New ting its own stake in the ground, opening industry for inspiration.
of domestic manufacturing Look of a manufacturing lab early this year in “If you walked into a car factory 30
look like? Since the first Lincoln, RI, that it will use to expand and years ago [versus] next week, they would
Manufacturing
footwear plants moved experiment with the Liquid Factory 3-D look radically different, and the biggest
overseas in the 1970s, the answer to that Make drawing technique it debuted late in 2016. fundamental difference is automation—
question has been elusive. But in an era of American Both factories will be part of an specifically the industrial robots at the
increasing consumer interest in Made in Footwear experimental, highly automated new center of that mix,” he says. “We wanted
USA goods and a faster-than-ever fashion athletic manufacturing scene that also to know how we could have industrial
cycle (to say nothing of a potential “Make
Great Again? features Under Armour’s UA Lighthouse robots help us do what we do, and the
America Great Again” protectionism loom- Manufacturing and Design Leadership answer for us was to get that robot to act
ing over the imports market), how and Center, a 35,000-square-foot facility in like a 3-D printer, but one that’s much
how fast shoes can be American-made is Baltimore that opened last summer. faster, less expensive and uses a material
top of mind for footwear makers. Designed for rapid 3-D printing and proto- that’s already in our industry.”
And right now, a wave of high-tech new typing, the Lighthouse is where styles like The result is Liquid Factory, a technique
facilities is testing the domestic waters. the brand’s limited-run Architech shoe, the brand developed in collaboration with
Later this year, German athletic jug- which has a 3-D printed midsole, will be chemical company BASF that “draws”
gernaut Adidas will open its first U.S. created. polyurethane in layers to create a one-
Speedfactory facility in Atlanta. Set to The new facilities represent a new direc- piece outsole and upper wrap. Using PU,
produce 50,000 pairs of running styles tion for Made in America. an industry standard, gives the shoe a
in 2017, the 74,000-square-foot facility Unlike hand-sewns, lasted workboots or familiar bounce, stretch and durability,
will employ 160 people and, according other crafted heritage styles, there’s no McInnis say, but the moldless manufac-
to Glenn Bennett, group executive board history to tap: the lightweight, synthetic turing is a completely different way of
member, will feature “our latest, most athletic shoes of the modern era have approaching shoemaking. The initial fruits
cutting-edge manufacturing technolo- never been made here to any significant of the technique – a 300-shoe run of the
gies, enabling us to rethink conventional scale. And to make the process workable Liquid Speed running shoe that the team
processes and create products com- and cost-effective in the U.S., brands are made in Reebok’s Canton, MA, headquar-
pletely unique to the fit and functional looking to start from scratch. ters – were released last fall, and McInnis
18 • Footwear Insight ~ January/February 2017 footwearinsight.comNational Shoe Retailers
Association
America’s Largest Organization Representing
Independent Footwear Retailers
Join NSRA to enjoy these benefits of membership, and more!
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Enjoy networking opportunities with other
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Shoe Retailing Today
Original articles about:
01SRT_11.12.16_Layout 1 9/29/16 7:09 PM Page 1
Footwear Trends Reporting
• Best practices The NPD Group collects sales
• Footwear business trends data from participating retailers,
• Industry trends and provides monthly sales
• Technology and trends tracking for the
independent retail community.
5 Most Common Freight
Shipping Mistakes p. 12
• Legislative updates
In or Out of the
Family Business? p. 14
Differing Causes
Create Heel Pain p. 18
• Footwear vendor profiles
• Independent retail member stores, and more
Visit nsra.org, or call 800-673-8446
Improving the business performance of our members since 1912TRENDS
says the new lab facility in Lincoln should let close to being cost comparable.”
it start expanding the technique. And 2017 brings a new wrinkle to the pric-
Robots were also the answer for Keen. ing question — the trade agendas espoused
While the Portland, OR-based brand does a by President Donald Trump and the
healthy business with injection-moulded foot- Republican House.
