The latest installment of Under Armour's best-selling sneaker -- the Curry 4 -- is "expected to be late hitting stores," according to Matthew Townsend of BLOOMBERG NEWS. The adult version of the shoe -- the latest in Warriors G Stephen Curry's line -- was "slated to hit stores on Friday." But Susquehanna analyst Sam Poser said that Foot Locker, Dick's Sporting Goods and Hibbert Sports are "only allowing customers to order it" online with a "shipping date of Nov. 18." Poser: "That's not good news. Retailers with whom we have spoken are not happy and concerned that, when the Curry 4 does arrive, the target customer will have already moved on to other things." Townsend noted a black-and-white version of the Curry 4 was launched Friday, but "only kid sizes were available for purchase at third-party retailers" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 10/27). In N.Y., Lisa Fickenscher cited a source as saying that the adult version of the Curry 4 was available on UA's website on Friday and "sold out [in] under two hours." Poser said the shoe was late because of "last-minute design changes." But a source said that there was "no design change" (NYPOST.com, 10/29).
PLAYING DEFENSE: BUSINESS INSIDER's Dennis Green wrote Curry "has had it" with UA detractors. But a comment he "liked" on Instagram "may have just proved them right." Curry "subtly responded" to criticisms of his latest UA shoe by "liking a comment in support of it." Some of the comments on the Instagram post "derided the shoe's look" and UA as a brand. Curry's liked comment said that if the shoe had "Nike's swoosh or a Supreme logo, everyone would be praising it and looking to buy it when it's released" (BUSINESSINSIDER.com, 10/26).
