Allen arrived in the office at 6:00 am with an eggnog latte from Starbucks hoping to get an early start on his regional financial statements, but a full list of East Coast messages forced him to return calls. The first message of many which Allen felt was a priority was from Mr. Douglas concerning a new Nike Town store in Washington DC. He had been selected to head the project because of his success with his store, the Toronto store and the Orlando store. Allen had been selected by the top big wig to open Nikes newest retail store, Nike Town USA.
The lengthy message gave Allen an overview of the plan. They wanted to
open expanded Nike Town stores that gave consumers the opportunity to
test the product before leaving the store. He was told that Nike Town
USA would be the first of a chain that would stretch as far as Europe and
Asia naming them as such. Allen thought the idea was a good one, but
was unsure if he was the one for the job. He put his doubt behind him
and made the return call to Ted.
"Ted Douglas please," Allen spoke politely, "Allen Anthony."
Allen placed the call on his speaker and looked over his financial
reports while he waited for Mr. Douglas to take his call. Shortly after
being placed on hold, Allen heard Mr. Douglas jovial voice on the other
end of the phone.
"Allen my boy, good to hear from you. I see you received my
messages."
"Hello Ted. Yes I got your messages."
"Well what do you think about the idea to begin Nike Town USA?"
"I think it is a good idea, but what exactly would I be doing?"
"You will be doing the same thing you have been doing for all the
stores that you have been a part of opening. We want you to put
together a marketing plan that will make consumers want to shop in the
stores."
"Ted, consumers will shop simply because it is Nike and it will be
larger than our standard Nike Town."
"I agree with you there, but if you were a consumer what would make
you want to shop at a Nike Town USA?"
Allen thought about Mr. Douglas question for a moment before
answering. As he thought, Mr. Douglas continued asking Allen
questions about him being the consumer.
"Well Ted," Allen began, "as a consumer, lets say I am buying a pair
of basketball shoes. I want to be able to try the shoes on and see what
they can do on the court before I leave the store. So as the Marketing
Manager, I would put a half of a half court hardwood gym floor in my
basketball shoe area. I would put treadmills in my running shoe area
and a mock driving range in my golf area as well."
"Now youre thinking my boy," Ted said happily. "I am going to need
you here to present your ideas to the rest of the board members in two
weeks. I will have my secretary fax your itinerary to your office this
afternoon and youll have a hard copy sent by FedEx in the morning."
"That sounds good Ted," Allen said confidently. "Ill see you soon."