Disappointed with Champs Sports

Maybe I’m still sad at not getting a pair of Jordan 3 Fire Reds since they’ve already sold out. But I think I’m more disappointed with the sales practices of Champs Sports. While looking for the shoe and talking with a Champs employee, he said the Fire Reds sold out real quick. He mentioned that the Ala Moana location received two cases (don’t know what’s in a case), but that the employees themselves bought one of the cases. I’m assuming they bought this case before the Fire Reds officially went on sale.

So essentially, what was left for the customers was half of the allotment. Is this right? If you ever read any articles from Creating Passionate Users, you know that users/customers are THE most important thing for services and businesses.

I also understand that as a kicks addict, you want an advantage getting kicks and expect some perks while working at a sneaker store. But taking half of the shoes that’s meant for the customers? There are other implications of these practices as well. Were these shoes really bought for Champs employees themselves or for their friends? Or worse, were these bought for the sole purpose of reselling them on eBay for a personal profit?

Instead of allowing Champs employees unrestricted access to inventory, how about limiting the sales of hot kicks and making more available to the customers. How about creating an employee incentive program where over performing workers are rewarded with the opportunity to purchase in-demand kicks? Something to curb the employees’ satiation for kicks and give more emphasis on making the customers happy.

So how does this non-emphasis on customers impact the overall business? Let’s take a quick look at the financial status of Champs Sports parent company Footlocker. Here’s a stock chart for Footlocker (FL) compared to Nike (NKE) for the past year.

What do you see in this comparison? I see FL stock staying within the same range while NKE stock is soaring over the same time period. You think there’s a correlation of some sort??