The Athlete's Foot Gets a Makeover

As parent company NexCen struggles to avoid bankruptcy, The Athlete's Foot plunges forward with a major rebranding makeover. The Athlete's Foot name will be changed to the acronym "taf". Their stores (franchises) will be gradually asked to implement interior makeovers, new signs and display racks.

Darius Billings has been appointed as director of retail brand marketing and merchandising with NexCen Franchise Management to oversee the effort.

Existing stores with the old logo and in-store displays will gradually adapt toward the "fresher" versions. Within taf performance stores, products will undergo a new modular merchandising system that divides products by function. Different colors will divide products into performance, classic, street and fusion.

"I want the [franchisee] to take what we can provide and execute on a local level," said Billings.

According to BrandWeek, NexCen in 2007 spent a whopping "$60,000 on measured ads in the U.S. in 2007 (not including online), per Nielsen Monitor-Plus "to support their 242 stores in the U.S. One wonders how much more in advertising and marketing NexCen will have this year to rebrand The Athlete's Foot now that NexCen has discovered their accounting error in outstanding debt, bringing them to the brink of insolvency.

NexCen Franchise Management is ordering franchisees to pay out money for a makeover just as it is cashless in supporting the rebrand and as buyers come shopping for a chain at distressed NexCen.

Read more at BrandWeek: The Athlete's Foot Gets a Makeover

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Related readings:

• NexCen Doubtful of Surviving
• NexCen President Calms Franchisees' Fears
• NexCen Accesses Short-Term Cash, Exploring Sale of Brands
• NexCen Continues To Slide
• NexCen Brands Has Plans For Athlete's Foot