Kmart Kicks Up Shoe Initiative with Wrangler

(MoneyWatch)  Kmart really is serious about shoes, once again expanding its line of footwear with an exclusive collection under the Wrangler brand.

The retailer also has been serious about Father's Day, launching movie promotions for the past two years tied into the holiday with this year's take-dad-to-the-movies deal delivering tickets to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The Wrangler Footwear introduction is banking on the holiday for a boost and will be featured in the company circular. Divided into two lines, Wrangler Jeans Co., featuring sandals and shoes, and Workwear by Wrangler, featuring boots, the collection kicks off at a $19.99 price point and caps off at $35. Adding a strong men's element to its footwear selection makes sense for Kmart. For several years, its footwear departments featured Footstar's Thom McCann brand until the relationship between show maker and retailer ended in December of last year. Thom McCann specialized in casual shoes and had a strong men's assortment. Clearly, Kmart thought enough of that business to engage VF Corp. and license Wrangler, a high-profile casual fashion brand with a strong men's element, for its footwear departments.

Kmart already has Disney and Nickelodeon brand kids shoes in footwear and recently introduced Protégé, a line of athletics shoes developed with National Basketball League player Al Harrington. Harrington and Protege have figured prominently in Kmart's cyber marketing initiatives recently.

Tracy Van Hoven, chief marketing officer, footwear, for Kmart parent Sears Holding Corp., noted that shoes are a traffic builder for retailers, bringing consumers into stores as trends, styles and seasons change. The new Wrangler footwear line might not be up to traditional Thom McCann standards, as only the boots have leather uppers, with all other materials man made. Still, in the recession, low-price shoes are a draw for consumers who want to update their wardrobes inexpensively, Van Hoven pointed out.