So what do Athletes Foot, Bill Blass and ice cream have in common? All three are the businesses that compose NexCen Brands, an acquisition vehicle that oddly is looking to leverage the footwear retailer's presence to expand an ice cream chain. NexCen announced plans to merge Marble Slab Creamery and MaggieMoo’s International, the nation’s second- and third-biggest high-end ice cream chains, with the intent to overtake market leader Coldstone Creamery, according to the New York Times. Good luck because NexCen's combined 300 stores pales in comparison with Coldstone's 1,400. While the synergies between Bill Blass and Athletes Foot are obvious, it seems it takes a different kind of logic to see synergies between Athletes Foot and ice cream. Maybe NexCen is hoping that the high calorie food will lead guilty consumers to buy running shoes. —Matthew Wurtzel
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Correction. Marble Slab and Maggie Moos have combined over 550 stores open and almost 200 under development. There are roughly 1100 coldstones..