Merchandising and marketing is no longer a retail aspect that takes place only in brick and mortar. When a store begins to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a product or a brand, traditionally they had the help of the brand through wall art or displays. Kid’s Footlocker is in the unique position of launching a digitally native private label into their stores. The rollout has begun to take place and the easiest thing to do is to create a display at the front of the store to catch the eye.
The problem is this display and poster means very little when a brand is an unknown entity. Kids are inundated with marketing from Nike, adidas and Under Armour. Kids know the athletes and they see the logos everywhere in their daily lives. It’s easy for both a parent and child to walk into a store and say, “I want the Curry’s.” It’s not easy for a parent or kid unfamiliar with the narrative around Footlocker’s latest investment to say, “I want the Heroics.”
Because this is not an easy thing to sell, it becomes extremely important that Kid’s Footlocker takes the time to educate their team on the concept of the brand. The store has done this on the Kids Footlocker website with one of the best layouts of a brand page I’ve seen. The page captures all of the E.N.D.E.A.R.S. points.
In the store is a different story. I visited three different locations carrying Super Heroic. I asked the sales lead what the shoes were and none of them were capable of really explaining in deep detail what the shoes were. They gave answers that would satisfy the average customer. That’s not a bad thing. The problem is the average consumer is looking for Nike and convincing them that a new brand without an endorser is just as viable and smarter to purchase than Nike or adidas is a necessity.
These stores were located in primarily Black neighborhoods. One of the strengths of this brand is its story. It’s a small business that was considered so important Magic Johnson invested into it. The guy behind the brand is a young African-American designer. Now this information is hard to convey to a parent with two kids looking to get shoes for their kid as quickly as possible, but Super Heroic is owned by the retailer carrying it. A poster is not what’s needed. This was a moment for a Perch/interactive video feature. How much more expensive would that be? The cost of a touchscreen pad that can display videos. Even if the rollout was to 100 stores that video display would convert parents.
Kids are at a point now where at five they want to get the latest trendy sneakers. Kids can face bullying because of their footwear. As Super Heroic begins to be placed into stores it needs to have a real chance at succeeding. To do that, Kids Footlocker is going to to have to step it up in digital by creating a campaign that can be added to commercials in game play videos on YouTube. The company also needs to add an in store component of play. Kids jump around and move too much in stores anyway. A Super Heroic thick rubberband should be created as a giveaway item. To win the item a broad jump line should be painted near the entrance with two feet stickers about two feet apart (This prevents a potential injury) and sales leads should challenge kids to a jumping contest. Is this a lot for an unproven brand?
Yes.
Should KFL do all of these things?
Yes.
The importance of private label in a constantly growing DTC world requires that KFL do this right. At the least provide more in-depth educational materials on the brand for every employee in the chain because Super Heroic’s story is enough to sell parents on the sneakers, but a more interactive display would win over the kids.