The Athlete's Foot Opens Next Generation Performance Store in Tuscaloosa, AL
Updated Store Design and Merchandising System Are Hallmarks of First "New" TAF in the World
| Source: NexCen Brands, Inc.
ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - November 9, 2007) - The Athlete's Foot (TAF), worldwide leader in
athletic footwear franchising, announced today that the first next
generation TAF performance store will open in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, next
week. The Tuscaloosa franchise location is the first in the world to
feature the new store design, logo and merchandising system that was
announced by TAF's parent company, NexCen Brands, Inc. ("NexCen") (NASDAQ : NEXC ), in June of this year.
"We're changing the face of footwear retailing," commented NexCen's
President and CEO, Robert W. D'Loren. "The industry is increasingly driven
by overall lifestyle of our consumers, not just the technical aspects of
footwear. Our new TAF brand and store embodies this shift in the retail
climate by creating an apparel and footwear performance shop that appeals
to everyday athletes."
TAF of the Future
The hallmarks of the new TAF are: a sleek, modern corporate identity that
replaces the 36-year old Athlete's Foot logo; a store design inspired by
the athletic lifestyle, featuring awnings and banners meant to evoke a
"race day" atmosphere; and an innovative merchandising system that allows
customization of store offerings to suit individual communities and
athletes.
The merchandising system, which consists of wall and floor unit fixtures
that are "wrapped" in a graphics package expressing the featured style:
performance athletics (pure athletic performance), classic athletics
(retro, collegiate varsity style), street athletics (urban vibe) or fusion
athletics (edgy model inspired by extreme and board sports). The new
system empowers franchise owners to be flexible, current and responsive to
the demands of their core customers in each of their store locations by
providing modular merchandise units in a variety of styles.
The next generation TAF stores are on the forefront of innovation, and
Tuscaloosa will also be the first store to feature TAF TV, in-store video
programming promoting the TAF brand that will run on flat screens
seamlessly incorporated into the retail display environment. The TAF TV
network will deliver real-time health and fitness tips, vendor promotions,
advertisements and training webinars. By creating and distributing
programming from a central unit, TAF will be able to stream unique content
to all TAF televisions at the same time.
NexCen began the TAF re-branding effort after acquiring The Athlete's Foot
brand in November of 2006. The new store concept was designed and
presented to franchise owners at the company's Global Franchise Convention
in Las Vegas just seven months after the acquisition. While Tuscaloosa
marks the first implementation of the new store design, it is expected that
the changes will be in effect system-wide within the next five years.
Tuscaloosa Franchisee Brings New TAF to Community
Franchisee Tommy Wagner from Tuscaloosa, the first franchisee to implement
the new store concept in his franchise, was in attendance at the Global
Franchise Convention in June and liked what he saw.
"I knew when this new concept came about, I wanted to be part of it," Mr.
Wagner commented regarding the prototype TAF store. "I was planning to
open my fifth TAF location in the early fall of this year and, when I saw
the new design and merchandising concept for the re-branded TAF, I felt it
would be well worth a few weeks' wait to implement the new fixtures."
Wagner has been a TAF franchise owner for fifteen years and has twice been
awarded the company's President's award for outstanding performance. He is
a third-generation shoe retailer, whose grandfather was a salesman for a
shoe manufacturer and whose father opened a family-run shoe store in
Tuscaloosa in 1953. Wagner began working at the shoe store in high school,
took over and grew the family business. When the popularity of performance
athletic footwear began to skyrocket in the 1980s, Wagner decided to invest
in The Athlete's Foot, opening his first store in 1992.
Based on Wagner's knowledge of his local community, the new Tuscaloosa TAF
will feature performance and classic athletics styles -- creating a look,
feel and product balance that he believes will resonate best with his core
clientele. Located just miles from the University of Alabama in the
Midtown Village at 1800 McFarland Boulevard, the store will offer locally
relevant products, such as Crimson Tide attire, and will carry the new line
of TAF branded apparel, taftec®, scheduled to launch in early spring.