wear in its own Oregon factories, Rory Fuerst Trump has repeatedly said that pulling out
Jr., director of innovation at Keen sister com- of multinational trade agreements such as
pany Fuerst Innovation Labs, says his team the Trans Pacific Partnership and even the
also turned to the automotive industry for long-standing North American Free Trade
inspiration when they wondered, “How can Agreement would be among his first actions
we do this completely differently?” after his inauguration, and has proposed a 45
The Uneek shoe, which debuted in 2015, percent tariff on China-made goods. And the
uses two poly braided cords to create a border adjustments proposed in the House
conforming upper that moves with the foot tax plan would remove the current deduc-
— but starting last year, the firm has been tion of manufacturing price for goods being
working with House of Design custom auto- imported into the U.S., meaning much higher
mation and robotics in Nampa, ID, to use costs to the brands bringing in the prod-
robots to weave the shoes together in a sin- ucts — and much higher prices on shelf. The
gle-step process. While policies are explicitly designed to incentivize
High-tech prod- the project is still being companies to create and manufacture their
ucts benefit- developed, Fuerst says products here, but experts agree that even if
ting from North they’ve been able to prices do rise post-legislation and change the
American-based
use robots to weave economic equation, we’re a long way off from
innovation, top to
bottom: Adidas the shoe in a single being able to scale today’s new technologies
Futurecraft; step process that takes to the capacity we’d need.
Reebok Liquid less than 2.5 minutes, The number of shoes being produced in
Speed; and down from their previ- the U.S. is “so small you can’t really quan-
Under Armour
ous 12-minute per-pair tify it and the government doesn’t track
Architech.
record. it,” says Matt Priest, president and CEO of
“We’re assessing I the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of
would say three to four America trade group. “We import 2.5 billion
potential end uses, and pairs of shoes per year. [Made in the USA
we might do one or styles are] one percent or less of the shoes
more,” he says. “But we’re trying to expand purchased. We have 320 million consumers.
the system further.” How do you democratize and bring that tech-
The new manufacturing hubs may be nology to the masses? How do you have 3-D
breaking new ground, but they aren’t without printed shoes at Target and Kohl’s? That’s the
precedent. Though they’re small in number, barrier: We haven’t commercialized it yet.”
a handful of technical footwear makers have And as technical as they are, the new
kept most of their production domestic — U.S. manufacturing hubs are purposefully
and they say their example proves these new designed for smaller test runs.
facilities aren’t just a pipe dream. The 50,000 pairs set to be created in the
Montreal-based bootmaker Kamik, which new Speedform factory are nowhere near the
makes 73 percent of its total product line in 300 million pairs the brand makes yearly. “It’s
Canada and the U.S., has been in the same a rounding error to them,” Matt Powell, sports
factory in New Hamburg, Ontario, since 1898. industry analyst at NPD Group, says. If the
The family-owned brand has been able to new administration goes forward with a sus-
keep production local by focusing on styles tained push to reward domestic manufacture
it can make well and by its 1993 adoption of and penalize imports, it may eventually start
the hyper-efficient Just in Time manufacturing to tip the scales. “But that’s a 10-year-out pro-
strategy, says Joe Bichai, VP–manufacturing. cess of being able to respond,” Powell says.
Automation and a close look at processes (It’s worth noting that no firm has said that
has let Kamik keep costs on its domestically completely relocating its manufacturing close
produced shoes and boots to between 10 and to the end consumer is the goal. “Keep in
15 percent of the total cost — a necessity, he mind, long term, it’s not our goal to be factory
says, when labor costs 20 times what it would builders — that’s not what business we’re in,”
in Vietnam. McInnis says.)
Cost, above all else, and manufacturing But the potential to create an entirely new
speed are the hurdles, experts agree. But way of making shoes – and getting them into
brands say their new techniques are getting the market faster and more customized – will
them closer every day. continue driving the push.
