WINN-DIXIE TO GEAR UP NASCAR LINE

JOEL ELSON

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The Winn-Dixie Stores division here is planning to expand the line of National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing-themed clothing and accessories it developed as part of its sponsorship of a Nascar race driver.

For the past three years, the 111-store division of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Winn-Dixie has jump-started profitable, general merchandise impulse sales by merchandising the mix of Nascar-themed sweatshirts, T-shirts, hats, miniature racing cars and picnic coolers. Winn-Dixie developed the line of 15 products as a result of its sponsorship of Nascar driver Mark Martin, said Gus Bergstrom, director of marketing. Based on the success of the program, said Bergstrom, Winn-Dixie will likely expand the assortment for the spring racing card. Additions may include several different size shirts, including customized apparel for major races, "which should do very well," he added.

The products currently retail between $3 and $15 and are merchandised on spinner racks and at various end-of-aisle locations in summer and autumn. The popularity of auto racing in the Southeast provided fertile ground for launching the wider product mix, he said. "This is very much like the popularity of National Football League and team jackets and hats that people wear, or coffee mugs that they buy with the team logo. In car racing, they zero in on the driver, celebrate when he wins and know exactly where he stands in the points race," said Bergstrom.

While Winn-Dixie advertises the items, movement is mainly from impulse turns. "People in the stores recognize Mark Martin and often they decide to purchase [one of the items]," he said.

The themed items sell especially well during Martin's appearances at various raceways from May through October, Bergstrom said, including those at the Talladega, Ala., Raceway, the second-largest track on the series. "As the Nascar card moves throughout the Southeast region it helps to focus attention on our [Nascar] apparel mix and gives Winn-Dixie increased exposure, as our name is on car No. 60 [the car the food chain sponsors]," said Bergstrom. "When the racing circuit arrived at Talladega in July, it was a major event. With the interest in our area for Nascar, we made sure we stepped up the promotion with displays that were loaded and visible.

"Promoting a racing car theme moves merchandise, as consumers see the Winn-Dixie car and associate our company with a driver that has been very successful and has a real following on the racing circuit," said the Winn-Dixie executive. "It also helps identify us as a sponsor of their favorite race driver, who is a strong personality in the racing field." Bergstrom added the whole Nascar line seems to sell equally well, "as many adults collect hats and caps and also add to their collection of miniature cars kept on shelves and cabinets at home. Coolers with the likeness of Mark Martin and his race car on the outside did relatively well in impulse sales, too."