Search

There are five retailers of outdoor goods that balance the needs of individuals who need specialized shoes as well as those individuals who want to enter this sports arena. These stores are Recreational Equipment Inc. or REI, Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, Track 'n Trail, Campmor and Galyan's Trading. These retailers improved their selling environment by allowing shoppers to try out these boots in the environment in which they would wear the boots.

Shoe companies had a difficult 1997. Nike found itself under scrutiny for its labor practices while Nine West was scrutinized by the government for business practices. Florsheim Group and Stride Rite introduced new licensing agreements with designers and clothing companies. The athletic shoe industry suffered a major loss of business while other shoe companies consolidated., NEW YORK -- A booming stock market and low unemployment drove substantial growth in many industries during the past twelve months, but footwear companies remained locked in a fierce battle [...]

The fierce competitiveness in the shoe industry has changed the role of retail shoe buyers. Buyers now are responsible for keeping tabs on profit margins, advertising, discounting and promotion planning. Some industry players belief the multiplicity of roles has eroded buyers' commitment to what should be their chief duty: finding new merchandise that will appeal to customers., NEW YORK -- The old rules simply don't apply anymore. As stores wage an increasingly cut-throat battle for consumer dollars, the role of the retail buyer has changed radically. No [...]

Footwear vendor-retailer relationships require constant nurturing to be successful. Phone calls must be completed almost daily to ensure that advice and information are exchanged. The best vendors provide incentives and evaluate inventory turnover as well as provide training and evaluate gross margin return on investment. Retailers need to provide performance data., Once upon a time, there was great confusion. Vendors and retailers did not see eye to eye, and they tried to profit at each other's expense. And then, someone, somewhere, [...]

Nine West Group Inc.'s stock fell 20.8 percent in the week following the revelation that the U.S. Customs Service had joined the Securities and Exchange Commission in investigating the company. [...]

Partnership can be painful. Discussing the way both sides of the industry relate to each other, retailers and vendors attending FN's Global Footwear Summit here talked about how the relationship [...]

This year's holiday season probably won't go down in the records books, but nonetheless retailers should see low- to mid-single-digit growth, retail analysts and industry observers said. At a panel [...]

Industry executives who wrestle with the complexities of branding and sourcing on an international level at the recent FN Global Footwear Summit here presented a number of different strategies, but [...]

Several shoe companies and retailers are preparing for the year 2000 computer transition. New Balance will work on compliance issues with its retailers and then its vendors. New Balance utilizes electronic data interchange. Sears plans to have a four-digit date code in effect by Dec 31, 1998, and wants its vendors to implement the same schedule so that tests can be conducted during 1999., NEW YORK -- The clock is ticking. Businesses around the globe are scrambling to prepare their computer systems to handle the problem known as the Millennium Bug. It is a [...]

Leading footwear retailers of the 1990s have created their own niches, perfected their strategies and are paying attention to the needs of their customers. Numerous 'influential' retailers, including Davids, Industrial Shoe and Just For Feet, have devised new formats and images to attract customers. In doing this, these retailers have changed the footwear industry's views of retailing., There have been many next-big-things in retailing. Industry watchers have predicted the death of the department store and the rise of the big-box outlet. Many people have said the vertical [...]

Many footwear retailers successfully seek better sales via association with charitible causes. Florsheim Group Inc. gives 2% of sales plus shoes to the needy as part of a promotion program. Several companies give discount coupons for the purchase of new shoes to customers who donate used shoes to the homeless. Carson Pirie Scott & Co., for instance, cooperates with Good Will Industries to provide shoes for the homeless. Other charitable programs by shoe retailers include scholarships awards to high school students., Championing a cause often begins on the sales floor. Increasingly, footwear retailers are using cause-related marketing as part of the ongoing battle to attract and keep customers. While constantly trimming [...]

NEW YORK -- A conflict over counterfeit sneakers may have led to a fatal shooting in Manhattan last week. At press time, police were still searching for the man they [...]

NEW YORK -- To some of New York's biggest footwear retailers, it could be called a miracle on 34th Street. Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the legendary throughfare, [...]

NEW YORK -- While the vast majority of footwear and apparel imported into the U.S. from Asia comes by boat, retailers who want to chase fashion trends more closely rely [...]

NEW YORK -- LEI, one of the three independent brands that reinvented the moderate junior jeans business in the '90s, landed some big backing last week. Jones Apparel Group said [...]

NEW YORK -- The Cable & Co. and Bacco Bucci brands went to their new home last week. On Tuesday, Beverly Hills Shoe Inc., producers of the Mezlan brand, closed [...]

NEW YORK -- Gart Sports Co. posted a 6.5 percent decline in second-quarter comps, blaming inventory management problems that resulted from its recent merger with Sportmart. But the footwear business [...]

LABOR DAY SHIFT, SCUFFED ATHLETIC SALES BLAMED FOR OVERALL DECLINE IN COMP-STORE SALES NEW YORK -- August was a rough month for footwear retailers, with most major shoe chains reporting [...]

