THE SPIRIT OF A WINNING CAMPAIGN

Eye-catching images to propel launch of new men’s fragrance

Next month, Roots will launch a new fragrance for men. It’s part of the successful Roots Spirit group of fragrances and news of its imminent launch has already generated great anticipation at Roots and beyond.

Heralding its arrival in stores will be a major advertising and promotional campaign starring Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist Adam van Koeverden (who is sponsored by Roots) and acclaimed model Lauren Vanhoosear. The photographs were all shot outdoors and have a strong active, sporty feel.

The campaign was coordinated by Elizabeth Kabbash, Creative Director of the Montreal-based Zed Graphic Communications. “The main idea behind the photo shoot was born from the desire to integrate the essence of the Roots brand with the essence of the fragrance,” says Elizabeth, who has worked with Roots on various projects over the past five years. “We wanted to integrate the down-to-earth, fit and athletic, natural, straightforward and unpretentious qualities of Roots with the qualities of the fragrance which is designed for a man who is familiar yet memorable, sexy yet comfortable, and athletic yet relaxed. In building the creative team, we wanted to capture the dynamism of Adam van Koeverden and chose photographer Beth Studenberg for her positive energy and natural photo style. Each team member was selected to ensure the creative style and integrity that reflects the Roots brand. The result was a session filled with incredible energy and resulting in beautiful, compelling photos.”

That will be patently evident when the campaign is unveiled in August and September in both national and regional magazines, in transit posters in Toronto and Montreal and in promotional material in all Roots locations, and also at Sears, the Bay and many leading drug stores.

The photos were taken recently in Miami’s South Beach area whose wide and fine, white sand-covered beaches are popular spots for fashion photo shoots. South Beach is known for its hip clubs and nightlife as well as numerous excellent restaurants.

The new Roots Spirit for Men, consistent with the active signature of the Roots brand, will be launched as part of the Roots fragrance group, which includes three fragrances introduced over the last eight years.

IN THE HEAT OF THE WEEKEND

New outlet store opens in Thunder Bay

Things have never been better on the Roots outlet front. Due to the incredible success of the 20 existing outlet locations in Canada, five more will be added to the “Roots 73” family in the second half of this year. The first of those opened this week in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The all-important final stage of the Thunder Bay operation came together in near-record time thanks to the hard work of Field Business Manager Sanjiv Khanna; Senior Manager Colleen Weber; Visual Merchant Marie-Anne Laporte; and store manager Donna Andreychuk and her team. Also on hand to help, from the Head Office in Toronto, were Rosemary Eisenhut, Director of Retail, and Peter Paquette, Senior Visual Merchant. The final pre-opening preparations coincided with Thunder Bay’s first heatwave of the summer during which the city was actually one of the hottest places in Canada last weekend.

Next stop for Rosemary and Peter on their ‘Roots 73’ mission will be Brossard, Quebec where a massive shopping and entertainment complex will open in mid-September. It is currently the largest construction project in Quebec and Roots is excited to be a part of it.

Later this year, other ‘Roots 73’ stores are slated to open in Kanata (ON), London (ON), and Calgary.

SKIPPING TO THE BEAT

Canadian team at international competition outfitted by Roots

Most people may associate the art of jumping rope with child’s play but in recent years it’s also become the focus of intense international competition. Latest case in point could be found this week in Toronto, which is playing host to the 2006 World Rope Skipping Championships. It started yesterday (July 20) and concludes on Monday and Roots is part of it.

This is the first time Canada is hosting the event, which is being held in close cooperation with the Canadian Rope Skipping Federation (CRSF). More than 800 athletes from 14 countries are competing for the World Cup at events being held at Humber College (North Campus) with the finals taking place at the Mississauga Living Arts Centre. Roots worked closely with the CRSF to design uniforms for the Canadian team. Coloured in black red and white, the uniforms consist of 100% cotton double knit pique jerseys track pants shorts, and jackets.

Coordinated by the forever industrious David Jackson, Product Coordinator in the B2B Department, Graphic Artist Winnie Tam helped come up with the various designs for CRSF officials to choose from. Ling Chow, Product Manager, Special Products, was instrumental on the technical side, providing valuable support and guidance in the process. – Sarah Foster

NEW & NOTEWORTHY

ORGANIC BABIES
More and more Roots products for tots made from organic cotton

Since its introduction at Roots, organic cotton has proved to be a good fabric option for various products. Produced with almost no use of chemicals, the environmentally friendly fabric has a great hand-feel. These characteristics have led to the use of organic cotton in many Roots kids and babies apparel items.
Inspired by its eco-friendly attributes, the kids and babies sleepers featured here are made of 100% organic cotton. The premium quality, soft fabric makes the sleepers comfortable for children.

