Foot Locker Ups Its Game in Europe with The Locker Room

Foot Locker is kicking up its heels in the United Kingdom. The footwear giant has opened a new format — The Locker Room — with an eye to rolling it out throughout England and continental Europe. The concept expands Foot Locker’s core strength in athletic footwear to include apparel and accessories for a wide range of performance sports.

“The Locker Room by Foot Locker is a fantastic opportunity for the brand to reach out to a new audience, providing them with the best sports performance footwear, apparel and accessories,” said Lew Kimble, president and CEO, Foot Locker Europe. “It is designed for people of all ages and levels with a passion for sports, whether that sports obsession is in football, running or fitness.”

The format was unveiled in late 2011, in Brent Cross Shopping Centre, North London. Two additional stores opened this past spring, one in Birmingham’s Bullring shopping center and the other in London’s Lakeside center.

Designed by London-based Dalziel and Pow, Locker Room has a sleek, contemporary look. The store, which averages about 3,300 sq. ft., features dedicated areas for a variety of sports, including track and field, football and running. Each department displays the related performance footwear, apparel and accessories from such brands as Nike, Adidas, Reebok and New Balance.

Service plays a critical role in the new format. Generous space is given to footwear seating and to the dressing rooms as well. A “Community Sports Zone” that features information about local sports clubs and events is located next to the cash wrap. Interactive terminals and iPads provide technical product information, helping customers make more informed product choices.

The brand identity uses a powerful, simple type, supported by a flexible brand icon of a linear pattern that suggests performance and movement. The graphic color palette of black and white with the highlight color is also used throughout the store to aid navigation and promote product benefits.

The interior is a concrete shell of rendered walls and polished concrete floor, with a contrasting bright white ceramic walkway on one side. The walkway is called out by a white ceiling raft that leads shoppers from the entrance down the full length of the store. The contrast of utilitarian finishes is softened with bamboo, which is used through the store in furniture, detailing and the primary finish of the cash wrap and Community Sports Zone.

The store and the overall shopping experience are distinguished by what Dalziel and Pow calls its “unique tone of voice.” The various POS elements, which range from “Be First ” (for new items) to “Be Fast” (special promotions) to “Be Original” (exclusives), are all in sync with the overall brand mantra: “Be Obsessed.”