Several retailers told SPORTING GOODS BUSINESS' Andy
Bernstein that Nike replica team jerseys "consistently kept
pace with the competition despite" a price difference that
saw its jerseys sell for around $15 more than its
competitors at retail. Nike will lower the price of its NFL
replicas for fall '98. Gaylan's reported that Nike's
college jerseys were "among its best-selling licensed
products." Bernstein writes, however, that "it's clear that
Nike is far from being an industry leader overall. In fact,
insiders tell SGB that Nike failed to meet its NFL's minimum
royalty requirement last season." Nike OTS Licensed
Division Dir Bruce Kaplan declined to comment on the
payment....In other news, retailers tell SGB's Mark Tedeschi
that they are "bewildered by all the negative attention"
Nike has received. City Sports footwear buyer Sean O'Brien
said that Nike's basketball apparel "hasn't been that strong
and cross training has been slow, but that's industry wide,
not just Nike. Their running has been huge this spring."
The Finish Line Senior VP Joe Wood said Nike made up about
66-67% of the companies business last year, "now they are
about" 60%. Woods: "There is a lot more bad press than
reality" (SPORTING GOODS BUSINESS, 4/15 issue).
NOTES: PA-based Mitchell & Ness, manufacturers of
nostalgic baseball apparel, will "soon join" the NBA ranks
producing replica NBA uniforms. Mitchell & Ness has been
working with the NBA to license the Back Court Collection, a
tribute to the NBA's 50-year history. The line will launch
at NSGA show this year....Bob's Stores President & CEO Marc
Balmuth is featured in a Q&A. Balmuth, on the number of
brands consumers can see at Bob's Stores: "Just about
everything may be stepping out too far, but I think we're
giving the brands a lot of space and I think that we have
most of the brands out there that are exciting to the
consumer. So in the younger businesses, I think we're
making as strong a statement as anybody" (SGB, 4/15).
