Global Nautical Lifestyle Brand, Sperry Top-Sider(R), Celebrated Grand Opening in Tampa, Florida with Special Guest Olympic Athlete

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Sperry Top-Sider®, the brand for those with a Passion for the Sea and inventor of the world's first-ever boat shoe, successfully opened its first retail store in the country located in Tampa's International Plaza.  The evening's celebration marked the first day the store was opened to shoppers and included special guest, Olympic silver medalist and Sperry Top-Sider athlete, Zach Railey.  The store offers newly expanded Sperry Top-Sider seasonal products for men, women and children in an authentic nautical shopping environment designed to fully bring the brand to life for consumers.

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100223/NE59364 )

"The Sperry Top-Sider brand is the leading nautical lifestyle brand dedicated to people who share our Passion for the Sea -- enjoying the good life in, on and around the water," said Craig Reingold, president, Sperry Top-Sider. "The new Tampa store opening is timed perfectly -- during our 75th anniversary year  -- and is a fun, authentic Sperry-dedicated shopping outlet located in a key market for the brand.  We believe shoppers are going to truly enjoy shopping in this store as they offer a direct connection with our brand and broaden the awareness of the nautical lifestyle that so many of us aspire to enjoy."

Tampa native, Zach Railey, was thrilled about the opening and was on hand to sign autographs and greet the guests during the evening's festivities.  "Since the day I began sailing, Sperry has embodied the spirit of the sport and the freedom of the sea," said Railey.  "Tampa is the perfect place to open the brand's first retail store in a location where the ocean is part of the fabric of this city.  The Sperry consumer is everywhere, both on and off the water in Tampa."

This year, Sperry Top-Sider celebrates its 75th anniversary as the originator of the boat shoe and the leader in the boat footwear category.  Over the past few years, Sperry has transformed into the leading nautical lifestyle brand with a broad range of products to wear for life enjoyed in, on and around the water.  New product lines include fashion footwear collections for women, enhanced casuals for men and women, apparel and accessories and kids products, along with its continued dedication to its roots with ongoing new performance products for water sports including sailing, boating and angling.

Following the Tampa opening, two more stores will open in Florida, with locations in Orlando and Boca Raton in the coming weeks, as well as store openings planned in Dallas and Kansas City next month.  These innovative new Sperry Top-Sider stores are an important strategy in reinforcing Sperry's position in the marketplace and are uniquely designed to complement Sperry's strong wholesale distribution channel, which with today's newly expanded product lines covers a range of retailers including premium department stores, specialty boutiques, as well as outdoor, sporting good and boating retailers.

Delivering The Authentic Nautical Shopping Experience

The new Sperry Top-Sider stores will feature a complete footwear assortment for men, women and children, as well as apparel and accessories collections.   The stores are designed for an engaging shopping experience, one that's anchored in the brand's rich nautical heritage and the Passion for the Sea brand position.  The store's exterior facade is simple and provides a sleek and modern portal into the store.  Customers can shop and browse the entire store from the front display area to the back of the store, called the Boathouse, which is designed to capture the look of a true working boathouse -- an integral part of the nautical lifestyle.

The materials used in the new Sperry stores were carefully selected to reflect authentic nautical design.  The floors in the front section feature a wide plank porcelain tile that captures the look of a painted and weathered floor reminiscent of those found in seaside cottages along the Eastern Seaboard.  The floors in the Boathouse are simple sealed concrete, evoking the no-nonsense feel of a working boathouse.  Nautical props and lighting fixtures are strategically placed throughout the Boathouse to enrich the experience, adding authenticity.  Finishes feature laminates ranging from Nepal Teak -- popular in a wide variety of yachts -- to silver, blue and white laminates, echoing the signature colors of the Sperry brand. 

About Sperry Top-Sider

Since 1935, Sperry Top-Sider has been the leading brand of footwear for those with a Passion For The Sea.  From its introduction of the World's first siped rubber outsole for non-marking traction, to advanced technical fabrication to combat the elements, Sperry Top-Sider remains the vanguard of high-performance amphibious footwear.  Available around the globe in independent, marine, outdoor and department stores, Sperry Top-Sider is the official footwear of US SAILING, US Sailing AlphaGraphics Team, and the National Safe Boating Council. 

Based in historic Lexington, Massachusetts, Sperry Top-Sider supports a wide range of ocean-related activities through its many sponsorships, including Key West Race Week, the New York Yacht Club's Invitational Cup and the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regattas.  Sperry Top-Sider was also recently recognized for its recent brand transformation by industry trade magazine Footwear News by being named 2009 "Brand of the Year."   Sperry Top-Sider is a division of the Collective Brands Performance and Lifestyle Group, a subsidiary of Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS). For more information, please visit www.sperrytopsider.com or www.passionforthesea.com.

About Collective Brands, Inc.

Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS) is a leader in bringing compelling lifestyle, fashion and performance brands for footwear and related accessories to consumers worldwide.   The company operates three strategic units covering a powerful brand portfolio, as well as multiple price points and selling channels including retail, wholesale, ecommerce and licensing.  Collective Brands, Inc. includes Payless ShoeSource, focused on democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories through its nearly 4,500-store retail chain, with its brands Airwalk®, Dexter®, Champion®, Zoe & Zac™, the first-ever affordable green footwear brand, and designer collections Lela Rose for Payless, Unforgettable Moments by Lela Rose, alice + olivia for Payless, Christian Siriano for Payless and STLP x Airwalk, among others;  Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group, focused on lifestyle and performance branded footwear and high-quality children's footwear sold primarily through wholesaling, with its brands  including Stride Rite®, Keds®, Sperry Top-Sider®, Robeez®, and Saucony®, among others; and Collective Licensing International, the brand development, management and global licensing unit, with such youth lifestyle brands as Airwalk®, Vision Street Wear®, Sims®, Lamar® and LTD®.  Information about, and links for shopping on, each of the Collective Brand's units can be found at www.collectivebrands.com.

SOURCE Sperry Top-Sider