The Athlete’s Foot Makeover

NexCen Brands Inc. (New York) has appointed Darius Billings as director of retail brand marketing and merchandising, to oversee the rebranding of its Norcross, Ga.-based Athlete’s Foot subsidiary.

Prior to joining NexCen, Billings served as a merchandiser trainer for Nike Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.) and a product line manager and a retail marketing manager for And1 (Portland, Ore.). He will report to Jennifer Johnston, senior vp-brand marketing at NexCen Franchise Management.

The company said Billings will be entrusted with increasing the assortment of performance and fashion apparel stocked by the retailer and introducing new exclusive clothing, including a possible TAF private label product, to be called TafTEC. Billings told Brand Week that the proposed store brand items are “compelling, functional and fashionable,” he said. “I'm confident there's growth for the franchise in apparel.”

Billings said the retailer will position itself under the acronym “taf.” Stores are getting interior makeovers with new signage and new display racks.

Franchisees will have the option of using several different modernized logos and in-store layouts. There will be two stores concepts: the taf performance store, which is the flagship store model; and tafUP, which stands for “urban premium” and is more of a boutique specializing in sports fashion and urban wear.

In urban areas, reported Brand Week, the tafUP logo will sometimes be used to go along with a boutique feeling within the store. “TafUP is about sports fashion and providing the customers with the hook-up,” said Billings, referring to an outfit, such as shoes matching with a T-shirt and a hat. He added that the taf performance store will serve as a one-stop shop for customers with specific technical needs for performance apparel.

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