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While seeking to remain at the center of youth culture, Foot Locker wants to be considered more than just a sports shoe store. (Photo by Eduardo MunozAlvarez / VIEWPRESS / Corbis via Getty Images)
Getty
Foot Locker, America's largest specialty shoe retailer, no longer wants you to think of it like a sneaker shop. Instead, try to identify it as a place for "empowering youth culture."
Changes in consumer behavior that brands of all kinds are struggling to respond to have also prompted the New York-based retailer to transform itself – at a rate never seen since the first shop opened in 1974.
For example, since January, Foot Locker has invested in four startups, including in the resale sector of Goat; Pensole sneakers design school; Rockets of Awesomeness, the online service of subscription boxes for children's clothing; and the Super Heroic brand of children's shoes and clothing. Last year, Foot Locker, with more than 3,200 stores worldwide, including Champs Sports and Footaction, in addition to its namesake channel, also took a minority stake in the luxury women's sportswear brand. Carbon38.
Rockets of Awesomeness and Super Heroic will begin appearing in more Kids Foot Locker as the brand's first major brick and mortar game.
Andria Cheng
"We have changed a lot," said Richard Johnson, chief executive officer of Foot Locker, in an interview. "The pace of change will not slow down. The consumer is going fast. We have to be flexible to adapt to that. All the things we identify for investing are capabilities that we want to add to the ecosystem serving youth culture. "
Foot Locker also made his first foray into Asia, where he describes it as "a vibrant sports shoe culture". Last year, she opened three company-owned stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, and has partnered with Alibaba's Tmall to reach China. consumers.
Foot Locker this year opened the company's first US home market, the first "energy stores" in Detroit and Philadelphia after their introduction to markets such as Liverpool and London. These stores offer not only local touches and exclusive, bespoke products. They also aim to address the concerns of the retail market: the experience. & nbsp; Designed to be "a hub of local culture, art, music and sports", according to the company, the company has space to organize community events involving road vehicles, including lounges tabbed manicure and Xbox gaming sessions.
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Foot Locker also deploys & nbsp; in his park a new loyalty program FLX, said the company during its & nbsp; investor day in New York on Thursday. Unlike the traditional program that focuses on discounts and promotions, the new plan includes benefits such as quick access to shoe releases and free online shipping, said CFO Lauren Peters.
Shoes Foot Locker co-produced with Adidas via Speedfactory of Adidas.
Andria Cheng
Foot Locker has announced the launch of a Greenhouse incubator program to create new partnerships and brands. To respond more quickly to local and personalized demand, the group signed an agreement with Adidas in January for the production of sports shoes for the "Speedfactory" brand of Adidas, in the United States and Germany, which, according to the two companies, can make shoes up to 36 times faster. sometimes, from product design to arrival on store shelves, to traditional industrial production.
Foot Locker explained that it also uses RFID technology to track in-store inventory and studies the data to better offer personalized products and marketing that consumers want and demand instead of their traditional top-down position. Some of the company's stores also have lockers for collecting orders online. To be where customers attend events such as the NBA All-Star Game, Foot Locker has also sent out a larger number of mobile trucks serving as ephemeral stores.
Foot Locker lockers.
Andria Cheng
Johnson, a Foot Locker veteran over the age of 20, said these changes were imperative after the company "was hit hard enough in 2017," when comparable sales fell after 28 consecutive quarters of # 39, positive increases. The decrease in traffic to shopping centers, where most of its stores are located, has also not helped.
"We suddenly missed a quarter in the consumer," he said. "We did not know how fast the consumer was moving. This is the epiphany moment when we have to go faster … Suddenly, the client told us: "Hey, we are responsible. We do not just want to do business with you. For us, moving from the world's largest retailer of sports-inspired shoes and apparel to a goal of strengthening and inspiring youth culture is a dramatic difference. "
The Walking Dead theme merchandise at Foot Locker.
Andria Cheng
Taking into account this information from its customers has reduced Foot Locker's comparable sales to a positive level in the second quarter of 2018 and this month, fourth-quarter comparable store sales jumped 9.7 %. Foot Locker predicted that annual sales would increase by about 5% over the next five years. After the stores close this year, the retailer plans to open more stores than close each year. The percentage of its stores in shopping centers goes & nbsp; decrease.
And being at the center of youth culture also involves integrating pop culture. On Thursday, in the flagship section of Foot Locker's Times Square, his new Pop (pop culture) section of Foot Locker features things you would not normally expect to find in a Foot Locker in the past. The marquee displayed in the section? A collection mostly & nbsp; exclusive of AMC's "The Walking Dead" sneakers, baseball bats and other products that Foot Locker has jointly created with partners such as Puma and AMC.
"We really need to think about how we honestly put the customer at the center of everything we do and say," Hey, we understand that, "Johnson said.
