Alumnus steps into stock market

Where did you get those cool shoes? They just might have an IU connection. \nAn IU-Bloomington and IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis law school graduate stood with members of his management team July 15 atop the opening platform above the NASDAQ Stock Market in New York City to start the day's trading. Alan H. Cohen, president and chief executive officer of The Finish Line, Inc., was invited by NASDAQ officials to help celebrate the opening of the Finish Line's 500th retail location.\n"It was quite an enjoyable experience to be at the NASDAQ with many people from the home office and employees from the New York area," Cohen said. \nCohen attributes the company's success to his people's ability to maintain their focus on the market. "We know who and what we are," Cohen said. "People need to eat, a place to live, clothes and shoes." \nHe pointed out that athletic shoes are universal wear and that people wear them for sports, as casual wear or even to church.\nCould his success be duplicated by other IU students? "Absolutely," he said, though he admitted maybe not in his industry. "Be ready to seize an opportunity. Catch an idea at the beginning and position yourself to take advantage of the situation."\nCohen said the best advice for IU students is to stay connected.\n"Don't burn any bridges and work to keep your options open," Cohen said. He admitted he was a C student and didn't take school as seriously as he could have until he worked at a law internship and saw the practical application of what he was learning.\nHe attributes an undergraduate business law class as a turning point in the direction of his academic career. \nThe Indianapolis native and son of a lawyer recommends that students "find a direction and make certain" to concentrate on their general area of interest. Cohen understands those students are not thinking about the same things as older adults. However, he said he feels it is important to make friends and enjoy college life.\n"It's the best years I ever experienced," Cohen said. \nAccording to the company's Web site, Cohen started the enterprise with childhood friend David Klapper in 1976 as a single store franchise of the Athlete's Foot. By 1981, the business had expanded to 10 stores when the franchise with the Athlete's Foot expired. The Finish Line, Inc., was born and the management team expanded to open stores in other states.\nFrom the very beginning The Finish Line focused on brand-name athletic shoes such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, New Balance, Saucony, Fila, Timberland and others. Shoes for basketball, running, walking, hiking, cross-training, aerobics and other categories fill a typical store with as many as 1,300 different kinds of footwear. In 2002, based on sales revenue, the company became the nation's second largest athletic retailer. About 20 percent of the company's sales come from apparel and accessory brands such as Nike, Oakley, Adidas, Fossil, Jansport, collegiate sportswear and other popular lines.\n"The 500th store actually opens in the Mall of America in Minneapolis this Friday," said Elise Hasbrook, The Finish Line's corporate spokesperson. "Our plans are to increase our number of stores to 523 by next spring." \nHasbrook touted an optimistic strategy in a promotionally competitive environment.\n"We focus on product instead of price," she said. \nThe stores offer many price points and all are doing well -- retro shoes and apparel are providing a boost to sales right now, she said.\nHeadquartered in Indianapolis, The Finish Line currently sells athletic shoes and apparel in 46 states. The stock symbol FINL currently is traded at about $22 per share. Historically, the stock sold for less than $5 per share in the early 1990s and split in 1997 when the stock reached $25 dollars per share.\nCohen is a member of the Board of Visitors at the IUPUI law school and is on the Dean's Advisory Council at the Kelley School of Business. He is also a member of the IU Foundation's President Circle and was the Kelley Distinguished Entrepreneur in 1997.