Fancy Footwork

The '90s were heady times for the footwear industry. Consumers were enthused about shoes, and they proved it with their pocketbooks. The average annual consumer expenditure on footwear rose from $189 in 1989 to $315 in 1997. Shoe stores responded in kind with brisk expansion in the mid-90s.But a funny thing happened on the way to the 21st century. Americans started spending more of their disposable income on things like travel and computers and less on shoes and boots. Recently, footwear stores have been forced to consolidate and cut back. Faced with a distracted consumer and fewer stores in which to sell their shoes, many merchandisers say their jobs have become more challenging.The footwear industry is holding its own, says Bill Boettge, president of the National Shoe Retailers Association (NSRA) in Columbia, Md. "This is a mature market. It gains about what the population grows -- about 2% to 3% a year." He concedes that athletic shoe sales have slipped, but points out that other categories like sandals and business casual have picked up nicely. "Still, it's disappointing that the share of disposable income going to footwear continues to decrease." All the more reason, he says, to redouble marketing efforts, including merchandising. "It's more important than ever to make a better shoe and do a better job of marketing it because the consumer is more excited about other things in his life than footwear."Enter P-O-P, whose main purpose is to generate that excitement among shoppers. But getting P-O-P placed has become more daunting as in-store display space shrinks. "Brands are fighting for space on the selling floor," says Claude Solnik, associate news editor for Footwear News in New York, and he says that retail consolidation is just part of the story. "Stores are being organized differently than they used to be. Retailers are moving off the 'shoe wall' and rearranging products in scattered-site displays." While the new format is more aesthetically pleasing and shopper-friendly, it's also less space-efficient. With display space at such a premium, it's no surprise that merchandisers say they're moving toward more symbiotic relationships with retailers.By soliciting input before and during the creation of P-O-P, as opposed to eliciting criticism afterward, marketers can be sure their marketing dollars are being spent on P-O-P that will find a home. "Our retailers are our number one concern," says Beverly Ames, visual merchandising manager for Birkenstock, Novato, Calif. "We're always sensitive to their needs, because if our P-O-P doesn't fill those needs, it'll be trashed or sit in the back room."Scott Greenberg, director of display merchandising for Skechers USA, Manhattan Beach, Calif., says a partnership approach just makes good business sense. "Working with retailers on our P-O-P designs ensures a greater percentage of placement in key locales and thus a greater return on our P-O-P."Glenn Wilson, P-O-P coordinator at Vans in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., says P-O-P is always a joint effort. "We'll take input from any client or store. That kind of cooperation benefits everyone," For example, Footaction stores recently asked Vans to add some store-specific graphics to a new back-to-school floor display, and Vans obliged. Another recent merchandising effort, though, indicates the extent to which Vans views retailers less as mere contributors and more as coequals in the P-O-P process. "Sears came to us with an idea for taking actual surfboards and cutting out sections for shoe displays. They presented the idea and we executed it."Elie Monarch, president of Footwear etc., a five-store chain in California, is delighted with this new trend toward teamwork. "Especially in the last year or two, I've noticed that suppliers are working harder to tailor their displays to my liking. They'll call up, describe their ideas, and ask me if I have any changes I'd like to suggest. That's been incredibly productive."One recurrent request from retailers is for P-O-P with a more polished look. "Most stores have upgraded the quality of the shoes they carry," says NSRA's Boettge, "as well as the looks of their stores. They're looking for P-O-P commensurate in quality." Gunter Alberts, creative director for Florsheim Group in Chicago, agrees. "Many retailers don't like to use supplied P-O-P because they find it intrusive in their environment. They have this beautifully laid out store or shoe department, and the P-O-P doesn't always match their decor." Footwear etc.'s Monarch confirms that this trend is true in his stores. "Our market is becoming more upscale. We like fixtures that go along with our decor and ambiance. And manufacturers have really stepped up their offerings with a much better quality product in terms of P-O-P," he says. "By 'better quality' I mean better materials, but also more aesthetically pleasing. A clean look as opposed to plastering their logo in some ungodly size.""Clean" is the word many marketers, including Caren Vredenburgh, director of creative services for St. Louis-based Brown