“Time-wise, we’re close to parity right now “If you can work with new people and in
[with Liquid Factory],” Reebok’s McInnis new places and with new processes, you
says. “And cost-wise, when you take the labor should fundamentally end up with differenti-
out of it, and the shipping out, we’re getting ated product,” McInnis says. l
20 • Footwear Insight ~ January/February 2017 footwearinsight.comSIT.
FIT.
ThE GOlD MEDAl
SERvICE
AwARDS
2017
AND BE
RECOGNIZED.
Seeking out and recognizing the independent shoe stores
for 2017 that offer the best customer service in America.
eligibility: All independently owned shoe stores and regional chains that have a
significant shoe business. National chains are not eligible.
How to get nominated: Any industry member can nominate a store. Nominations
are now being accepted. Nominations are evaluated and stores are then mystery
shopped using a 15-step evaluation process developed with top independent shoe
store owners based on their own training policies and programs. Mystery shopping
will begin Spring 2017.
rating criteria: Franklin Resource Group, one of the top retail merchandising
nominations
companies in the U.S. will “mystery shop” these stores, and rate them on everything
Christina Henderson: chenderson@formula4media.com
from the greeting to the fitting process, to checkout. Footwear Insight encourages
Questions
stores to review the criteria and share with their sales associates. Copies of the
Mark Sullivan: msullivan@formula4media.com
criteria can be obtained at our website.
Sponsorship
Jeff Nott, Publisher: jnott@formula4media.com 516-305-4711
You will be notified by e-mail before the results are published in Footwear Insight. All
or your Account Representative
stores that are selected will be recognized in the magazine and at an upcoming
awards ceremony. You will also receive a customized press release that can be
distributed to media in local markets and window decals that will allow you to
promote the recognition all year long and in your advertising.
footwearinsight.com/goldmedal2017
2017 Gold Medal Service award SponSorSRETAIL
Strategies for 2017
to really dial up the storytelling so it’s new
and fresh,” Grimes said.
In fact, the entire store is laid out as a
series of brand stories, with major areas
devoted to Nike, Adidas, Puma and Under
Armour for men and women. Shifting
away from the category layout of the past,
Grimes said, not only lets the retailer tell
more cohesive footwear and apparel sto-
ries, it gives brands with a smaller in-store
presence like New Balance and Saucony a
less-dilute, more powerful display.
To create a light, flexible space, the
remodeled Finish Lines are outfitted with
new lighting and fixtures that lets store
associates quickly and easily arrange
displays and product to fit new arrivals.
The SKU count for the store as a whole
has been reduced, slightly in footwear,
and more significantly in the struggling
apparel category. The palette of the store
and fixtures is much more neutral, with
only accents in the Finish Line’s signature
electric blue — this aims at appealing to
New store design: As seen at a
Finish Line location in Chicago.
female shoppers, as well as letting the
product really pop. The Finish Line logo
has been redesigned under the same aus-
Finish Line’s ‘Store of Now’ “Our store remodels are a critical part of pices: Bye-bye Spike, the little figure who’s
T
our strategy to strengthen The Finish Line been a part of the logo for decades.
oday’s consumer — and espe- brand and fortify our customer connec- Digital integration is where the remodel
cially today’s teen consumer tion,” CEO Sam Sato added on the call. really stands out. Displays throughout the
— is more digitally attuned One of the biggest changes to the store store will show content created by Finish
then ever. So when Finish Line environment is immediately noticeable: Line’s Boulder, CO-based digital marketing
looked to refresh its in-store environment, The redesigned shops eliminate (as much team, as well as supporting brand images,
it meant bringing its brick-and-mortar as possible, at least) the store windows and will even have the ability to pull con-
stores even closer to the digital market- flanking the door in favor of a more open, tent from Instagram hashtags.
place, not the other way around.
