Leading the Shoe Parade

A sluggish economy and lagging sales haven't made shoe manufacturers take a step back. Instead they're ushering in new styles, colors and technologies to give consumers a reason to buy again. Consumers are seeing retro-looking shoes, unconventional licensing agreements and an increase in work boots.And with each new introduction, marketing teams are creating P-O-P that not only matches the image of the brand, but also is often as fashion-forward or high-tech as the products themselves."Our job is to enhance our product on the shelf or in the store environment," says Tom Morgan, vice president of sales and merchandising for Puma North America. "It's so important to have P-O-P in there because we want to have as much influence or control of the floor environment as we can and make sure that whatever is holding our product is doing our brand justice."The Westford, Mass.-based company is keeping in stride with one of the biggest trends of the year, retro footwear. According to Bill Boettge, president of the National Shoe Retailers Association in Columbia, Md., consumers are not buying retro because it's functional, but because it's a cool look. "If there is a highlight in the footwear industry, it's retro athletic," he says. "The athletic segment has suffered less from the current difficulty in the market than the rest of the shoe business and retro pops up as the number-one reason because it's a different look and it's exciting." Puma, Asics, Reebok, New Balance and Saucony are just a few of the athletic companies that have brought a little bit of the past back into stores.Also exploding onto the scene are non-footwear brands becoming footwear brands through licensing agreements. Consumers are eagerly buying these brands, most marketers believe, because of their desire to live the lifestyle of the brand or because of its association with a tried-and-true name. Harley-Davidson, Hummer, Caterpillar, Nautilus, Jeep and Cover Girl are just some of the well-known names entering the footwear arena.While NPDFashionworld, a provider of market information to the apparel and footwear industries, reports that total footwear sales were down 5% in 2002, coming in at $40.5 billion, the hot trends fueled the growth of certain categories. Active casual footwear for all genders was up 13.1% in pairs sold and casual was up 14.5%, which supports most experts' theories that it's still a casual world and consumers are looking for comfort and versatility. The sport performance footwear category enjoyed a 19.2% increase in pairs sold, while the work/occupational/safety segment saw the largest increase with a 19.6% boost and 2 billion pairs sold, according to the Port Washington, N.Y.-based firm. New technologies as well as added fashion components are helping to fuel the work boot category's growth. As Greg Dutter, editor in chief of Footwear Plus magazine, notes, "Many of the new lines are trying to reach a younger workforce. There's a new breed of workers coming in and manufacturers want to appeal to their taste and fashion, in addition to providing performance attributes," he says. "This generation grew up in sneakers and lighter, more versatile footwear. They want the type of boot that can be worn after work or on the weekend to get some more use out of it."Strappy sandals, flip-flops and wood-bottom sandals, wedges and clogs round out this season's hottest buys. Color is strong again, too, says Dutter, as retailers attempt to get consumers back into their stores. "Black and brown are still the predominant colors of choice, but there are bright colors in stores now and richer, more earth-tone colors coming for the fall season. A lot of retailers will merchandise color just to lure consumers in, even if they still buy the brown and black." What Dutter calls the "suffocating sameness" at retail is what many believe hurts sales. "If the retail formats look the same and the selection looks the same, what's the reason to go into that store?" He says the need for retailers to carry fresh, unique merchandise and for those brands to stand out is more important than ever. "Doing P-O-P is what it's all about. Brands know they have to stand out and make a reason to be in the store." Revisiting the PastA release from Asics Tiger Corp. (originally known as Onitsuka Co. Ltd. in 1949) appropriately summarizes the trend in retro fashion footwear: "The history behind these sneaks worn by athletes in the '60s-'80s isn't recreated for sport, it's been recycled into the coolest rides for the ultimate aficionado who wants the heritage from yesterday with the style of tomorrow."This fall, the company is re-introducing its earliest collection of Onitsuka Tiger footwear. For its debut in stores, the Irvine, Calif.