Running Insight - August, 2007
Fuel Belt earns spot on Fastest Growing Business List
Inc. magazine has ranked Fuel Belt on its first ever list of the fastest growing 5,000 privately held companies in America. The new list of 5,000 companies is an extension of the magazine’s annual Inc. 500 list and was designed to track “the most imp...
Running Room Closer on U.S. Expansion
The Canadian retailer Running Room plans to open seven to ten stores in the Midwest in the next year, according to a report in Footwear News. Running Room, which has 90 stores in Canada and annual sales of about $75 million USD, first opened in the ...
Australian brand Skins launches in US with compression product, touting medical benefits
Five year-old Australian brand Skins has begun shipping its first product to U.S. retailers. The company produces a line of engineered gradient compression apparel that it says offers medical benefits, including increased strength and endurance. T...
Mystery Shopper
Running Intelligence shops and rates the new shoe website from Amazon.com.
I have been wanting to check out Endless, the new shoe website from the folks at Amazon.com, so when I received an e-mail solicitation recently offering free shipping and $5 off beyond that, I figured the timing was perfect. Clicking through to th...
Zappos signs as Las Vegas Marathon Title Sponsor
Online footwear retailer Zappos.com has inked a three-year deal as the title sponsor of The Las Vegas Marathon. Zappos is based in Las Vegas so this represents a hometown deal for the Internet giant, which carries a fair amount of running product and...
Finish Line to Close Paiva Women’s Sports Stores
Finish Line to Close Paiva Stores, Will Record Pre-Tax Expense of $21 Million
Less than 90 days after announcing a blockbuster deal to acquire Genesco, The Finish Line Inc. said it will close its 15 Paiva women’s athletic stores by the end of the third quarter. The company said it will close the stores and related online busi...
Nike’s New Campaign Picks Up Where Imus Left off
When radio shock jock Don Imus made derogatory remarks about the Rutgers Women’s basketball team earlier this year, Nike responded with a full-page ad in the New York Times that said “Thank you, ignorance.” The ad copy followed up with several more t...
GORE-TEX® BRAND LAUNCHES GLOBAL BRANDINGINITIATIVE IN OVER 10 COUNTRIES, REFLECTING NEW POSITIONING OF HERITAGE TECHNOLOGY
Campaign Using Print, Television, Online/Digital and Outdoor Media Compares How Nature Solves an “Issue of Survival” with GORE-TEX® Product Solutions
W.L. Gore has kicked off its “Experience More” global re-positioning campaign, the largest in the company’s history. The campaign will include television, outdoor billboards, online advertising and a major blitz in fall magazines. The advertis...
Fleet Feet, Inc. Launches Branding Campaign
Franchise branding campaign focuses on Fit
Fleet Feet, Inc. will roll out a major new branding campaign focused around the concept of fit. “Fitlosophy” is the theme for the new campaign that will include advertising, in-store signage, window decals and displays. Window decals will start ap...
GU Cooks Up New Flavor for the Holidays: Mint Chocolate
This holiday season, GU Energy Gels will be offering its first-ever seasonal flavor, Mint Chocolate. The new flavor will be sold as a six-pack in a festive gift box, making it a perfect stocking stuffer or small gift for any athlete. This holiday ...
GoLite footwear has launched new trail shoes for spring 2008
Company designers have sought ways to lighten the weight of its trail running shoes without sacrificing stability and performance. The Carbon Fyre-features a full carbon fiber heel cradle and midfoot support shank. The shoe is designed for runne...
SUPERFEET WORLDWIDE APPOINTS BRAD PARRY VP SALES
Brad Parry has been appointed the new VP Sales for Superfeet Worldwide Inc. In his new position, Parry will assume responsibility for communications with all Superfeet Regional Managers and Sales Reps. This will allow Bill McLean, President and pre...
SOLE Custom Footbeds Donates $12,000 to Big City Mountaineers
The insole company is donating $2 to the group for every Ed Viesturs signature footbed sold. Viesturs is a well kinown climber who has climbed the world’s highest peaks wearing SOLE Custom Footbeds. SOLE’s contribution to Big City Mountaineers rep...