Shoe Co., are using to describe their latest merchandising campaigns. Vredenburgh's P-O-P efforts are part of a repositioning of Brown Shoe's Naturalizer brand. "We're marketing Naturalizer as more contemporary to attract a younger consumer," she says. "So the plexi and wood trim from the previous campaign has been replaced with frosted acrylic and edgy black-and-white lifestyle images from acclaimed photographer Bruce Weber in silver metallic frames. "There's just such a freshness, a cleanliness about it."Perhaps the most persuasive proof that clean is "in" comes from Dr. Martens, which has shifted toward a "less grungy" look, according to National Marketing Manager Jeff Scheid, who works at the company's U.S. headquarters in Portland, Ore. "We're moving toward clean, fashionable shoe styles and displays that go along with that." This year, the company is offering retailers two programs, one done in the company's core colors of black and yellow, the other one a "silver program" featuring vacuum-formed plastic and frosted acrylic with an aluminum look. "The silver package is going over really well. I thought it was more department-store oriented, but a lot of independents -- even our grungy nipple-and-nose-ring type accounts -- are asking for the silver because they're looking for a cleaner visual presentation."There's certainly a lot to be said for a clean, refined look. But with so many marketers shifting toward chic, the question becomes this: How do you make your P-O-P pop in a sea of sleekness?Birkenstock's answer is a new unit described as a "very simple, very clean interactive countertop display that is just irresistible to touch," says Ames. At the base of the three-tiered display is a polished piece of birchwood with a footprint carved into it. "That relates to our heritage, how our shoes came from a footprint in the sand." Above that is a plexi shelf holding a cross-section of a Birkenstock sandal sole. It reveals all of the layers of the foot bed to show how the contours of the bed relate to the natural shape of the foot. On the third shelf sits the Arizona, the company's most identifiable style. Concise call-outs scattered throughout speak to the benefits of the shoe."It's not interactive in the traditional sense," Ames says. "There are no buttons to push or bells to ring. But when you see it, you just want to experience this sensation of running your hand over the smooth, polished wood." Whether this translates into sales remains to be seen; the display was rolling out at press time. But there's no doubt it's engaging. "I've seen people in the office come by and start rubbing it. Then they sit there and read the call-outs and look at the components. That's exactly what we want customers in the store to do," she says.Florsheim also relies on interactive P-O-P to attract customers and distinguish itself from competitors. "You've got to find some way to separate yourself," says Alberts, "so you don't get squeezed on a shelf with a hundred other shoes and get overlooked." For the launch of its MagneForce biomagnetic golf shoes last year, the company developed a flip chart that lists features and benefits. This year, it's a features-and-benefits spinner promoting the line's casual shoes. "People can actually touch, feel and play with these displays. I think that captures their interest more. And the more interested they are, the more they'll read about our shoes. The more they know, the more likely they are to buy theme." Alberts points out that the in-store shopper is the second customer who needs to be sold on their shoes; the first is the retailer. "Our P-O-P also helps our salesforce sell our products to different retailers. Retailers today want to know what's special about your shoes. Our P-O-P highlights that specialness and helps them buy into the shoe.""Our customers want to have fun," says Trudy Larson, director of retail marketing for Candie's, Purchase, N.Y. "And sometimes they need a reason to be drawn in." Toward those ends, Candie's is in the process of setting up in-store Internet stations where customers can sit down and log on to the company's Web site. A separate screen set up at the other end of the store mirrors the Web-surfer's screen, so other shoppers can get in on the action. "This creates a fun atmosphere. Plus, for this generation, the Internet is so important. So we're reaching them where they live."The idea of the concept shop isn't new. For quite a few years marketers have been creating comprehensive P-O-P packages that allow retailers to set up mini brand-specific shops within their stores. But the concept sure has been gaining steam. Says the NSRA's Boettge: "A lot of my members talk to me about wanting a total P-O-P package, or in-store shop. They're not looking for one individual item, like a flimsy sign or a piece of cardboard that can look ragged after a few days of getting kicked around. They want something that looks high-quality and more permanent. That ties back to fitting in with the upgraded look of their stores, but it also stems from the fact that they know marketing of