“The power cleaner entrance. In addition to keeping the store environ-
“Someone asked me, ‘Are you going to of the “When we look at our consumers, none ment fresh and ever-changing, Grimes said,
redesign the website to match the new influencer is of them look at the windows any more — it also lets them leverage the brands’ rela-
store?’ and I said, Actually no, we’re rede- like nothing they’re on their phones,” Grimes said. “We tionships with brand endorsers.
signing the store to match the experience we’ve seen spend a lot of time building those windows “The power of the influencer, whether
of the website,” SVP of brand and con- in this and then we spend a lot of time and effort it’s an athlete or an entertainer, is like
sumer experience Michael Grimes said on business in in covering them up with big banners for nothing we’ve seen in this business in
an exclusive Footwear Insight walkthrough launch. Honestly, that’s a piece of the mall a long time. Whether it’s Kanye or The
a long time.
of Finish Line’s new store format. and the retail experience that we think this Weeknd, or what Rihanna’s done with
The Indianapolis-based retailer began
Whether it’s kid has moved beyond.” Puma, obviously we want to get those
testing the “Store of Now” concept in Kanye or Also immediately apparent are the assets into this environment whenever we
Chicago-area stores last July. As of the The Weeknd, low, eye-catching stages set in key spots can,” Grimes said.
end of 2016, there were 42 locations in or what around the store that the Finish Line calls Once the retailer’s new app is rolled out,
key markets including Atlanta, Houston, Rihanna’s innovation focal points. The areas were users opting in and using the app in-store
Los Angeles, Dallas, and the New York done with created to mimic the opening splash on will trigger beacons on the innovation
metro region. This spring, more locations Puma, we the website, immediately communicat- focal points and in other places to show
will be remodeled as part of a mutli-year ing the biggest brand stories currently in product stories or digital content. “You
want to get
rollout of the new store look. store with the latest product on display. know, the phone never leaves the consum-
And the efforts seem to be paying off:
those assets Designed to be refreshed with every new ers’ hands, so we can take video content,
On Finish Line’s Q3 earning call, CFO Ed into this launch, the focal points will be designed in and we’re not solely reliant on the digital
Wilhelm told analysts that the remodeled environment close concert with their brand partners. displays: we can push it right to their
stores saw increases in traffic and conver- whenever “We’re going to be really challenging phones,” Grimes said. “And that’s just the
sion, and a single-digit sales lift. we can.” them to recreate the space every season, beginning.”
22 • Footwear Insight ~ January/February 2017 footwearinsight.comRETAIL
Future updates could let employees use
their own phones to take over displays
to show more details on a given product,
or to browse the website. The beacons
could let store associates have online
orders ready for store pickup as soon
as an app user walks through the door,
or even trigger custom content for users
based on their site browsing on the dis-
plays near them.
“It starts with a frictionless experience
across all touchpoints, and that means
that mash up of digital and physical,”
Grimes said. “Most of what we do in the
stores is really about recognizing that the
conversation probably started in the digi-
tal channel and worked its way into the
stores.” — Jennifer Ernst Beaudry
Adidas’ Stadium Store
T
Adidas NYC
he new brand flagship and larg-
est Adidas store worldwide,
opened in early December. was originally part of the package Dick’s The four- seasoned people in the new stores and
Located at the intersection of [Sporting Goods] bought, but they level, 45,000- keep the newer people in the older stores,”
5th Avenue and 46th Street in New York elected on October 1 to give it back to Modell says. “It’s a much smoother
square-foot
City, Adidas NYC’s design is inspired the landlord,” Mitchell Modell, CEO of transition.”
