OVERALL •What’s in her bag: Asics running shoe (her ‘training’ shoe), tight short or capri, standard-issue school cotton tee, synthetic sleeveless top, sports bra (Marks and Spencer or Shock Absorber), Fleece school-issue hoody, men’s fleece jog pants. •Price sensitivity is very high in Apparel, but less so in Footwear (will pay up to 90£/130$ for a great pair of shoes)•Favourite sports stores are Sport Direct, TK Maxx, and Primark (all for price). Prefer specialized websites for specific sport items.APPAREL•Girls have been exposed to baselayer, especially the brand Skins. They expect compression benefits.•Inner bras are ‘annoying’, and synthetic tops are far preferred (Victory, Legacy). Cotton not seen as a performance fabric.•What girls wear’ ‘to and from practice’ needs to be fleece, baggy, comfy, and cheap! FOOTWEAR• Asics is THE sport shoe brand, thought to be technical and reliable.• Girls don’t know about barefoot training or natural motion. They have never heard of FREE.

OVERALL•She has a ‘go-to’ brand for things like shoes (Asics) and bras (Shock Absorber or M&S). We need to communicate to her around benefits in order to gain her trust and become that go-to brand.APPAREL•Nike Pro Combat is a huge opportunity, but will always remain a price-sensitive line due to its target consumer (the price sensitive High school/university sports girl)•The Legacy and Victory line MUST be continued, and even expanded, as consumers love it and sell-through is strong.•There is an opportunity around fleece ‘to and from’ the gym product that is sports related. How to work w/ sportswear?FOOTWEAR•Girls are interested in barefoot technology & its benefits once we explain it to them. It is not, however, intuitive to this audience. Communication will be the key to FREE’s success in our market.

Conducted byConducted by: Megan Maley (Merchandising), Helen Morris and Rachel Bollands (sales), Andy Barker (marketplace analyst),

Primary focusPrimary focus:

•Shopping habits for target 19-year old Female Athlete consumer.

•Product validation around Nike Pro Combat and the SP11 line.

•Understanding of perceived pricing structure in FTW.

ParticipantsParticipants: 17 girls aged 18-22. Mix of badminton, netball, rugby, soccer, and track/field athletes

What we heard/sawWhat we heard/saw

ConclusionsConclusions

Leeds Metropolitan Girls, Leeds, UK August 19-20, 2010Leeds Metropolitan Girls, Leeds, UK August 19-20, 2010

SEASONAL OPPORTUNITY….SHORTSSome girls had Pro with them that they bought in the men’s section of a store. They were interested in baselayer, but wanted to know about its true compression benefits. Called compression ‘skins’ after the brand. Said that they wanted product and benefits called out at POS. Did not understand ‘Combat’ labelling or why it should be called ‘Nike Pro Combat’

EQUIPMENT NIKE PRO COMBAT APPAREL

I would run in this. Like the colour and

the fit.

I like this tank as there is no inner bra, and it isn’t too tight.

These are my ‘Skins’ or baselayer but I

think they’re for men.These Skins are for

recovery. I wear them after games

MARKETPLACE OPPORTUNITY: SHORTS

APPAREL

Girls were all pulling shorts out of the bag – from the Field Mesh Short to the Nike Slim Poly Short to random woven shorts.

The market for shorts is under saturated, and the Slim Poly Short is one that we could look to ‘veneer’ going forward.

Tight shorts are the most comfortable. Looks like everyone

likes this pair! (Slim Nylon Short)

SEASONAL OPPORTUNITY….SHORTSThe Legacy and Victory styles were chosen in every focus group, as the girls gravitated toward the synthetic Dri Fit material and fitted silhouette. Scoop and V-necks are important (no crew necks!) and the Legacy material was repeatedly chosen for its softness.

EQUIPMENT HER FAVORITES: VICTORY AND LEGACY

APPAREL

Perfect. Simple, nice fit, round scoop

neck, and ventilation.

I like this material…it feels like silk! What

is it??

This looks like what I’m wearing, but

better!

SEASONAL OPPORTUNITY….SHORTSThe girls all agreed that comfort was the most important thing in their ‘to and from’ the gym and/or practice outfits. Girls came in oversized (sometimes men’s) fleece jogging pants and over-the-head hoodies. We showed them the Huddle collection, but they quickly identified the performance material as ‘slippery’ and said they would prefer ‘real jog pant material’ (fleece).

EQUIPMENT HER OUTFIT “TO & FROM PRACTICE”

APPAREL

These are men’s jog pants from Primark-

10£! (6.50$)

We live in our Nike men's’ jog pants! The baggier, the better!

HER CURRENT ‘TRAINING’ SHOE

FOOTWEAR

Out of the 17 girls we met with, all but 2 came with Asics running shoes as their ‘training shoe’. The others wore a Mizuno and a Nike Dart. They knew about the cushioning benefits of Gel, and felt that Asics was a true performance shoe, unlike Nike or Adidas, which ‘had less technology but more style’.

I used to wear Nike Air Max to train…now I wear a real

performance shoe!!

I’m a Nike Select and I wear Asics. The Nike “Sister 1’s”

were too hard to train in!

It’s what everyone wears…so it must be

the best!

PERCEPTIONS ON COLOUR FOOTWEARThe girls had a strong perception that ‘bright, neon colours meant a more technical shoe’. Black shoes (esp leather) were called out as ‘not performance’ and for ‘old ladies’. Pink still performed well, with the ‘perfect coloured shoe’ being the White Vivus with a hot pink outsole. Girls wish retailers would stock more colour choices, as some wished for more blue, red, etc.

Are these two the same shoe? It looks much more expensive

and technical in the neon colours! These colours make the shoes

look like real performance shoes and not just for fashion.

We picked this as our favourite shoe, but it would look even

better like this (points to cad of the white/pink Vivus)

This looks like it’s for an ‘older lady’ or for a dancer. Why is it so shiny? Sports shoes should

be white and mesh…

Pricing Exercise FOOTWEAR

The girls’ task was to put the footwear line in order of Least Expensive to Most Expensive (left to right)

They were very close to correct,, but underestimated the value of the EveryDayFit+ (did not understand Flywire or Dual Density Foam) and over valued the Max Trainer Excel (looks technical because of mesh, colour, and air.) Natural motion was not identified as a feature.

Steady

Vivus

55$ 65$

Swift

65$

Visifly

70$

Cardio

65$

ED

Fit+

100$

Quick

+85$

FREE

85$

Lunar+

110$

MTE

78$

Correctly identified zone of Core Performance Understood that flexibility made shoes more expensive, but didn’t know why. Overestimated the Max Trainer Excel; severely underestimated the EverydayFit+