-based company has created a shoe tower, a slatwall header sign, a tabletop unit and shoe shelves, all featuring the vintage Onitsuka Tiger logo. According to Dina De Fazio, spokesperson, public relations, the company created the pieces for different retailers' needs. "Because there are so many specialized fashion retailers that may boutique their merchandise, we created the shoe tower that cross-merchandises to showcase shoes, apparel and accessories." The apparel and accessory styles also feature retro characteristics and incorporate fabrics from the '60s, '70s, and '80s.Joe Casagrande, associate product manager for PF Flyers, Boston, says the retro trend -- in cars, furniture and clothing -- is good for the footwear industry. "It bodes well for retro sneakers from the '70s and '80s, and it's starting to go even further back." PF Flyers was one of the original sneaker brands in the U.S., he says, but its popularity faded. After a 12-year absence from stores, New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. purchased the brand two years ago and in February re-launched it at retail. For the return of PF Flyers, Casa-grande says the company's P-O-P directly reflects its distribution channels, which are independent boutiques and shoe stores. "Since most retailers don't have a lot of real estate, we created small logo wedges and cubes that sit on shelves next to our shoes." The company also created a branded countertop lamp display and an industrial-looking tower for larger accounts. The logo wedges say "PF Flyers, since 1937," which conveys the heritage of the brand, Casagrande says, but keeping the P-O-P fun was part of the overall strategy as well. "We rely on the P-O-P to convey the spirit of play and the inventiveness of the brand."Company research shows that 75% of the consumers shopping for these shoes know what they want when they walk into stores. "With the sneaker craze that's going on right now, particularly in the lifestyle category and with the classics or retro shoes, consumers are very savvy and know exactly what they want, either from marketing communications or from their personal experience of whatever brand they used to wear," Casagrande explains. The company is hoping its P-O-P and the lower price point of some of its shoes will grab the other 25% of undecided consumers.At Puma, Morgan says the company's retro styles fall under what it calls the emerging category of sport lifestyle. "It's really taking authentic heritage sport product and mixing the influences of lifestyle and fashion to create a new genre," he says. "It has the attributes of the past, of its sport heritage, but it really is made for street wear and lifestyle. It was functional in its time, but it's not what we call performance footwear today."Puma's approach to P-O-P is similar to that of PF Flyers. "We feel it's important to segment the P-O-P and its product by channel," Morgan says. For its sport-style or street-wear accounts that generally have limited space, the company is placing tower displays. "This helps us show as much product in as little a space as possible, which gives consumers the idea of a broad assortment," he says.For the more upscale, lifestyle accounts, such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, Morgan says the company is using table displays "to create a visual aspect of the product that makes it more desirable and calls it out from the rest of the athletic wall. The key for us is to remove ourselves from the 'wide world of shoes' on the wall and try to display our products in a unique way." Outside the BoxA growing number of companies are now looking outside of the footwear industry to capture excitement, says NSRA's Boettge, adding that a lot of the brand names are highly recognized as top-quality products, which gives consumers a point of comfort with their purchase.Earlier this year, Sears introduced its Craftsman by Red Wing Shoes, a new collection of work boots and shoes for men. According to Peter Engel, manager, marketing communications for the Red Wing Shoe Co., Red Wing, Minn., it was a joint decision between the two companies to co-brand these two popular brands, Craftsman and Red Wing. Available in Sears stores, the line is merchandised in a wall presentation.Joe Horn, vice president of footwear for Sears, Roebuck and Co., says the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company currently uses several formats in its footwear departments. "We are evolving from full-service to having different degrees of open-sell footwear. Our customers are time-starved and we are listening to them." Horn says the company also recognizes that there is a balance of impulse shoppers and customers who look for specific end-use shoes or styles. "We merchandise our sales floor with that in mind. The seasonal and trendy footwear is forward and on the aisle, while the remainder of the floor is set up by lifestyle and classification." P-O-P is important, he adds, and can be the right vehicle to peak shopper curiosity.Given the opportunity to license the Hummer brand name from parent General Motors, E.J. Footwear jumped at the chance to penetrate different distribution channels than it is in with its other brands, such as Georgia Boot, Durango Boot, Dickies Footwear and Lehigh Safety Shoes.For the upcoming introduction of the Hummer footwear line in high-end independent and department stores, the Franklin, Tenn.