Reebok Hits Music Stores With Shoe Display

Canton, Mass. -- Reebok International Ltd. is marketing its footwear in some unique locations these days. For the yearlong launch of its new Rbk collection, the company is letting visitors to music stores across the country have a sneak peek of the shoe line.One or two shoes from the Rbk collection are being housed in what the company calls a "showcase." It highlights those shoes that are slated to be available in the marketplace two to three weeks later, says Janet Ries, director of creative services. "The products are being shown early to get consumers excited about them. It tells them to go to their local Rbk dealer and gives them a launch date when the product will be available to purchase." The showcase display is in 1,000 Trans World Entertainment Corp. stores, the parent company of Wherehouse and fye Music stores.The stores were very receptive to it from the start, Ries says. "It has been a huge learning experience working with these retailers and learning what their business is about. It's different than footwear stores because they have different obstacles than we have to deal with." One thing is the same, though. "They want to put their newest and latest hits and releases out front just like we do," she says. "We managed to negotiate good sight lines and visibility and this display is guaranteed to be in the front part of the stores."The idea for the program came from executives at Reebok's advertising agency, Arnell Group. "Steve Stoute, a partner and president of Interscope Records, the hip hop/urban label of Universal Records, is very tied into these music stores and that scene," Ries says. "It was his idea and creation to cross-merchandise these products. We liked the idea and he put us in contact with each of these divisions of music stores. It was ideal because one is based on the West Coast and the other on the East Coast, so we're not crossing any territories and we were able to work out the logistical and operational details with them." Ries says she cannot disclose the specifics of the contract for the program.The display was designed with music stores in mind and will not be used by any shoe retailers, Ries says. "We want our consumers to touch our products and get a feel for them in footwear stores, but in this case, we just wanted people to view them. If this takes off, maybe next year we will look to roll it into other channels of distribution."Exactly which shoes are featured in a given week depends on when each will be available in-store. "The shoe line itself doesn't hit all at once; it is hitting in segments throughout the calendar year," Ries says. "We want the merchandise to stay fresh because the same consumers go into the music stores, athletic specialty stores and independent retailers." Those consumers are 15- to 24-year-old urban youths, she notes.The showcase is constructed of an acrylic case that features the shoes and a product card that includes the name of the shoes, their product attributes, their launch date and the retail locations where they'll be sold. Art Merchandising, New York, produced the displays. Mosaic Retail Solutions, Minneapolis, is handling all of the setup and product changeouts throughout all of the stores.Above the case is a graphic collage that Ries says "features some of our athletes and gives consumers the flavor and feel of what Rbk is." The graphic is made of foamboard and slides down into a channel on the rear of the acrylic case. Ries says the company will update the graphics every couple of months. The base of the unit is a magnetic metal with the Rbk logo screenprinted onto it. In some cases, Ries says, retailers may opt to add additional graphics.

Reebok Hits Music Stores With Shoe Display

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