Inaugural GORE-TEX TransRockies Run Draws International Field
Inaugural GORE-TEX TransRockies Run Draws International Field
Soles4Souls Inc., the Shoe Charity, Needs Shoes for Disaster Victims
Back-to-Back Disasters in Peru and Mexico Depleting Available Footwear
Wayne Elsey, the Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls™ Inc., is accustomed to seeing 32,000 pairs of shoes come in and out of the charity’s warehouses each week, but the recent disasters in Peru and Mexico have left a giant void in the Soles4Souls warehous...
Fleet Feet Sports Chicago Adds Top Executive
Paul Scheuerlein has joined Fleet Feet Sports Chicago as president of retail. Scheuerlein, 55, will also be responsible for operations and business development and will serve as the company’s general counsel. Dave Zimmer, co-owner of Fleet Feet C...
Market Analysis
Athletic Shoe Business Remains Tough in Broader Market
While the running specialty business continues to rock’n roll, the broader-based sport shoe market continues to encounter some static. That was the consensus at the recent Spring 2008 trade expos, the WSA and the Outdoor Retailer Show, which wrapp...
Athletic Footwear Sales Eke Out Six-Month Growth of 1%
Retail sales of athletic footwear rose 1.0% during the six-month period, October 2006 through March 2007, according to newly released data from NSGA. Sales for the six-month reporting period were $6.14 billion versus $6.08 billion for the same period...
Strategic Acquisitions Continue in the Active Market
Crocs, Implus and Prana all announce deals
Implus, Crocs and Prana all announced acquisitions in the past two weeks. And shortly after announcing it had purchased an outerwear company, Prana announced that its parent company, Liz Claiborne, Inc., was putting Prana up for sale. The announce...
Merchandise Planning: Part 3 of a Series
Sourcing, shoeline building and assortment planning are critical components that are sometimes taken for granted
Sourcing Sourcing is about choosing the right channels for buying the right product. There are various channels you may use. Here are the main ones: 〉 Direct – factory. If you purchase direct from the factory you can influence the desig...
The Running Event Expo is nearly sold out for booths
The Running Event Expo is just about sold out. The Running Event will take place November 11-14th in Austin. The first two days of the event are a business conference targeting running stores and their suppliers; the latter two days are devoted to an...
Payless Shoesource Sued Again for Infringement Over Athletic Shoe Logo
Diadora S.p.A. and its Kent, Wash.-based subsidiary, Diadora America, Inc., filed suit in the Western District against Payless Shoesource, Inc., for trademark infringement, dilution, and unfair competition over Payless’ competing shoe logo. It is onl...
Top 10 Myths About Coupon Redemption
Shattering Conventional Wisdom on Coupon Strategy
Coupon redemption rates are in decline in the United States and Canada. As North American marketers search for answers to help them cut through the clutter arising from a proliferation of offers, a leading research group has re-examined some of the c...
prAna Announces Premium Outerwear Collection with the Acquisition of Scapegoat
Launched in Winter ‘07 Scapegoat is Redefining Technical Outerwear
– prAna, a leading active lifestyle apparel manufacturer, today announced that it will expand its product offering to include a premium line of technical outerwear marketed as “Scapegoat by prAna.” This acquisition also marks a strategic partnership...
Implus Footcare® Acquires Sneaker Balls
Footwear Accessory Leader Continues to Expand Brand Families
Implus Footcare, LLC, a leader in footwear accessories, announced today the acquisition of Sneaker Balls®, a patented shoe deodorizing product. “The Sneaker Balls acquisition further complements our commitment as a leader in the footwear accessory ma...
prAna Names Contest Winners
prAna, a leading active lifestyle apparel company and nationally recognized wind power advocate, today announced the winners of its new “Build a prAna Environment” merchandising contest, launched in June 2007. Designed to encourage retailers to conc...
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