What it is
WSS was a chain of 52 street level stores, not mall stores. Khounlavong's account profile describes it as the premier street based urban retailer, focused on the Hispanic consumer in Los Angeles. Its target consumer was the Hispanic and urban family aged 16 to 29. The profile cites a reported Hispanic population of 47.3% of Los Angeles County.
WSS was one of his two accounts, with Shiekh. Nike's authorized futures with WSS were $22.7M in fiscal 2010 and $24.0M in fiscal 2011, up 5.7%. Futures are orders placed ahead of the season. The profile calls WSS a growth partner in a down market.
What Khounlavong did
- Wrote the account profile in February 2011 and the three-year strategic plan in March 2011.
- Set the mission: position WSS as the leading street based urban retailer in the West, through trend relevant product, elevated in-store presentation and a broad assortment of categories.
- Asked Nike to elevate the account's doors. The request set 6 doors at the Best level, 24 at Better and 22 at Good. The six were large formats able to tell seasonal Nike stories, and five of them were in East Los Angeles.
- Filed door distribution change requests in February 2011 to move WSS doors from Better to Best.
- Set the fiscal 2012 initiatives: assortments planned by door, head to toe stories each month, a door growth plan in secondary and tertiary markets, a core assortment of West Coast icons, and an added merchandiser.
- Handled the retailer's door requests for San Diego in March 2011. The site research mapped corridors against current Nike distribution at three and five mile radius.
- Took part in the South Gate homecoming event in fall 2010. He partnered with WSS to provide customization at the event and in store, and worked with Nike's community, retail presentation and marketing teams on the homecoming football events.
- Completed standardized door lists for WSS and Shiekh for Nike's door tool.
- Planned a mutual open to buy plan for WSS. In January 2011 it was waiting on Edifice, the tool for sharing retail data. Open to buy is the retailer's budget for new purchases.
Results
- WSS retail results for January 2011 against the prior year: sales up 23.9%, margin up 44.7%, sell-through up 16.9%, on inventory up 11.0%.
- Fiscal 2011 authorized futures: footwear $22.5M, up 4.7%. Apparel $720K, up 54.8%. Equipment $788K, up 13.7%.
- Fall 2011 authorized futures of $7.1M, up 6.0%.
- The plan set net bookings targets of $24.4M for fiscal 2012, $26.9M for fiscal 2013 and $29.7M for fiscal 2014, with five new doors a year. He left the account in May 2011. The outcome against those targets is not in the archive.
- The profile lists the South Gate High School homecoming and the East LA Classic rivalry game as community events, both tied back to retail. No sales result for the homecoming event is recorded.
At a glance
| Project type | Account strategy and community event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Athletic and lifestyle footwear |
| Seat | West Territory Sales Representative, Nike Sportswear |
| Ran through | Nike |
| Dates | August 2010 to May 2011 |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Related pages | Jimmy Khounlavong, Los Angeles, the first tour: All-Star, Kobe and the two retailers who owned the city |
| Principal | Jimmy Khounlavong |