In an article I wrote last year I explained that Foot Locker Inc. has an advantage that if they began to capitalize on could reap rewards immediately.
Foot Locker’s 28% Stock Drop: Wrong Info & How to Stop the Bleeding?
In this post I stated that private labels by the chain could offset the DTC push being made by Nike. Private label is also a way to offset shopping at regional stores like City Gear and DTLR. The regional chains tend to have more promotional offers available which drives foot traffic. When Foot Locker has to rely on markdowns of Nike and adidas apparel it leaves the company at the mercy of regional stores. It also leaves the company at the mercy of the digital onslaught of e-mails and app notifications by brands delivering promotional materials to followers. The only place where Foot Locker Inc. really has an opening is in the presentation of private label.
Yesterday I was visiting our local Footaction and the manager and his sales lead were hard at work building displays and staging mannequins. I noticed the apparel because it was located at the front of store ahead of the Jordan and Nike apparel and the footwear being presented in the front of store was no longer adidas, it was Vans. The apparel that was being merchandised was named Be.Spoke. I’m a fan of fashion and seeing the term bespoke hit me immediately. I took my phone out and began googling the brand. When I couldn’t find any information I took a closer look at the items and realized that I’d seen a similar cut and style before at Champs with CSG which is the private label for Champs under Foot Locker Inc. The manager was doing such a good job of setting up the front of store that two guys who worked at a regional competitor walked in and looked at the gear immediately. One of them asked, “Y’all got Vans to match this?” The sales lead took over and walked him to the Vans section explaining that they just got a shipment in. The guy responded, “I’ve been sending people to other stores cause we don’t carry them.” He paused and then added, “I like that set.” Pointing to the clothing being placed onto the mannequin.
The manager of the store was moving quickly around shifting entire racks of jackets and pants from the wall to the floor racks. The change of seasons makes it important that the shorts and tees be highlighted, but because this is Memphis and a thunderstorm could hit at any time, the jackets still needed to be prominent. What I was most impressed by is the fact that Footaction understands what the brands seem to ignore often, merchandising. I talked recently about Tretorn and the lack of merchandising with the Andre 3000 line at a regional store. Footaction had hanging at the front of store this poster:
Foot Locker obviously understands the importance of private labels and this was a very good move by the company, but it would behoove the people who are running the division to begin reaching out to store managers for more input. As a matter of fact before any real decision is made about the gear being produced, Foot Locker should build a committee of 50 store managers and form a workshop that allows the gear and upcoming releases to be selected by the store leaders. The reason I say this is because the use of the name BeSpoke is a failure. The market that the clothes are being designed for isn’t bespoke and probably doesn’t have any idea of what bespoke means. The gear and name has to actually work together to make a cohesive product. Bespoke products are made to order. They are custom. Unless Foot Locker plans on offering a print on demand product or custom fit experience for their shoppers this name doesn’t work and by default this could make it difficult to sell. Take Be.Spoke off as the label and replace it with Op.Tion and you have a script ready made for the sales leads to present to customers. I’m not saying that’s a great name, but when you are moving a customer towards an unknown property it has to be made more familiar, or it better match up with a pair of the dopest shoes coming out.
I really like the work being done by Foot Locker (Footaction). There is real opportunity here that compliments the upcoming release of the PENSOLE shoe competition winner and gives Foot Locker an “option” to potentially launch it’s own “bespoke” footwear line for its apparel. Now that would send shivers up the spine of the sneaker industry.
