AL-based athletic shoe and apparel retailer Just for
Feet (JFF) is "suffering through a financial pinch brought
on by the discovery of a glut of excess inventory,"
according to Jeff Manning of the Portland OREGONIAN. JFF
President Helen Rockey "confirmed" that the company has
"approached each of its top five vendors," including Nike
and adidas, its two largest, "asking that they accept order
cancellations, take products back or allow delayed
payments." Rockey: "We are definitely in an over-
inventoried position, and it's put pressure on our cash
flow." Nike "reportedly has agreed" to take back between
100,000-200,000 pairs of shoes it has sold to JFF, but
neither Rockey nor Nike execs "would elaborate." Rockey
added that the "bulk" of the company's inventory problems
are "one-time in nature, stemming from" its acquisition of
Athletic Attic and Imperial Sports in '97 (OREGONIAN, 6/16).
Suzanne Kapner of THESTREET.com writes that JFF's "delicate
situation raises a host of questions. If [JFF] sells
sneakers at fire-sale prices to clear inventory, how will
that affect other major retailers and manufacturers? Will
Nike, which helped Venator through a rough period, be as
gracious with [JFF]? And finally, is [JFF] wrestling with a
temporary inventory bulge, not unlike problems faced by
other athletic retailers recently, or is the company's
business model flawed?" (THESTREET.com, 6/17).