In celebration of its grand opening, The Athlete's Foot retail stores in
the five Alabama locations (Midtown Village, McFraland Mall, Shoppes at
Northport, in Jasper and in Demopolis) will offer 20% off all shoes from
November 15 through November 18.
Grand Opening Event To Benefit Charity
The store celebrates its grand opening from November 14 through November 18
with a series of private and public events, including a ribbon cutting with
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and Northport Mayor Harvey Fretwell on
Wednesday, November 14, a live radio broadcast from the store on Thursday,
November 15 and the TAF Turkey Trot at Jaycee Park on Saturday, November
17.
Organized by The Athlete's Foot in partnership with the Tuscaloosa Track
Club, the 2007 TAF Turkey Trot is a 5K race and 1/2 mile fun run/walk/roll
open to runners and specially-abled participants of all ages. Registration
is at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and all participants will receive a TAF Turkey
Trot t-shirt and winners will be presented prizes from TAF. This event
features activities for all family members including a live radio
broadcast, music, food & beverage, face painters, jugglers and balloon
artists.
Proceeds from event registration will benefit Achilles Kids, a division of
the non-profit Achilles Track Club organization, which empowers young
people with all types of disabilities to participate in mainstream
athletics in order to promote personal achievement, enhanced self esteem
and the lowering of barriers between people. Through the Achilles Kids
school program over 2,500 children with disabilities have run/walked/rolled
farther than they ever thought possible. These children have not only
improved their health and fitness levels, but have also gained the
self-confidence and self-esteem that comes with setting goals and achieving
them.
"My stores have been long-time supporters of the Tuscaloosa Track Club,
which encourages people of all ages to discover and enjoy the sport of
running," said Tommy Wagner about the weekend event. "I'm pleased to be
the title sponsor of their Turkey Trot event and to dedicate proceeds to a
worthy charitable partner."
Interested participants should contact Race Director Laurie Arizumi at
205-348-0552 for more information.
About The Athlete's Foot (www.theathletesfoot.com)
The Athlete's Foot® (TAF) is the world's first franchisor of athletic
footwear stores and is recognized today as the world leader in athletic
footwear franchising. Robert and David Lando opened the first The
Athlete's Foot store in 1971 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first
athletic footwear specialty store of its kind in the United States. Soon
thereafter, TAF began franchising domestically, with the first franchise
store opening in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The first international franchise
store opened in 1978 in Adelaide, Australia, the beginning of TAF's
expansion into over 45 countries. In June, 2007, NexCen Brands launched a
global re-branding effort for TAF. Plans for reinvigorating the 36 year-old
brand include an innovative new modular merchandising system, new in-store
design, a modernized company logo, and a line of TAF branded apparel.
About NexCen Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ : NEXC ) (www.nexcenbrands.com)
NexCen Brands, Inc. is the premier 21st century vertically integrated
global brand acquisition and management company focused on assembling a
diversified portfolio of intellectual property-centric companies operating
in the consumer branded products and franchise industries. The Company
owns, licenses, franchises and markets a growing portfolio of consumer and
franchise brands including The Athlete's Foot®, Bill Blass®,
MaggieMoo's®, Marble Slab Creamery®, Pretzel Time®, and
Pretzelmaker® and Waverly®. The Company licenses and franchises its
brands to a network of leading retailers, manufacturers and franchisees
that includes every major segment of retail distribution from the luxury
market to the mass market in the U.S. and in over 50 countries around the
world, and consists of more than 1,500 franchised stores. NexCen, through
its information technology, franchisee support systems and advertising,
marketing and public relations team, markets its brands to continually
drive greater consumer awareness and brand equity for each of its brands.
NexCen touches nearly every aspect of a consumer's lifestyle from the food
they eat to the furnishings in their homes and the clothes and footwear
they purchase.