Something New’s Afoot
With new owner NexCen, The Athlete’s Foot rolls out new name and image.
Susan H. Fishman

The Athlete’s Foot, which has re-branded as TAF, has renewed its entire image from store front look to merchandising on the inside.

The Athlete’s Foot, the world’s first franchisor of athletic footwear, is undergoing a makeover. The business move includes a new name, which will be rolled out with 70 new U.S. locations this year. In 2006, the public brand acquisition and management company NexCen Brands, Inc. acquired The Athlete’s Foot and plans to continue to drive the growth of the brand worldwide through its branding and marketing expertise, supplier relationships and global retail franchise management and support team.

The Athlete’s Foot now goes by “TAF,” which was chosen for its international strength, says Chris Dull, president of NexCen Franchise Management Inc.

“The concept was originated in the early 1970s, so the brand itself was a little dated,” Dull notes. “We looked at the DNA of The Athlete’s Foot and who we are, and we went into the marketplace and captured all the things that go into the performance side of the business and the urban component of the business and felt like the name, the color scheme of red and white, and the flying foot logo really spoke more to who the brand is today.”

The Athlete’s Foot is recognized today as the world leader in athletic footwear franchising. Robert and David Lando opened the first store, which was the first athletic footwear specialty store of its kind in the United States, in 1971 in Pittsburgh. Soon thereafter, The Athlete’s Foot began franchising domestically, with the first franchise store opening in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1972. The first international franchise store opened in 1978 in Adelaide, Australia, and was the beginning of The Athlete’s Foot expansion into more than 40 countries. Today, the retailer has 225 stores in the U.S. and 389 international locations and reached global sales of $350 million in 2006.

The Athlete’s Foot has unveiled a new store design that marks its continued expansion and industry success.

Upcoming TAF stores will be located in Billings, Montana; Knightdale, North Carolina; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Decatur, Georgia; Dunkirk, Maryland; Rochester, New York; Carmel, New York; and Houston. In addition to the 70 new locations opening in the U.S. this year, with roughly 15 to 20 per quarter, TAF plans to open 100 new locations internationally. As units come up for renewal, the company will ask franchisees to update their stores with the new décor package.

A significant part of TAF’s growth is driven through the franchise development process, according to Dull. The franchise opportunity at TAF has been highlighted in Success Magazine and ranked as the top franchise opportunity in America by Franchise Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, Franchise Canada Magazine and numerous other publications.

“From a development standpoint, we prefer to develop with larger groups, which give us the ability to grow an entire region and not just one or two locations,” notes Dull. “But at the same time if we feel confident that a partnership has the ability to go in and dominate a smaller market with one or two stores, we will definitely consider those prospects as well.”

The company is pushing diligently for growth in the Southeast and the Western U.S. with a primary focus on lifestyle centers. TAF targets households with a median income of $50,000 to $60,000, and is keenly attracted to families.

“Capturing the youth business and family business is very important to us, says Dull. “We like the outdoor component of a lifestyle center and think it’s more community-oriented,” he adds. “Any regional-based mall is going to have all of the shoe guys and it gets very competitive. We’re one of the few who do a good job making a presence in a lifestyle center, so we think we have a competitive advantage in being there.”

One of the company’s strategic initiatives for 2008 is to try and do a better job marketing to its female customer.

“We think that women’s apparel and a stronger representation of women’s footwear is imperative to our success,” Dull notes. “In communicating with our vendor partners, like Nike and Adidas, we know they feel there’s an opportunity with the female consumer, and we want to make sure that we’re an inclusive brand so we are going to do all that we can to promote that line.”

Inside TAF things have changed as well, focusing on merchandise.

The women’s line will be part of the new store format, which is very modular and features flooring that resembles a basketball court. Each unit has a large flat screen that continuously rolls brand information. The store also features “lifestyle wraps,” which include kids, performance running, skate and street fusion. Each wrap has the associated footwear apparel and a flat-screen monitor to help display the different look and feel for the line.

“It’s very much a state-of-the-art design and very nimble,” explains Dull. “We can shift and move with our consumers as we get to know them better.”

In fact, that flexibility is what gives TAF an advantage over all the other shoe concepts, says Dull.

“We’re not just a running-shoe store or a skateboard store,” he says. “We offer the consumer what he or she wants, whether it be football, running or fashion, and as the demographic around a location shifts and changes, we have the ability to shift and change the interior of our store to coincide with that consumer.”

©2008 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.