The athletic-footwear market has been a competitive and overcrowded one for years, with so many different styles, colors and types of shoes on the market that shoppers can sometimes be paralyzed by too many options. So, companies are always looking for "a leg up," as it were, when it comes to personalizing their marketing strategy to reach a specific demographic group.

Nike Inc. and The Finish Line Inc. think they have come up with just such a personalized approach by joining forces to create a concept store" dubbed Finish Line Ltd., where the product line and approach to customer service will be customized to meet the needs of young running and training athletes. The store is located at the Chandler Fashion Center near Phoenix.

To target specific types of customers, Finish Line Ltd. will be divided into three sections: running, sport style and training. Running shoes and equipment will have the strongest presence, with the "Nike+ running story" right up front, says Craig Cheek, vice president and general manager of Nike USA. Nike+ is a nifty high-tech advancement "that consists of a computer chip in the shoe," says Cheek. It tracks information from the athlete's training run, like mileage, calories burned, etc.--"and then they can take it home and sync it up to the Web, and check the results--and which also allows them to be part of a whole social community of runners. We think of it as a digital motivational tool."