-based company has created a different look than it has ever done for any of its brands. "We have the demographics of the Hummer buyer, which is adventurous with an attitude and independent," says Karyn Brown, director of corporate communications. "One of the distinctive things about Hummer is the earthy, heavy colors. The tire tread is also so noticeable that we wanted to create a distinctive look in all of our P-O-P and collateral materials to give that image of the tire tread."The company chose copper metallic, black and chrome for the program. Brown says it's beneficial to use the established colors of the brand. "Color is so important in brand awareness now. Chrome is strong, indestructible and sophisticated, and it's a primary color for them, so we have built a color palette around that chrome color." She says one of the main goals of the P-O-P is to reflect the upscale image of the Hummer name. But it's not all about fashion, Brown notes. Along with outsoles that mimic the tire tread and distinctive rand wraps to seal the shoes and boots to make them waterproof, the company employs a torque suspension system technology for comfort that incorporates high-tech plastic materials developed through NASA. The product offers high durability and comfort, without any metal inside. These features and benefits are communicated through hang tags, on the packaging and on printed tissue paper inside each box.P-O-P at WorkThe licensing craze spills over into another of this year's booming categories, work boots. Nautilus Safety Footwear is offering a line of athletic-based footwear that features the company's AthleTech cushioning technology, with a midsole/outsole construction that is said to be a first in the occupational footwear industry. A removable anti-fatigue sock liner increases cushioning and shock absorption. The Portland-based company is targeting 18- to 45-year-old workers. All of the boots have a job-specific application, but Wayne Elsey, president and ceo, says the comfort factor is also very important. "We wanted to develop a product that is very comfortable and that people could wear after work. The younger generation grew up in athletic shoes and is looking for that."In May, the company's hand truck display, which Elsey says exemplifies manufacturing and distribution, was placed in stores. The metal unit has removable plexiglass shelves that hold up to four single boots. A reader card with the features and benefits of the line can be attached to the back of the unit when just one of the shelves is removed. The bottom of the display features metal pieces cut in a half-circle and painted to look like a wheel."This unit can cost-effectively communicate what we want to communicate with both the industrial feel of the hand truck as well as the branded message on there," Elsey says. The silver and black unit with a blue Nautilus logo is not the exercise equipment company's standard color scheme, he notes. The only required stipulations are that the logo has to be in the same typeface as the parent company's logo and Nautilus executives must approve all P-O-P. An initial order of 600 units was placed within the first month. Elsey says there will be a reorder to accommodate more of the 1,800 locations where Nautilus footwear is sold.At Red Wing, marketers are busy creating programs for all the work boot brands, including Red Wing boots, its value-priced Worx brand, and its newer Muscle brand for the younger consumer. "Each brand is unique and we try to give it a unique brand presence in the store," says Dominic Farstad, creative manager. "We typically use different materials or color schemes for each brand. It's all based on the customer and what we know about him and her." Red Wing products are sold through 430 company-owned stores as well as independents and specialty stores. Within the Red Wing stores, the company uses slatwall presentations and will create special shelving for new introductions. A monthly planogram with a paper-based P-O-P program also goes out to the company stores as well as some dealer locations, says Peter Engel, manager, marketing communications.These P-O-P materials have been redesigned to help the consumer shop if there is no salesperson available. The features, benefits and pricing information are highlighted. "Our icon system helps customers tell if a boot has a steel toe, if it's waterproof, insulated, or if it meets electrical requirements, etc.," says Engel. "All of the icons are displayed on the P-O-P underneath each shoe."In the branded accounts, where there is competition for floor and wall space as well as customers' attention, the approach is a little different. "We tend to do a little more of what I will call 'active shelving,' " says Engel. "For our Comfort Force product that has a clear sole bottom, we did a lighted shelf that highlighted that." Other pieces have included shelf icons, movable shelves and freestanding displays. Flip-Flop FrenzyFlip-flops, or clipped footwear, as some industry people call this category, have become a staple this season for many consumers. With lower price points, they are often an impulse buy, and with no sales help needed, retailers are realizing the added value in placing these sandal displays. "We distributed over 3,000 sandal displays this year," says Scott Greenberg, vice president of visual merchandising for Skechers USA in Manhattan Beach, Calif. "It's not uncommon for customers to pick up two or three pairs. And retailers love them -- they will take in full displays that merchandise 128 pairs and in no time they will have sold out of them without ever having to interact with them."Cobian, a sandal-only company based in Vista, Calif., sells to