Story in brief:
Having closed the last of the five-and-dimes, CEO Roger N. Farah knew the time had come to jettison the rest of the Woolworth baggage, its culture and its reputation, and turn to the future. That's what name changes are for.
Consultants Dieffenbach Elkins floated a thousand name ideas -- including Winfield, the W. in Frank W. Woolworth; "Venator" was the one that stayed afloat (and cleared). Farah and his team sought a name with some relevance to the company's new focus, athletic-wear retail (the principal brand is Foot Locker), and was relieved that to the Romans, Venator means "hunter" which can be stretched to "sportsman," who may not be an athlete but at least isn't a couch potato.

Credits:
C.E.O. - Roger N. Farah
Identity counsel, naming, design - Diefenbach Elkins

First Impressions:
The name is excellent. The fact that Venator sounds like "vendor," which is an appropriate association, is of more value than what it once meant to Romans. (Meanings are important only at launch, to satisfy our passing need for some kind, any kind of explanation, after which the name can begin to function simply as a name.)

The designers provided a straightforward wordmark, then in my view compromised it with the unneeded "Group" overlay, which merely slows our perception and acceptance of Venator as a name (Business Week, July 20, called it "Ventacor" which must have smarted).

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