Foot Locker‘s footwear presentation is “more cohesive,” even for stores not part of the “Fast Break” initiative.
That was the conclusion of Telsey Advisory Group (TAG) analyst Cristina Fernández. She and the team from TAG checked out several sporting goods stores in recent weeks.
“At Foot Locker, the stores we visited are not part of the Fast Break Initiative, but the presentation on the footwear walls was more cohesive and we have observed stronger traffic in recent weeks,” she said. Two stores visited were in White Plains, N.Y. and in Puerto Rico. She did notice several racks of footwear and apparel on clearance.
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Fast Break is the evolution of the 11-store pilot at Foot Locker started by Dick’s Sporting Goods after it acquired Foot Locker last September to test storytelling, presentation and assortment mix It was expanded to 10 stores in L.A. before the NBA All Star Game.
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“We were positively impressed by the Champs store in the Plaza Las Americas mall in San Juan that had a good assortment of World Cup apparel, the only place in the mall that carried it,” she said. “In addition to apparel, within footwear, Champs differentiated itself from Foot Locker with an assortment of performance running brands, including Asics, Brooks, and Saucony.”
Champs was a banner owned by Foot Locker. The two nameplates are now divisions of the big box sports retailer.
Fernández also stopped by the Dick’s store in Paramus, N.J., where she saw strong traffic, with the spring and summer seasons underway. She said that with the World Cup coming up, Dick’s had a section with jerseys for many of the teams, along with World Cup merchandising in the center aisle of the story. The apparel section was highlighted by a range of Nike products.
“In footwear, Dick’s stands out for its broad assortment spanning cleats, running and basketball shoes. Promotions were light during our visit,” she said.
The analyst also checked out the Adidas flagship store in the SoHo neighborhood in N.Y.C., as well as the new temporary Nike store, also in SoHo.
She said the Adidas store, in which the brand redid the location with a new layout and product presentation, had great energy and traffic. She also noted several customers waiting in line to check out during her visit. The World Cup display was front and center, and the assortment mix was broad across jerseys, footwear (sneakers and slides), balls and accessories for men, women, and kids. The first floor was largely dedicated to World Cup product and the second floor was home to performance products.
“In performance footwear, the displays and expanded colorways for the Evo SL shoe was the standout. Displays also highlighted the Dropset 4 training shoe,” Fernández noted.
Nike’s store was at the former Crate & Barrel location. The location is smaller than Nike’s prior SoHo store, with just one large floor rather than spread out across five floors. “We liked the convenience of one level, which lends itself to a cohesive presentation,” she said, adding that the door borrowed several elements from the House of Innovation concept on Fifth Ave. in N.Y.C. She also noted that the store showcases the brand’s renewed focus on performance sports, such as running, soccer, and basketball.
World Cup product was also front and center, with jerseys for the 12 participating teams Nike is sponsoring, which includes the U.S., England, France, Brazil, Canada and Australia. NikeSkims also had a prominent and dedicated space at the right of the store entrance.
“Traffic was good during our visit and running footwear was the busiest part of the store,” Fernández noted. “In women’s lifestyle footwear, we noticed several customers interested in the Vomero 5. There was also good customer traffic in the Made By You desk, where consumers could customize their apparel and footwear purchases.”
Another store visit was the On location in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. She noted that security was restricting entrance to the store and there was a line waiting to get in, “but once we were let in, we felt the store could have accommodated more customers.” The windows had posters showing the apparel and footwear line co-created by Zendaya, which recently launched and includes the Cloudnova Moon shoe. She said all consumers in the store were engaging with the shoes across both the lifestyle and performance sections.