by high school stadiums and features a Modell’s, says. “After they turned it back
Adidas store And while “early indications for the
“stadium retail” concept. The four-level, in, the landlord called me up a few days features stores are very strong,” Modell says, get-
45,000-square-foot store features a tunnel later and we opened up the store six a tunnel ting four stores ready to open hasn’t been
entrance, stands for live-game viewing weeks after that.” entrance, simple. He says the quick turnaround
on big screens, locker rooms instead of They were able to take advantage of a stands for that got the stores ready in time for Black
dressing rooms and track and field areas recent renovation by the Sports Authority, live-game Friday was “pretty taxing to the organiza-
where consumers can test and experi- he says. The shop carries what Modell viewing on tion.” But, he notes, “if you miss Black
ence products. terms an “elevated assortment” of product Friday, you have to wait until Spring and
big screens,
Sustainability was central to the store from key athletic brands, who Modell says that’s not part of our M.O.”
design, with the location maintaining the worked on the abbreviated timeline to get
locker rooms Heading into 2017, Modell is bullish
building’s existing textures and finishes, the store special merchandise. instead of as the market resets after The Sports
reducing the need for new materials. The In addition to the Manhattan store, the dressing Authority’ product liquidation and store
store features hangers and mannequins family-owned Modell’s chain recently rooms and closures. “We felt it for 60 days, particu-
created from recycled ocean plastic and opened doors in Bloomfield, NJ, Cherry track and field larly in footwear and cleated footwear as
developed in collaboration with Parley for Hill, NJ, and Brooklyn, NY. (The new areas where they liquidated a lot of goods,” he says.
the Oceans. Consumers can contribute Cherry Hill store replaces the store’s previ- consumers “But Spring is a huge opportunity because
to Parley’s beach clean-up efforts in the ous location, which stayed open through the goods have been flushed out and they
can test and
Maldives by purchasing Adidas x Parley the holidays and was slated to close in didn’t get in any of the Fall and Winter
water bottles available in the store. mid-January.) The retailer now operates experience goods, so we’re seeing a pop in Winter
The store also offers real-time fitness 159 locations, largely in the tri-state area. products. goods like fleece and outerwear.”
consultations from EXOS trainers, To pull off the openings, Modell’s Modell’s will also be moving to a full-
healthy juices and snacks co-created with added more than 120 associates. “We put service footwear model in the new year,
Brooklyn-based Grass Roots Juicery, a removing the footwear bunkers from the
concierge desk, a same-day hotel deliv- floor, giving the staff additional training
ery service and personalized shopping and “getting a better assortment into the
experiences such as the Run Genie gait doors.” The changes should “make a much
analysis tool. better environment,” Modell says.
— Jennifer Ernst Beaudry
Modell’s Manhattan Land Grab
New Balance Joins the Club
M T
odell’s celebrated an aggres-
sive expansion as 2016 came he partnership between athletic
to a close, opening four footwear brand New Balance
locations around New York and New York City marathon
City in the 10 days before Thanksgiving, organizers New York Road
including a 21,000-square-foot flagship Runners is entering its next phase with
location at 51st and Third Ave in midtown the recent opening of the new NYRR
Manhattan. RUNCENTER, an event and “engage-
“It’s a former Sports Authority and ment” space that also includes a retail
24 • Footwear Insight ~ January/February 2017 footwearinsight.comcomponent with the NB Run Hub. accessories on offer from New Balance
The NYRR RUNCENTER serves as the here will include some exclusives and
strategic next step between NYRR and product launches. It also features a
New Balance, with NB taking over as offi- program where consumers can test run
cial footwear and apparel partner of the specific styles, in some cases before it
New York City Marathon in 2017, as well launches anywhere else in the world.
as a wide range of areas including event During a tour of the space, Tom Carleo,
sponsorship, youth programming and New Balance VP–running, noted that the
global licensing, as well as e-commerce NYC Run Hub would enable the brand to
and retail rights for footwear and apparel. “test new concepts and get real time feed-
The space includes numerous areas back on what people think of the product.
for runner engagement, including touch We’ll get technical expertise from this that
screens that allow runners to search for can help us make better product moving
race results and course maps; bleacher- forward. But also the more fun part, we’ll
style seating for approximately 100 people see what colors are trending and what
that will provide runners a place to sit for graphics are working well in footwear.
