Bo Knows Best: Cross-Trainers Revival For Nike, Under Armour?
Nike and Under Armour are each "planning to launch lines of cross-trainers during the first half of 2008 and have indicated that the launches will be supported with robust marketing efforts the category hasn't seen" since Nike's "Bo Knows' ads" in the late '80 and early '90s, according to Jeremy Mullman of AD AGE. The cross-trainer will be Under Armour's first shoe beyond cleats, and Nike's line will be under Brand Jordan. Analysts and Nike and Under Armour execs believe that sales of cross-trainers "have been derailed by at least two forces: First, a surge in one-sport specialization among youth and teen athletes has fueled a boom in specialty-shoe sales. Second, the surging popularity of so-called retro or non-performance shoes has put fashion above athletic functionality." The SGMA indicated that in '06, the cross-trainer category represented about $807M in sales, "making it the No. 4 sneaker category behind running, retro and basketball." SportsOneSource analyst Matt Powell said the cross-trainer category has "basically been in a death spiral since the heyday of Bo Jackson ... declining every year for at least the last 10. [Nike and Under Armour] are betting on a reversal" (AD AGE, 12/3 issue).
|
