For "the past several years," teenagers have "clamored"
for the "latest, trendiest and most expensive sneakers,
sometimes called white shoes in the industry," but this
season they're "opting" for "brown shoes," or casual
footwear, according to Pulliam & Bird in the WALL STREET
JOURNAL's "Heard on the Street" column. While investors are
now "betting" on companies like Wolverine (makers of
Wolverine boots and Hush Puppies) and Timberland, the
"brown-shoe" trend is "hurting already weak U.S. shoe sales
for Nike and Fila Holdings." Some retailers "also are being
kicked by the trend," and investors "are betting" that Foot
Locker "will be hard hit," while analysts say FootAction
should report a low single digit same-store sales decline
for August. A Nike spokesperson said their back-to-school
results have "been kind of mixed," but added, "You have to
put that in the context of unbelievable gains of the last
couple of years." (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/27).
MORE NIKE: ESPN's SportsZone showdown this week asks
the question, "Is Nike Too Powerful?" Columnist Mike
Littwin writes under the header, "So Where's My Nike Deal?"
ESPN SportsZone Editor John Hunter writes under the header
"Nike Making Fans In Soccer," and Seattle high school
student Salim Sobers writes under the header, "Nike Losing
Touch With Today's Youth." Sobers: "Nike's popularity has
declined a lot among inner-city youth. Mostly, that's
because the cost of a pair of Nikes has increased while
teenage support has decreased" (ESPN SportsZone, 8/27).
