Discount nascar apparel

Licensed merchandise has been a staple for retailers since the early days of Mickey Mouse, but it's traditionally been product that licensees sold at all retail channels. However, in the past few years some brands have been looking for a home at one retailer--at least for a promotional launch--and Wal-Mart has been a destination for a few big names.

One of the best examples was Wal-Mart's exclusive deal with the Walt Disney Co. to promote and sell products based on its "Kim Possible" animated kids show, which featured products that appealed to young girls. This spring, Wal-Mart is reaching out to a different sector of its customer base in a new deal with the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.

"NASCAR Comes to Wal-Mart" will promote the 2005 NASCAR racing season at 1,100 stores in 43 markets in and around cities involved in this year's racing circuit. The stores will feature in-store point-of-sale displays for NASCAR partners such as Duracell, Gillette, Ice Breakers and Kodak. Some stores will also host NASCAR-themed events featuring sponsors including Coca-Cola, Kingsford, Pedigree and Kellogg.

"Wal-Mart is an important partner because they're the largest retailer of NASCAR products with the greatest selection of NASCAR licensee and sponsor products for our fans," said Don Rothwell, managing director of licensing retail development for NASCAR.

Wal-Mart is no stranger to promoting licensed brands in its stores, but the NASCAR deal is a departure of sorts, as many of Wal-Mart's past efforts have been with entertainment brands that appeal to kids. And that makes sense, given that 44% of the $104.5 billion in licensed merchandise sold in 2003 was from entertainment-based properties like Spider-Man, according to the Licensing Industry Merchandiser's Association.

And the best recent example of that type of program was for "Kim Possible." Disney rolled out a wide range of apparel, accessories and action figures based on the crime-fighting teen at Wal-Mart in July 2003 in a six-month exclusive. Stores promoted the franchise with special license counters and live events like the airing of a never-before-seen episode of "Kim Possible" in stores on Wal-Mart TV.

While exclusives are a popular mode of differentiation for many retailers, Wal-Mart says it's not focused just on deals similar to the one it had for "Kim Possible." "We're always open to opportunities that provide our customers with something unique," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk. "However, exclusives do not drive our business."

But partnering with a retailer is something that big movie studios like Disney and Warner Bros. are interested in, particularly now that they've both left the retail business, and Wal-Mart will probably be approached for promotional launches in the future.

Wal-Mart has shown it doesn't need an exclusive to promote a property and move merchandise. Last year, it earned a LIMA "Promotion of the Year" award for its "SpongeBob at Wal-Mart" program that featured products based on the popular cartoon character.