events and programs; charging stations That blend of science and technology – as
for mobile devices; 78 lockers available well as fashion – I can’t think of a better
for day use to those looking to store their place than New York City and this part- The TNF store limits outside.”
belongings while out on a run and chang- nership to do that. As a product person includes a The store includes a large climbing wall
ing rooms. Digital innovations at the space this place is a dream.” — Cara Griffin large climbing where customers can test out products;
include interactive programming featuring custom and limited edition products; and
wall where
Olympic medalist Jenny Simpson. The TNF Summits Fifth Avenue specialist associates on hand to assist
customers
T
Run for Life touch screen wall will allow customers.
users to perform exercises along with he North Face’s new flagship can test out The store also features a design aes-
Jenny in a dynamic fashion and receive store on Fifth Avenue is a products. thetic distinctive to this location, which is
feedback in real-time regarding form and 20,000-square-foot space and housed in the landmarked Manufacturer’s
performance. offers an immersive brand expe- Trust building. And the changing rooms,
The entry to the RUNCENTER is an rience for customers unlike anything the which are modeled after The North Face
open space and in the back, elevated on brand has created before. The idea is to tent design, were made with the same
a second level is the retail space — the “bring the beauty of outdoor exploration nylon and aluminum used to construct
NB Run Hub. The footwear, apparel, and in, while inspiring customers to push their the brand’s premium tents. l
footwearinsight.com January/February 2017 ~ Footwear Insight • 25COMEBACK PLAYERS
Back in the Game
Two Industry Veterans Return with Major Launches in the Athletic Market.
Taking Another ‘Turn’
By Mark Sullivan And 1 and Avia brands to Caleres “I tell retailers was asked by Brooks to contribute to
(then called Brown Shoe) for $145 a book on its 100th anniversary, which
J
erry Turner, the onetime owner million. ASG’s brands were positioned
‘I want to be the brand celebrated in 2014. “I missed
of Brooks who is credited with as mid-tier value brands, but the your partner, being away from the business and felt I
pioneering EVA and creating the new shoes from Turner will be more not your still had something to offer.”
stability running shoe category, technical in nature and retail from $85 competitor.’” Turner will oversee the design of
is launching a new shoe company. to $100. product and will be joined in the busi-
Turner Footwear is already showing Turner Footwear’s launch collection ness by a veteran team, all of whom
shoes to retailers and will ship its first features three key technologies: an have worked with him before. Turner
collection on May 1. anatomical cradle for cushioning has tapped veteran sales and market-
Not surprisingly, Turner’s debut col- and stability; Rubba, a proprietary ing teams including David Edge, Ryan
lection is built around the performance lightweight rubber and EVA compound Osterman and Ed Goldman from Hal’s
running category, with shoes in three for durability and Max Contact; and Napkins Marketing Services.
main categories — Cush, Speed and an outsole design Turner says is Goldman says Turner Footwear will
Workout. Turner says he will develop engineered for full ground contact not be positioned as “just another
different collections for various retail geometry which will ensure a fluid startup athletic footwear company but
segments including run specialty and gait. The shoes will be produced in Jerry Turner, rather a peek into the chronology of
has no plans to sell direct to consumers factories in China and Vietnam, Turner Turner Footwear the athletic footwear industry from the
off his website. “Brands are being retail- says, different facilities than he used early ’60s to the ’80s from one of the
ers themselves now,” Turner says. “I tell while running ASG. And while he will industry’s few pioneers.”
retailers ‘I want to be your partner, not start with the running category, Turner The company’s tagline will be
your competitor.’” already has designs in progress for work “Legends Evolve,” says Goldman, who
Turner has been one of the most and low profile casual shoes. plans to use an extensive digital market-
successful entrepreneurs in the recent Turner, 81, who has been in retire- ing campaign to help build Turner into a
history of athletic footwear. In 2011, ment since he sold ASG five years ago, contemporary brand similar to No Bull
Turner sold his American Sporting says he got his “juices flowing” about footwear, Daniel Wellington watches
Goods brand, which owned the Ryka, coming back into the business when he and Live Fit Apparel. l
Turner Men’s Velocity.
