You didn’t know that athletic apparel cataloger Eastbay had created a spin-off title, Final Score, three years ago? You’re not alone. So to increase sales of the title, New York-based parent company Foot Locker launched www.final-score.com this winter.
Like Eastbay, Final Score offers performance-based and casual clothing and footwear. But Final Score sells the merchandise at the end of the season and at lower prices, acting as a liquidation site for Eastbay, though it also offers other closeout buys and promotions. The site’s average price point is in the $25-$40 range.
“In 2003 we are carving [the Website] out as a separate business opportunity,” says Peter Brown, vice president of investor relations for Foot Locker, which in addition to Eastbay and Final Score includes the Foot Locker and Champs retail chains. “We have seen a need for this type of a catalog/Website for quite some time. The consumers have pushed us in the direction to provide more value-driven products.”
As for the Final Score catalog, the company plans to increase its frequency from five or six times a year to once a month. The catalog currently mails to 7 million-8 million homes.