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Related: How Under Armor Confronted Nike and Adidas in Asia & nbsp;
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While seeking to remain at the center of youth culture, Foot Locker wants to be considered more than just a sports shoe store. (Photo by Eduardo MunozAlvarez / VIEWPRESS / Corbis via Getty Images)
Getty
Foot Locker, America's largest specialty shoe retailer, no longer wants you to think of it like a sneaker shop. Instead, try to identify it as a place for "empowering youth culture."
Changes in consumer behavior that brands of all kinds are struggling to respond to have also prompted the New York-based retailer to transform itself – at an unprecedented pace since its first store in 1974.
For example, Foot Locker has invested in four start-ups since January, including in the resale sector, Goat; Pensole sneakers design school; Rockets of Awesomeness, the online service of subscription boxes for children's clothing; and the Super Heroic brand of children's shoes and clothing. Last year, Foot Locker, with more than 3,200 stores worldwide, including Champs Sports and Footaction, in addition to its namesake channel, also took a minority stake in the luxury women's sportswear brand. Carbon38.
Rockets of Awesomeness and Super Heroic will begin appearing in more Kids Foot Locker as the brand's first major brick and mortar game.
Andria Cheng
"We have changed a lot," said Richard Johnson, chief executive officer of Foot Locker, in an interview. "The pace of change will not slow down. The consumer is going fast. We have to be flexible to adapt to that. All the things we identify for investing are capabilities that we want to add to the ecosystem serving youth culture. "
Foot Locker also made his first foray into Asia, where he describes it as "a vibrant sports shoe culture". Last year, she opened three company-owned stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, and has partnered with Alibaba's Tmall to reach China. consumers.
Foot Locker this year opened the company's first US home market, the first "energy stores" in Detroit and Philadelphia after their introduction to markets such as Liverpool and London. These stores offer not only local touches and exclusive, bespoke products. They also aim to address the concerns of the retail market: the experience. Designed to be "a hub for local sneaker culture, art, music and sports," the company has space to host stimulating community events such as nail salons. nail and gaming sessions on Xbox.
Read: How Neiman Marcus plays "retail theater" in his first store in New York
Foot Locker is also deploying a new FLX loyalty program in its fleet, the company said during its investor day in New York on Thursday. Unlike the traditional program that focuses on discounts and promotions, the new plan has benefits, including quick access to footwear and free online delivery, said CFO Lauren Peters.
Shoes Foot Locker co-produced with Adidas via Speedfactory of Adidas.
Andria Cheng
Foot Locker has announced the launch of a Greenhouse incubator program to create new partnerships and brands. To respond more quickly to local and personalized demand, the group signed an agreement with Adidas in January for the production of sports shoes for the "Speedfactory" brand of Adidas, in the United States and Germany, which, according to the two companies, can make shoes up to 36 times faster. sometimes, from product design to arrival on store shelves, to traditional industrial production.
Foot Locker explained that it also uses RFID technology to track in-store inventory and studies the data to better offer personalized products and marketing that consumers want and demand instead of their traditional top-down position. Some of the company's stores also have lockers for collecting orders online. To be where customers attend events such as the NBA All-Star Game, Foot Locker has also sent out a larger number of mobile trucks serving as ephemeral stores.
Foot Locker lockers.
Andria Cheng
Johnson, a Foot Locker veteran over the age of 20, said these changes were imperative after the company "was hit hard enough in 2017," when comparable sales fell after 28 consecutive quarters of # 39, positive increases. The decrease in traffic to shopping centers, where most of its stores are located, has also not helped.
"We suddenly missed a quarter in the consumer," he said. "We did not know how fast the consumer was moving. This is the epiphany moment when we have to go faster … Suddenly, the client told us: "Hey, we are responsible. We do not just want to do business with you. For us, moving from the world's largest retailer of sports-inspired shoes and apparel to a goal of strengthening and inspiring youth culture is a dramatic difference. "
The Walking Dead theme merchandise at Foot Locker.
Andria Cheng
Following these customer insights helped to bring Foot Locker's comparable sales back to a positive level in the second quarter of 2018 and this month, fourth quarter comparable store sales jumped 9.7%. Foot Locker predicted that annual sales would increase by about 5% over the next five years. After the stores close this year, the retailer plans to open more stores than close each year. The percentage of its stores in shopping centers will decrease.
And being at the center of youth culture also involves integrating pop culture. On Thursday, in the flagship section of Foot Locker's Times Square, his new Pop (pop culture) section of Foot Locker features things you would not normally expect to find in a Foot Locker in the past. The marquee displayed in the section? An essentially exclusive collection of AMC's "The Walking Dead" sneakers, baseball bats and other products that Foot Locker has jointly created with partners such as Puma and AMC.
"We really need to think about how we honestly put the customer at the center of everything we do and say," Hey, we understand that, "Johnson said.
About Forbes: Lululemon should worry about Nike's gains
Related: Levi returns to the public stage with a bang, but how long will the hype last?
Related: How Under Armor Confronted Nike and Adidas in Asia
Related: American Eagle Unveils Sneaker Sales Store to Attract Generation Z Buyers
