Finish Line Announces Inaugural DECA Challenge Winner

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Finish Line (Nasdaq: FINL) today announced that the winner of the company's first-ever Finish Line DECA Challenge is Rosemount High School (Rosemount, Minnesota). The Rosemount team -- Abby Ceglar, Sara Devitt, Katelyn Paget and their advisor -- was selected over two other finalists, Apponequet Regional High School (Massachusetts) and Wichita High School East (Kansas), and a number of other DECA high school chapters nationwide who entered the inaugural competition.

Finish Line designed the DECA Challenge to give high school students from throughout the U.S. a real-world opportunity to learn about marketing by advising the company on how best to reach its customers. Challenge participants were given detailed research questions to explore and were encouraged to visit Finish Line stores. As part of the assignment, students also addressed the retailer's pricing, merchandising and customer service standards as well as examined the company's overall business model. Challenge participants posted video presentations on YouTube for Finish Line executives to review and score. Earlier this month, three finalist teams traveled to Finish Line's corporate headquarters in Indianapolis to present their findings in person to the company's executive team.

"The partnership with Finish Line has provided wonderful learning opportunities for our students," explains Shane Thomas, director of competitive events for DECA. The Finish Line DECA Challenge offered our students the chance to see how a leading national retailer operates. This real world business experience is invaluable to our emerging leaders as they consider their future career options. We hope to replicate the Finish Line DECA Challenge model by engaging other businesses in similar events with our chapters."

Based on the final presentations, the DECA chapter from Rosemount High School was selected as the winning team and will receive an all-expense paid trip to the DECA International Career Development Conference in Louisville, Kentucky in April, courtesy of Finish Line. The Conference is the highlight of the DECA year for the approximately 15,000 student members, advisors, business professionals and alumni who attend.

"It was inspiring to see the level of energy and passion that these students conveyed in tackling this challenge," said Finish Line Chief Executive Officer Glenn Lyon. "The students provided us with valuable feedback that we can consider implementing in our current operations and shared fresh new ideas for reaching out to our core customers. We thank everyone who participated and look forward to continuing the Finish Line DECA Challenge in years to come."  

About Finish Line

The Finish Line, Inc. is a premium athletic footwear store and one of the nation's largest mall-based 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

More than 60 years ago, DECA (www.deca.org), an association of marketing students, organized around an ambitious goal: to improve education and career opportunities for students interested in careers in marketing, management and entrepreneurship. What began with a few hundred students in 17 states has grown to over 185,000 students in all 50 states, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, Germany and Mexico.

DECA's objective is to support the development of marketing and management skills in career areas such as hospitality, finance, sales and service, business administration and entrepreneurship. Programs and activities are tailored to the specific career interest of students and include technical skills, basic scholastic and communication skills, human relations and employability skills, and a strong emphasis on economics and free enterprise.

DECA is a nonpartisan, non-sectarian 501(c)(3) association of students, teachers, and administrators and is recognized and endorsed by all 50 state departments of education and the U.S. Department of Education.

SOURCE The Finish Line, Inc.