In a move towards greater hospitality and convenience, New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. and Westin Hotels & Resorts may have come up with a solution for the traveler who wishes to pack light, but still work out.
The deal establishes a complimentary program enabling Westin guests to borrow new merchandise during their stay. That includes running shoes (with brand new, disposable insoles for each use), as well as a variety of men's and women's apparel, including shorts, shirts and socks for men and shorts, capri pants, shirts, sports bras and socks for women.
The program also includes in-room fitness and equipment-free content from Exercise TV celebrity trainer Holly Perkins, with stretching and strengthening workouts, cardio and yoga as well as "Wellness in Travel" tips on ways to combat jet lag.
Finally, New Balance is working with individual Westin properties to enhance its current three- and five-mile local area running maps. Guests traveling to a city for a major athletic event, such as a marathon, will be provided with wellness amenities, including turn-down gifts with "performance/fuel" goodies for the race and "good luck" wake-up calls.
The program recently launched at 10 Westin properties across the globe and will begin rolling out across its hotel network in 2011.
"Convenient access to the proper athletic equipment and programming is vital to the traveler who wants to stay healthy and fit while they're away from home," said Hilary Keates, director of global marketing and brand management for New Balance. "New Balance is excited to partner with Westin to provide their health and fitness-minded guests with footwear, apparel, accessories, and programming for an overall enhanced experience. As leaders in our respective categories with like-minded consumers, this alliance made perfect sense."
Soft goods sampling is a rare occurrence at retail. Another example: a running store just opened in South Anchorage, Alaska, featuring a 85-meter outdoor running track for consumers to try on shoes.
Discussion Questions: How receptive do you think consumers will be to sampling footwear and apparel? How does the sampling opportunity in apparel and footwear compare to other categories such as food?