Athletic-footwear makers, "hobbled by a yearlong
industry slump, are expected to report lower fourth-quarter
results," according to Joseph Pereira of the WALL STREET
JOURNAL. Analysts put the blame for the industry's woes on
the "absence" of the NBA and the fact that teens are buying
"less casual wear." Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst
Josie Esquivel said that retailers "were nearly unanimous in
their assessment" of the lockout's impact: "They told us
over and over again, [they] weren't getting the traffic."
Esquivel "estimates that not including one-time charges,"
MA-based Reebok broke even in the fourth-quarter, compared
to the net income of $.32 a share it reported in the same
quarter of the previous year. Esquivel "puts" Reebok's
fourth-quarter revenue at $759M, down 14% from $863.4 a year
ago. Although its market share rose to 12% from 9% in '98,
adidas "is expected to post" a fourth-quarter loss of $.74 a
share, compared to earnings of $.21 a share a year ago.
Goldman Sachs analyst Margaret Mager puts Fila's fourth-
quarter loss at $.42 a share, compared to an $.80 a share
loss in the '97 period, and she "predicts" MA-based Converse
will report a loss of $.22 a share, compared to a $.37 a
share loss last year (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/11).