NEW YORK -- Cable & Co. Worldwide Inc. went to auction last week, in a move bringing the history of the company -- though not the brand -- to a [...]

NEW YORK -- In a move underlining its focus on technology, Reebok International Ltd. last week named the former head of Sony Electronics Inc. to head its Reebok brand. The [...]

NEW YORK -- The back-to-school season shifted into high gear across much of the country last week, leaving retailers breathing sighs of relief and hoping the last-minute shopping would continue [...]

NEW YORK -- Despite a soft top-line performance, Brown Group Inc.'s second-quarter earnings came in ahead of analysts' expectations, partly due to the shift away from lower-margin athletic shoes. The [...]

NEW YORK -- A group of former Cable & Co. executives is trying to devise a plan to rescue their old employer from the auctioneer's gavel, FN learned last week. [...]

NEW YORK -- Phil Knight, chairman and CEO of Nike Inc., and the company's other top executives shared in the company's pain last year, taking home no bonuses and in [...]

NEW YORK -- Looking at shoe retailers' news last week, one thing was clear -- every shopper loves a bargain, but not all merchants do. The Finish Line Inc. set [...]

LAS VEGAS -- There was good news at the recent spring market held here, and that news was fall. While industry executives at The WSA Show, held Aug. 7-10, admitted [...]

NEW YORK -- The former head of Cable & Co. Worldwide Inc. is exploring the possibility of acquiring that company, and his current firm, Atlantico, is interested in a deal, [...]

NEW YORK -- The former head of Cable & Co. Worldwide Inc. is exploring the possibility of acquiring that company, and his current firm, Atlantico, is interested in a deal, [...]

SNEAKER FIRM CHALLENGES JOBBER IN COURT WITH LENGTHY SUIT, CLAIMING: WE NEVER HAD A DEAL NEW YORK -- L.A. Gear Inc. is suing jobber Bordan Shoe Co. on a number [...]

VENDORS SAY LATE RETAIL BUYING WILL HELP SECOND HALF, DESPITE DECLINES IN ADVANCE ORDERS NEW YORK -- A mixed bag of footwear companies reported earnings last week, and their results [...]

NEW YORK -- In a move that will substantially increase the promotional dollars supporting the Candie's brand, Liz Claiborne last week reached a 15-year agreement to sell fragrances and cosmetics [...]

NEW YORK -- U.S. Leather Inc., the Milwaukee-based parent of leather supplier Pfister & Vogel, is preparing to emerge from prepack bankruptcy proceedings and issue public stock. The firm said [...]

VENDORS LOCKED IN PATENT-INFRINGEMENT AND JORDAN CONTRACT SUITS NEW YORK -- Nike and Oakley, once friendly, remain locked in a series of legal battles. Last week, the Foothill Ranch, Calif.,-based [...]

FORMER ATTENDEES SAY SHOW FAILED TO WIN ENOUGH SUPPORT AMONG LATIN MERCHANTS NEW YORK -- Avenida Moda, the Florida shoe show started last year to attract Latin American buyers, has [...]

NEW YORK -- L.A. Gear Inc. expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection within the next three months as a licensing operation by and large controlled by its largest licensee. After [...]

NEW YORK -- By and large, footwear retailers reported declines in comps in June. And that's not necessarily bad news. Retailers and analysts said one major factor behind the month's [...]

NEW YORK -- In a move to accelerate its entry into the footwear market, The North Face Inc. last week agreed to acquire La Sportiva S.r.L., an Italian maker of [...]

ALABAMA CHAIN'S MANAGEMENT SAY TONY RETAILER'S MERCHANTS WILL OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY NEW YORK -- In a move to raise its profile and expand into the luxury-goods business, Proffitt's Inc. last week [...]

NEW YORK -- Adidas-Salomon A.G. found itself in a fix last week, when a former Chinese political prisoner said he worked on Adidas World Cup soccer balls while in prison. [...]

NEW YORK -- Can Shaquille O'Neal fit his 7-foot-1-inch frame into 6-foot-6-inch Michael Jordan's throne? That is the question the L.A. Lakers' player's management set out to answer after parting [...]

NEW YORK -- Nike Inc. last week sought a California court to order a stay of a suit filed against it by a San Francisco activist regarding the company's treatment [...]

NEW YORK -- Cable & Co. Worldwide Inc., which went deeper into the red in the first quarter, is in default with its factor and said that, without additional financing, [...]

NEW YORK -- Can Reebok's DMX be 'The best running shoe in the history of the world'? If it is, then the company hasn't proved it, according to Asics Tiger [...]

NEW YORK -- Genesco Inc. last week said it would increase its store-opening plan over the next two years, primarily by speeding up the growth of Journeys. The Nashville, Tenn.,-based [...]

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Nine West Group Inc. this year plans to focus on 'strict inventory and real-estate management,' as part of its effort to improve profitability, CEO Vincent Camuto [...]