A GOOD DREAM FOR PARENTS, A BAD DREAM FOR TRENDY TEENS

     In a front page piece in this morning's PHILADELPHIA
INQUIRER, Michael Sokolove and Nita Lelyveld report teens "aren't
buying" into the notion that Hakeem Olajuwon's new sneakers,
priced at $34.99, are cool.  The shoes, which sell at Payless and
other discount outlets, are not on sale at larger retailers such
as Foot Locker and Just for Feet.  Even Larry Green, Marketing
Dir of Mercury International, which produces the "Dream" sneaker
for Spalding, admits the "urban teenage market will be the
toughest sell for Spalding."  But James Jones, a manager at an
area Payless store, notes that the Hakeem Spalding models are
well made.  Jones:  "I guarantee you, if they put this same setup
in Foot Locker and charged a lot more for the shoe, they would
buy it" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/22).