Designed by Elsa De Souza, Senior Designer, Babies, and coordinated by Marissa Battaglia, Merchandise Manager, Babies and Kids, the two-piece sleepers come in two options. One with an embroidered beaver chest logo and the other with an ‘Organic Planet’ chest print inspired from the successful similar logo used for adult women’s apparel at Roots. Other details include printed back-neck labels for added comfort.

The sleepers are scheduled to hit stores across Canada next week. They will be available in sizes XS-5T (babies, 3-6 months – kids, 5 years). Retail price: $29.95

NEW & NOTEWORTHY

A GREAT BLEND FOR EARLY FALL
Super soft sweaters a sure winner

The luxurious new Arrow Lake Sweaters hit stores this month, as part of the Roots early fall line for men. Made from a blend of Pima cotton and Cashmere knit fabric, the sweaters are super soft and comfortable, guaranteed to make even those most averse to wearing them feel great.

Designed by Rita Shulman, Senior Designer, Menswear, they come in two neutral, easy to coordinate striped options – timber brown with grey mix stripes and grey mix with charcoal stripes. A third option is available in black with Jamaican inspired red, gold and green stripes. (See next page for more on tropical Jamaican accents in Roots apparel this fall). A good style for layering, the sweaters can be stylishly combined with a T-shirt, polo or a jacket. Other details include a Roots beaver patch on the front.

Available in Roots stores in Canada only, the sweaters come in sizes XS-XXL
Retail price: $88.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY

STRATTLING SEASONS
New designs for that time of year

Late July/early August is a time of transitional fashion. It’s when the first hint of cooler fall temperatures can sometimes be felt, especially in the evenings. In the stores, the summer apparel is already making way for early fall styles that start arriving at this time. However, with the sun still shining strong outside, shoppers are not quite ready for the warmer fall fashions.

With this in mind, the new Roots menswear collection hitting stores this month holds on to the summer fun by introducing a tropical touch to its early fall line of clothing. Jamaica-inspired accents in red, gold and green are incorporated in stripes, plaids and graphics or by just giving subtle hints using colourful trims.

Created by Senior Designer of Menswear, Rita Shulman, the particular styles featuring these details are seen above and below.

These items will be available at select Roots stores from coast to coast.

IN THE BAG

Making things easier for Outlet shoppers

In the latest initiative to further improve the shopping experience for Roots customers, new highly practical shopping bags for in-store use have just been introduced to all ‘Roots 73’ outlet locations. The bags allow shoppers to conveniently carry selected apparel as they continue to browse throughout the store.

Coordinated by Howard Pollack, Director, Purchasing and Facilities, the bags are made from green nylon mesh fabric. They come with the ‘Roots 73’ outlet logo printed in white on the sides. Created by the Roots design team, the bag’s big user-friendly size, spacious design and long shoulder straps allow customers to comfortably hold many items while they look for more.

Depending on customer feedback, the bags may also be sold in all Roots stores in the future for both convenience and to promote re-usable shopping bags to reduce the use of conventional throwaway shopping bags.

GOOD SOUNDS IN THE PEG

Great music and Roots go together well in Manitoba

Roots has long been a strong supporter of up-and-coming Canadian musicians, the most recent being Winnipeg-born singer/songwriter, Jodi King. Among her various Roots-related projects, she performed at the Roots-sponsored Fashion Targets Breast Cancer event at the company’s flagship store in Toronto in the spring and will also be performing in other Roots stores in Canada.

Jodi recently performed at the store in St. Vital Centre in Winnipeg where she generated a lot of interest among shoppers as her voice carried through the mall. Dressed in a Roots tee, the classical pianist and lyricist set up her piano close to the entrance of the store (see photo above) drawing in crowds of customers.

"Not only did Jodi sing beautifully, but she also promoted Roots all the time," says Store Manager Joseph Meissner of the St. Vital Center store. "She would welcome people in and talk to them about Roots products." Next month, Jodi is slated to perform again at Roots in Winnipeg.

