Brantano sticks with Bates for UK rebrand

Bates UK has been retained by Belgian shoe retailer Brantano to rebrand the 52 Shoe City outlets it bought from Sears last year.

Brantano, which picked Bates to handle its entry into the UK following the acquisition of Shoe City in May, has been talking to other agencies about the project.

However, Sarah Benton, marketing manager at Shoe City, says the chain has decided to stick with Bates for the foreseeable future. Zenith was hired to buy media last October.

Benton says the Shoe City stores to be refitted and renamed Brantano will be supported by a new TV advertising campaign through Bates for the back-to-school season in late August.

The move to rebrand the Shoe City stores follows the success of a number of Brantano trial outlets in the UK.

The outcome of the trial prompted Brantano to bring forward its purchase of the Shoe City chain. The deal had originally been scheduled for completion by May 2001 at a price of &£7m. However, Shoe City was finally bought for &£5.5m.

Shoe City spent &£360,000 last year on advertising through Clark & Taylor (Register-MEAL). Benton says media spend will be significantly increased this year.