DECA members compete on YouTube to give Finish Line best business ideas

2010-08-27

Staying in touch with your customer base is essential for success in retail. Finish Line (Nasdaq: FINL), a leading national retailer of athletic shoes, apparel and accessories, takes this concept one step further by actively seeking business ideas from teens on YouTube and incorporating their advice into the company's strategic plans.

For the second consecutive year, Finish Line is teaming with DECA, an organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management, to sponsor a competition among high school students from all over the nation for the best business ideas. As part of the Finish Line DECA Challenge, teams get access to conduct market research in Finish Line stores and at www.finishline.com. They then develop strategies to enhance the retailer's business and share their ideas by posting 10-minute videos on YouTube. DECA students register for the Challenge by visiting www.deca.org. The deadline to submit videos is Friday, December 10.

Based on the YouTube videos, a Finish Line leadership panel selects three teams as Challenge finalists. Finalists are flown to Finish Line corporate headquarters in Indianapolis to personally present their findings to the company's top executives. The winning team will demonstrate innovation and strong presentation skills. Students from the winning team will be rewarded with an all-expense-paid trip to the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida, courtesy of Finish Line.

"High school students are some of our most important customers and their business ideas matter to us," said Finish Line Executive Vice President, Store Operations Mike Marchetti, who is also a member of the DECA board of directors. "New ideas from young people keep Finish Line fresh. In the process, the students learn what the real world of retail is all about and we have the opportunity to benefit from their best thinking," he added.

About Finish Line

The Finish Line, Inc. is one of the nation's largest specialty retailers, offering a large selection of performance and everyday sport footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and kids. The Finish Line, Inc. is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol FINL. The company operates 668 Finish Line stores in 47 states and offers online shopping at www.finishline.com.

About DECA

DECA is a 501-(C) (3) not-for-profit student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. With more than 200,000 members, DECA operates in all 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico and Germany. The United States Congress, the United States Department of Education and the state, district and international departments of education authorize DECA's programs. For more information about DECA programs and the 2011 ICDC, please visit www.deca.org.