Zenden, a Russian shoe retailer that holds a license for the 2018 Fifa World Cup in its country, has announced a plan to open Adidas corners in 150 of its stores in connection with the international tournament. It also plans to release 60 new products including rubber shoes, sneakers and training shoes carrying the Fifa and World Cup symbols under its licensing contract.
In Russia, Adidas sells its products mainly through its own stores, but the brand is apparently making an exception for the tournament.
Zenden and Adidas are discussing the range of products that would be sold by Adidas through the sales corners in its stores. They would be priced between 3,690 rubles (€53-$65) and 5,990 rubles (€85-$105), which would basically correspond to the price range in Zenden stores.
Zenden's management said it plans to create “strong sport zones” with Adidas in its stores in order to attract both Russian customers and foreign visitors to the tournament. The first 10-20 sales corners are slated to be opened in Zenden flagship stores in the spring in a test mode. This figure should be gradually raised to 150 as time goes on.
The retailer plans to organize a big promotion for the program with a record budget of Rub350 million (€5.0m-$6.1m). Zenden is one of the largest shoe retailers in Russia with a network of 251 stores in 101 cities.
