ESPN.com's Nick DePaula cited sources as saying that Under Armour has signed Mavericks G Dennis Smith Jr. to a "three-year footwear and apparel endorsement deal" worth as much as $2M per year with incentives. UA plans to "incorporate him immediately as one of its key featured basketball players right out of the gate." Smith said, "Under Armour is an explosive brand in basketball right now, and I'm excited to join Stephen (Curry) and Seth (Curry) and the team at UA in making our mark together." UA has one of its flagship "Brand House" stores in Dallas, where it will look to "feature Smith in both in-store marketing, as well as launch exclusive products" (ESPN.com, 8/7).
TURNING BACK TIME: In N.Y., Lisa Fickenscher notes former NBAer Stephon Marbury has "inked a deal with Citi Trends to sell his affordable shoe line in its 545 stores starting this month." Citi Trends will be the first store to carry Marbury's brand since '08, when the "only retailer that carried it -- Steve & Barry's -- went bankrupt" (N.Y. POST, 8/8).
PROTECTING THEIR STRIPES: WOMEN'S WEAR DAILY'S Kali Hays noted a California federal judge late last week "rejected an attempt" by Skechers to "escape allegations that it copied Adidas' popular Stan Smith sneaker with its Onix shoe and infringed on Adidas' long-trademarked three-stripe shoe detail with its Cross Court shoe." U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez "found the odds currently favor Adidas succeeding in its trademark suit." However, Skechers argued Adidas "can't show a likelihood of consumer confusion with its striped Cross Court shoe design, which it describes as an 'E' shape" (WWD.com, 8/7).