Turner T-Pump from the
brand’s Workout Collection.
26 • Footwear Insight ~ January/February 2017 footwearinsight.comblending sports and style
Images courtesy of: Marika, Lole
sportstyle the show
®
A Trade Show,
Business Conference
+Consumer Expo
The sportstyle name was chosen because it captures the strength of performance sports as well as the lifestyle
aspect of the active category that is driving its expansion. The sportstyle show will include activewear, footwear,
accessories and technology and the conference will focus on key business topics to our retail attendees. We will
invest heavily in its growth with increased marketing, including the Third Annual RIA Summit and the addition
of a one day Consumer Expo which will attract VIP shoppers from South Florida’s active, affluent market.
June 14-15, 2017 June 16, 2017
Trade Show Consumer Expo
Showcasing the best footwear, An opportunity for brands
apparel, wearable technology, to connect and interact
and accessory brands. with VIP consumers.
Host retailer: Runner’s Depot.
Contact Jeff Nott: jnott@formula4media.com or Troy Leonard: tleonard@formula4media.com
Fort Lauderdale Convention Center, Florida / sportstyleshow.comCOMEBACK PLAYERS
Beachbody Bets ‘Killick Can’
By Bob McGee nine years away following a 35-year career Brand distributors are in place in nearly 70
“You can’t
B
that began as director of international countries.
eachbody, LLC, the parent B.S. with business development at Nike in 1980. His With its first collection for Fall/Winter
of such well-known fitness marketing. In career has also included stops at Brooks 2017 slated to debut at the Active
regiments as P90X, Insanity, Sports (president), L.A. Gear (VP–inter- Collective in Los Angeles and New York
21 Day Fix and its latest, Core
the old days, national and licensing) and Skechers in late January, GBP has already enlisted
De Force for the MMA set, is focused on you could get (president, international). Progressive Sports Technologies, operat-
securing a sizeable, global presence in away with it.” That senior executive trajectory came ing out of Loughborough University in
fitness soft goods. to a halt in late 2007 when Datta’s own the United Kingdom, to spearhead fitness
And it’s leaning on 35-year footwear Santa Barbara, CA-based Global Brands research for future product develop-
industry veteran Killick Datta, and his Marketing lost its foothold after Italy-based ment that may eventually lead to a line of
Singapore-based Global Brand Partners as Diesel pulled its footwear license from the Beachbody wearables.
Beachbody’s global licensee for footwear company and found itself unable to sus- “But I don’t want to be chasing gim-
and apparel, to give the brand a head- tain a profitability path and $550 million micks,” says Datta, who holds an
to-toe presence worldwide no matter in annual sales volume from a portfolio of undergraduate degree in chemistry and
the fitness endeavor — from Insanity smaller internationally licensed brands biochemistry. “I want technology that
and P90X on the extreme end to the low- that included XOXO and Nautica. really helps people live healthier.”
impact worlds of yoga, Pilates and Tai “That really hurt. I put my soul into that Although most of Beachbody’s existing
Killick Datta,
Chai and all fitness activities in between. company and when it ended, I was quite customer base of more than 23 million
Global Brand Partners
Datta is the company’s CEO and presi- broken up by it,” remembers Datta, who resides in North America, particularly the
dent. His business partner is Peter Koral, today finds himself living in Singapore U.S., Datta insists there is great potential
the founder of premium denim brand For with his wife, Tina, and four children, after for the brand worldwide given the global
All Mankind that he sold to V.F. Corp. in being recruited to the affluent Asian nation strength and reach of fitness, particularly
August 2007 for $773.1 million. by the government’s Singapore Economic with how it resonates with health-con-
“We’re going after the real sports/ Development Council in 2013. scious, socially savvy Millenials whether
fitness category and consumers, and Long an international business devel- they reside in Indiana or Istanbul.
