Basketball HOFer Patrick Ewing tomorrow is "relaunching his shoe company, Ewing Athletics," according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. The brand will "hit retail stores in New York on Friday and subsequently roll out in 33 stores nationwide before hitting Europe for the holiday season." Ewing said, "We're not going to mass produce and try to sell as many pairs as we can in the first year. We know that if we're patient, we'll do well for years to come." The first shoes "that will hit stores are dubbed the '33 Hi Retro.'" Ewing's signature is "on the tongue, heel and side and a '33' keychain comes attached to the shoe." The shoes "come in a box with an older picture of Ewing in the blue and white of Georgetown, where he led the Hoyas to a national title in 1984." The shoes "will retail for $100" (ESPN.com, 8/28). Ewing Athletic licensee GPF footwear President David Goldberg compared the two versions and said, "Every detail is the same. Take the height for example. A lot of times companies, when they bring a sneaker back, they slim things down because sneakers are slimmer now. But we kept these the exact same, from tongue to the strap" (GQ.com, 8/22).
