SUNGLASSES MAKERS DON'T MAKE LIGHT OF ATHLETE ENDORSEMENTS

          With the sunglasses industry in the third year of a
     "slowdown, key players are seeking salvation by creating
     specialty sunglasses for everything from tennis to biking in
     much the same way sneaker makers market shoes for virtually
     every sport," according to USA TODAY's Bruce Horovitz. 
     Horovitz writes that "each new niche demands a new celebrity
     hawker," and cites Michael Jordan and his endorsement deal
     with Oakley, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alexi Lalas with Gargoyles
     and Picabo Street with Bolle.  Jordan "can earn up to"
     $500,000 for his Oakley endorsement, while Street earns
     about $100,000 through her Bolle deal.  Bolle recently
     signed Martina Hingis to a $100,000-plus deal and she will
     "help Bolle develop tennis sunglasses that will easily pick
     up the optic yellow of tennis balls."   But in contrast,
     Horovitz notes that Killer Loop, which spent eight years
     "trying to appeal to sports buffs," is now marketed as
     "urban" wear, and subsequently has dropped 80 of its 100
     athlete endorsers (USA TODAY, 4/17).