Reebok is "waiting to see what magic" new CMO Angel
Martinez "can create for its flagship brand," according to
Julie Flaherty of the N.Y. TIMES, who profiled Martinez in
Sunday's Business section. Should he do well, "he could
position himself to eventually succeed" company CEO Paul
Fireman. Martinez says he wants to put the "humanity back
into Reebok and its products" and "talks of making customers
feel good not only about their shoes, but also about the
workers who made them." Martinez, on the change: "Yes, we
did go through that period where you had to have the athlete
with the giant contract slam-dunking in the NBA or doing
incredible things in the Olympics to sell any shoes. And
that's not who we were. All we're doing now is going back to
our roots." But Wall Street "remains skeptical." First
Security Van Kasper analyst John Shanley "doubts that
customers are looking for the softer side of Reebok."
Shanley: "We're talking about teen-age males, who have
almost no sense of humanity. They are basically looking for
whatever is new, whatever is hottest" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/18).
SLUMPING: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Joseph Pereira
reports that athletic-shoe manufacturers "are expected to
report lower first-quarter earnings." Analysts say that
companies "dependent on big basketball-shoe businesses were
hardest-hit," as the "young have become increasingly
disenchanted with some of the off-court antics" of pro
athletes and the NBA lockout. The "outlook for the next few
months isn't promising, partly because of projections of a
continued soft apparel business" (WALL ST. JOURNAL, 4/19).