specialty stores, sporting goods stores, boutiques and surf shops. The company recently redesigned its merchandising program to make it more modular. "We were fighting to get our display in stores and our whole goal is to expand our business within each of the stores as well as the amount of real estate we have, so we created a fixture that is a little more versatile and modular," says John Cobian, general manager.The center unit and modular additions have laminate-covered particleboard bases. The double-sided metal unit can be as high or wide as the retailer needs. With the center unit and modular units all standing four feet high, a total of 360 pairs of sandals can be displayed. Instead of single peghooks, the company connected two hooks and added a curved plate for merchandising strips. These enable retailers to update information regularly and help distinguish between the men's and women's styles.Cobian says the company plans to add banners to the sides of the unit to dress it up a bit. "We're fighting for space with a lot of other companies. Retailers look at the product but they also look at the fixture. If we have an attractive fixture that they want in their store, it gives the whole program a higher perceived value." Outdoor footwear company Teva is well-known for its sandals as well as its closed-toe footwear for hiking and trail running. In the last two years, Joanna Gerber, marketing coordinator, says the company has revamped its look to make it more modern and edgy. The company currently employs a fixture for the closed-toe merchandise and one for its sandals.Gerber says the company has found great success with the "impulse rounders." These units are stocked with a full size run of sandals, which allows consumers to pick them up on their way out. "We usually use these for the lower price-pointed merchandise, so in addition to the shoes a customer may be buying for trail running or the sandals for their big vacation, they will see the rack of flip flops on their way out and realize that they want a pair of those as well."Gerber says the fixtures are on the cutting edge, with a lot of metal and metallic colors, but they are also simplistic and clean. "It's important that our footwear speak for itself and that it doesn't get lost in the fixturing." Teva was recently bought by Deckers Outdoor Corp., Goleta, Calif., which had been licensing the Teva name for 15 years.Working with RetailersThe 920 Famous Footwear stores across the country are continuing to sharpen a strategy that they began last year. Scott Cooper, senior vice president of marketing and branding at St. Louis-based Brown Shoe, which owns the retailer, says the company believes that placing individual brands and shoes is far less successful than telling stories. "We find that when we put stories together instead of a brand, we have much greater performance," he says. "We focus on putting stories in our drive aisles to validate what is happening from a fashion standpoint." In stores now is the Joys of Summer program, which highlights the trends of the season and also may include some "surprise values" for customers. Cooper says that because research shows that the number of stores in which people shop has decreased and the number of pure recreational shoppers has decreased, an efficient shop is becoming critical. "P-O-P helps with that tremendously," he says. "The key thing we try to do with P-O-P materials is communicate what the brand is all about and make the consumer stop. There's stopping power and shopping power and we feel that our P-O-P has to do both. We're spending a lot of time working on that because it's critical to incremental purchases."For those who are purely on the marketing side, working with retailers continues to be challenging but rewarding. "Retailers today view P-O-P as a positive influence on driving business, providing visual stimuli and creating a call to action for the brand," says Bevan Bloemendaal, senior director of global creative services for Stratham, N.H.-based Timberland. "P-O-P is an added value for retailers," agrees Celeste Zelesnick, project manager, P-O-P, for national accounts at Reebok, Canton, Mass. "It highlights us as a brand and highlights the product." She says some stores won't allow any branded fixtures while other accounts request customized units that scream Reebok's name.Morgan says Puma has been involved in a lot of collaborative efforts with retailers. "We'll give them our brand requirements and they'll place them into appropriate merchandising for their store. We have creative approval in the process and they have real estate approval. We often find that a lot of it ends up being customized, but we won't sacrifice our brand image."At Skechers, Greenberg says the company is starting to do more concept shops than ever before. "The demand is tremendous," he says. By next month, the company expects to have 50 concept shops in department stores and finer independents across the country. "We're trying to appeal to a wider demographic with these shops," explains Jennifer Rosumny, senior product manager, P-O-P. "The old shops were more high-tech and young, but we want to please everybody because we're a family shoe company."

Leading the Shoe Parade

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