On another Roots-related musical note in Winnipeg, Paul Rogers, Manager of the local Kenaston Outlet, (see photo to the right) is using his spare time to create great sounds as lead guitarist of the rock band Thru The Floor. This four-member high-energy group mixes rock and punk with hints of blues and metal. Paul, who also assists other Roots stores in Winnipeg, also shares in the vocals of Thru The Floor.

GREEN TIP # 14

The latest in our series of easy ways to help the environment

Clean up your coffee. Enjoy your java with a cleaner conscience. Did you know you can reduce waste and help wildlife while you drink coffee? If you brew it yourself, eliminate paper filters by purchasing a reusable filter, available for just a few dollars at natural food stores and elsewhere. White paper filters pollute water with chlorine and other harmful chemicals.

Unbleached filters are an improvement but, over time, waste vast amounts of paper. If you buy your coffee by the cup, bring your own reusable cup with you. You'll save paper, reduce the amount of chlorine used to bleach cups, and reduce your contribution to landfills. Whether you make your own java or have it made for you, look for shade-grown organic coffee, which preserves land for birds and avoids pesticides and other chemicals.

Provided by Zerofootprint, an innovative Toronto-based organization that helps companies and organizations reduce their environmental impact. See www.zerofootprint.net

HEALTH TIP # 11

Avoid high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Found in many non-organic processed foods (cereals, energy bars, cookies, cakes, ice cream, soft drinks), HFCS has replaced “table sugar” to sweeten most store-bought treats. For various reasons, HFCS will make us fatter than eating “real” sugar (it doesn’t suppress our appetite and it slows down our thyroid function).
If you’re going to eat sweets, make sure they’re fresh and made with ingredients that were around 100 years ago! HFCS also goes by many different names so unless you made it yourself, buy organic treats.

Provided by Jeff Hirst, a professional trainer, co-owner of Training Zone (trainingzone@hotmail.com), and a former Olympic diver. Jeff is an acclaimed sports instructor and is highly knowledgeable about health and fitness.

SPECIAL DELIVERY

Recent letters from the world of Roots
SATISFYING THE CUSTOMER, AND THEN SOME
Last week, my husband and I went to Toronto to check out a store called Chocky's after seeing it featured on Cityline. They were out of the shorts that I wanted but as we walked past your Queen Street store, we saw a similar pair in your window. We entered and found out the shorts were actually men's but they were exactly what I'd been looking for (cargo with the drawstring and pockets on the rear). Right away one of the sales representatives offered to help. I tried on the smallest pair they had which was a 30" waist. They were too large and I asked if they came in smaller sizes.

Nick [Carino] went on the computer and ascertained that they come in 28" and 29" sizes and started phoning around to locate them for me. Ashleigh [Medd], the manager, overheard and joined in on another phone. The two of them went out of their way to call about 15 stores and even offered to have them sent to the store in Newmarket where I live. This amazed me as they were doing all the work and wouldn't even get the sale. I can't say enough about how helpful Ashley and Nick both were. At one point, Ashley located a 29" waist and had them hold it while they continued looking for a 28".

Nick finally located a 28" and Ashley spoke personally to the manager so that nothing would go wrong with the transfer. She then called the Newmarket manager to let her know that she should expect the shorts and to hold them for me.

Then, without me even asking, she had the 29" ones sent as well in case I didn't like the fit of the 28". The woman is amazing and is an exemplary example of what retail personnel should be modeled after. In recent years, I've had so many bad experiences of poor customer service that regrettably that is what I've come to expect when I enter a store. Roots Queen Street sets a fabulous example of how pleasant an experience shopping can be.

Even while Ashley and Nick worked the phones locating my shorts, another sales person Van [Phac Cung] kept me chatting to while away the time and ended up selling me a leather handbag (though he was not at all pushy, just pleasant and enthusiastic). I went in for shorts and came out with a $150. bag and the shorts on the way.

I usually leave a store that is special ordering me in something worrying that something will go wrong with the transaction somewhere along the line but the Queen Street staff left me feeling like whatever I wanted they would make happen.

By the way, I picked up my new shorts from the manager in the Newmarket location on Friday and am very happy with them. My only regret is that the Queen Street store isn't closer to me because I'd shop there all the time. As it is, I will add it to my "MUST VISIT" list when I'm in Toronto. You could not wish for a finer staff looking after your customers than you have at that location.

N. Furzecott Newmarket, Ontario