brands is extremely important in stores."Footwear etc.'s Monarch is an avid fan of concept shops. He first experimented with the shop-within-a-shop store format in 1992, and "it's been upstream since then." His latest success story was with Mephisto's "SIS", or shop in a shop. "We put their concept in one store in 1998 and our volume has literally doubled. I've seen the concept shop getting stronger and stronger over the past couple of years, and I think it will continue to grow."It's easy to understand Monarch's affection -- manufacturer-supplied concept shops reduce his fixture costs and increase his sales. But what's the draw to the consumer? Retailers say concept shops appeal to time-starved consumers who no longer want to "shop 'til they drop.""We figured out that it's much easier for consumers to shop this way. If they're looking for a certain brand, it pops right out at them and saves theme time," says Monarch.Brown Shoe's Vredenburgh has a similar take on the situation. "If customers are brand loyal, they look for you in department stores. With concept shops, it's very easy to see where the brand is being staged. It's a very quick read. The customer says, 'Oh, here it is, here's what I'm looking for.'"Creating a concept shop is not an inexpensive proposition for marketers, but everyone agrees that it yields an impressive return on investment. "Anytime we create our own brand identity in a store, we see sales increase dramatically," says Candie's Larson. Florsheim's Alberts agrees that a concept shop requires a considerable investment. "But if you prorate the costs over the lifetime of the program, and factor in additional sales resulting from the shop, then the costs are justifiable," he says.Less sexy but just as important as the look of P-O-P are the logistics that go into making it practical and usable. Some specifics to keep in mind:Make it modular so it can be reconfigured and adapted to various spaces. "Lots of manufacturers send seasonal displays that can be arranged vertically or horizontally. That's very helpful," says Footwear etc.'s Monarch.Be mindful of space constraints. "Retailers are not eager to give up valuable selling areas for P-O-P," says Birkenstock's Ames. "Our 'footprint in the sand' display is very small, just a 13-inch by 13-inch base, maybe 9 inches high, but we packed a lot into that small space." Candie's Larson says that her company aims for a display "that can hold a lot of styles in a small footprint and makes the most of the space."Keep it simple, from set-up to maintenance. "It has to be easy to assemble," says Monarch. "Some materials are so tricky, no one can figure out what to do with them." Says Ames, "If it's not simple, it's not going to get used. With our footprint piece, you just pop it out of the box and it's ready to use. The most it would require is a little dusting."Lean toward lightweight. "That way, it's easy to ship, easy to set up and easy for the retailer to move," says Vans' Wilson. "If it's not easy to manipulate and maneuver, we tend to discard it quickly," says Monarch.Some manufacturers ensure they're reaping maximum benefits from their P-O-P dollars by putting their salesforce on the case. "We've aggressively developed a field merchandising program where merchandisers visit stores to fix displays and update images," says Scheid of Dr. Martens. While some manufacturers have a problem placing their P-O-P, Dr. Martens sometimes has trouble getting retailers to throw old P-O-P away. "I've been to a few stores where they have P-O-P dating back three or four years. Our merchandisers make sure that the most up-to-date materials are in place."Brown Shoe started a similar program a year and a half ago. "We're fortunate to have regional sales associates who can travel to department store accounts," says Vredenburgh. "If something is not on the floor, or if it just came in, they'll do the actual assembly and put the piece on the floor. Our field people have been a great asset. They make certain we look good." Of course, the staff can't get to every store that sells Brown Shoes, so survey forms are sent to other accounts asking for feedback: Was this successful? Was it easy to install? Did it wear well?Predicting the future of footwear P-O-P is a slippery slope, but one thing is certain. "People will always need shoes," says Florsheim's Alberts. "Nobody's going to start walking around barefoot." Making sure people buy those shoes in store rather than via a catalog or over the Internet is a matter of cutting the clutter, says Dr. Martins' Scheid. "With more people surfing the net, brick and mortar is going to have to find a way to differentiate itself. In a typical shoe store, customers are tripping over themselves just trying to walk through. That cluttered, crazy environment has to go away or consumers will, too. Comfortable seating, mini concept shops that serve as little vignettes throughout the store, a warm and inviting, home-like atmosphere -- that's what makes a store a place you want to go into and stay a while."

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