if we’re lucky, it will transcend into opment executive, Datta praises the Beachbody, which established its brand
streetwear,” proclaims Datta, who finds business-savvy of the island nation of 5.5 through a series of at-home workout pro-
himself back in the soft goods game after million that is a four to five-hour plane grams and reportedly spends upwards of
ride away from 70 percent of the globe’s $100 million annually on media advertis-
population and owns a per capita GDP that ing, has a line-up of about a dozen fitness
twice as big as Japan’s. expert trainers. The group includes Tony
“I can visit my Vietnam factories in the Horton, Chalene Johnson, Brett Hoebel
morning and be home in time for dinner,” and Kathy Smith, all of whom will begin
notes Datta, who remains managing donning the brand’s apparel and footwear
partner of Universify, based in Singapore for all their workouts later this year. As
with offices in New York, London and Los GBP aims to grow North American distri-
Angeles that helps international brands bution through the sporting goods, athletic
license into new product categories. specialty channels and department store
As Beachbody approaches its 20th anni- channels, it will also sell footwear and
versary in 2018, the Santa Monica, CA, and apparel to the licensor that will in turn sell
New York-based company co-founded by the items online and at events.
Carl Daikeler and Jon Congdon is counting Datta marvels at some of the changes
on Datta and his assembled team to grow he’s seen in the footwear and sportswear
the brand’s message on the importance business since being introduced to it by
of helping “you live a healthy, fulfilling former Olympic bronze medalist, long-dis-
life” and to grow the annual topline that tance runner Brendan Foster when he was
hit $1 billion in 2015, to a higher level via a graduate business student at Durham
a collection of soft goods that will initially University in the U.K.
offer 450 SKUs of footwear ranging from “Consumers are still always looking for
$85-150 retail and a collection of apparel great product, so that’s not really changed
that includes sports bras, leggings, com- since back then,” he says while also sug-
pression wear and seamless garments. The gesting “the world is a much smaller place
apparel team is headed by Holly Nichols, today.”
the former head of global design for “Today, a cool kid in Japan looks the
Adidas, in Portland, OR, and Fiona Adams, same as one in Argentina or Los Angeles,”
a former Diesel footwear designer, based a phenomenon he credits to the internet
in the United Kingdom. Mark Gold, previ- and social media.
ously with Tretorn and Skechers, leads “But you can’t B.S. with marketing. In the
GBP’s U.S. sales team out of New York. old days, you could get away with it.” l
28 • Footwear Insight ~ January/February 2017 footwearinsight.comstory
lines 2017 is shaping up as the year of the story in the shoe
business. To be successful, retailers will have to tell stories and do it well. And brands
are doing their best to make it easy, building narratives around color, materials,
embellishments and technology. What makes for a good story? Think of the shoes
as the prologue, a place to spin the tale, but by no means the entire yarn. Compelling
styles need to be supported by in-store displays, windows and staff prepared to
AFFORDABLE STAR-POWER FROM BERNIE MEV’S TWK 37.
discuss much more than the usual plot lines of fit and comfort. Good stories need
drama and silhouettes will provide plenty of that this year. The best new shoes are
feminine and sleek on top with heels and outsoles providing a solid foundation that
will allow retailers to tell good stories top to bottom. The best storytellers know when
to embellish key details and our shopping of the market shows that buckles, zippers
and laces are all used thoughtfully and to great effect. The best stories also offer
surprising plot twists. We welcome what we’ve seen thus far. Once staid comfort
brands are stepping it up on the style front by boldly expanding into new categories.
30 • Footwear Insight ~ January/February 2017 footwearinsight.comYou can also read
