The Athlete's Foot will enhance and update its in-store design, marketing and merchandizing efforts, and franchise support systems to reinvigorate the brand. The dramatic changes come under the leadership of TAF's new parent company, NexCen Brands, Inc. The new brand initiatives will be unveiled to 70 TAF franchise owners at the company's Global Franchise Convention.

“For more than thirty years, consumers in communities around the globe have made The Athlete's Foot stores their local source for athletic footwear and apparel,” commented Robert W. D'Loren, President and CEO of NexCen Brands, Inc., adding, “Our vision is to build on that existing brand strength, while becoming even more responsive to the needs and desires of our consumers and our franchise owners. At the heart of our effort is the desire to empower both customers and our franchisees to achieve their ultimate level of performance. What we're doing with TAF is exemplary of the NexCen mission to leverage our considerable resources for the benefit of our brands worldwide.”

One part of the plan is an innovative merchandising system that allows customization of store offerings to suit individual communities and clientèle. The system empowers franchise owners to be flexible, current and responsive to the demands of the core customers in each of their store locations by providing modular merchandise units in a variety of styles.

Informed by trend analysis and consumer research, TAF is introducing four styles of the modular merchandising units at the Global Franchise Convention:

  • TAFTech, a technical sport module which focuses on pure athletic performance

  • Street Sports, which has an urban vibe
  • Classic Athletic, which captures a retro, collegiate varsity style
  • Fusion, an edgy module inspired by extreme and board sports

Franchise owners will be able to select a mix of modules they feel are most appropriate for their individual stores – giving their locations a look, feel and product balance that will resonate best with their core clientèle.

“For decades, TAF has been the go-to source for athletic footwear and apparel for a wide variety of consumers. Our new merchandising system empowers our store owners to meet the demands of all of those customers – from the suburban runner to the urban skateboard enthusiast,” commented D'Loren.

The merchandise modules themselves are store fixtures, both wall and floor units, that will be “wrapped” with a graphics package expressing the featured style. The units will be incorporated into a new, overall in-store design which was inspired by the athletic lifestyle. 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.

Concurrent with changes to TAF's in-store look, The Athlete's Foot corporate logo, which has been in use since the founding of the first store in 1971, has been updated to reflect the in-store look. The new logo utilizes the classic TAF imagery of the winged foot, but visually puts the graphic in motion for a “sleek new modern effect.”

The new TAF logo will be implemented this year in TAF's corporate communications, including the company website, as well as store-front signage, point-of-purchase materials and other store collateral.

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.

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.

Additionally, TAF will be implementing in-store video technology in a number of its domestic locations in the course of the next year. This technology will manifest as flat screen video monitors in each participating store. Content may be customized for in-store entertainment and marketing, including promotion of exclusive product offerings from leading athletic footwear vendors. The network can also be utilized to conduct regular training of franchise owners and store managers via webinars.

Providing franchise owners with up-to-the-minute training and merchandising support is also the aim of another new TAF initiative — a dedicated trend-watching service. NexCen Brands, Inc. has hired a research organization that specializes in trend-spotting to provide monthly reports, compiled by street-level scouts in ten major markets across the country. NexCen's monthly trend reports will identify useful lifestyle and cultural movements that empower decision making, and will be used to advise franchise owners on creating a merchandise mix to appeal to their core clientele.

“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.

TAF and NexCen will introduce the new merchandising system, logo, in-store design and operational support programs at its Global Franchise Convention, June 10-13th in Las Vegas. The theme of the TAF Global Franchise Convention is In Step With the Future. Highlights of the event include an opportunity for franchise owners to glimpse elements of the new in-store design and merchandise modules, training workshops on utilizing the intranet, a presentation on current industry trends and TAF marketing and public relations initiatives, and an awards dinner featuring keynote speaker Archie Griffin, the only two-time Heisman trophy winner in college football history and a former TAF franchise owner.

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.