European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 20, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Athletic shoes the footwear for All seasons the ubiquitous sneaker is the King of the Road not to mention the walk the playing court the Home and just about anywhere a pair of feet can go. Ninety three percent of All americans Over the age of 12 own at least one pair of athletic shoes and 87 percent Wear them regularly says the athletic footwear association. The organization commissioned what it says is the first major study of the Market for athletic footwear and discovered that the average american owns 2.5 pairs of athletic shoes a figure that is constant among different segments of the population a men women teens Blacks and Whites. A a it a bigger than most people in the Industry Ever imagined a says Gregg Hartley Afa executive director. A athletic shoes Are mainstream footwear and the future of the Industry depends on How Well the companies build on the findings Are no Surprise to anyone who Lias watched members of the american Community walk around Europe. Sneakers Are everywhere. To some buying sneakers is a science. To others it is a Case of snatching up whatever is available. A a there a a real Art to buying running shoes a says capt. Suzanne p. Mccambridge a clinical nurse at the air Force Hospital at Wiesbaden West Germany. A i buy Sacony Tennis shoes like my Mother did. She a a Marathon runner a she ran in the Boston Marathon twice a and if they re Good enough for her they re Good enough for me. They make you feel like you re running on a Vera Stallworth whose husband is assigned to Camp Fieri in Wiesbaden says she buys Reboks and . Gear because that a what her kids like. A kids used to be More into Nicks but now my daughter wants . Gear. They have a Little Arrow on the Side that sort of Sticks out. She likes to Wear Tennis shoes with everything. Sgt. Jill Malone a computer operator Al Raf athletic shoe sales have taken off As sneakers have become an integral part of american fashion. At cafes stores in Europe the biggest Sellers Are Nike air Jordans pump basketball shoes from Reebok and . Gear sneakers for women and children. Mildenhall in England remains Loyal to nikes. Her favorite runaround shoes. A a they re sturdy look Good and Are pretty she says. Second it. Marie Nykrin of Mainz West Germany is one who buys whatever is available. She says she purchases Quot anything that a cheap Quot because her husband goes through athletic shoes so quickly. Sometimes she buys Good running shoes and is willing to More for those. The athletic shoe study conducted to learn More about potential customer preferences discovered several other things. Among them a most americans think of sneakers As casual footwear and almost no one weal s them Only for athletic activities. 9 they want Comfort and Gorki tit appearance and fashion mean less than they do for casual non athletic shoes. A despite special purpose shoes fora specific sport or activity a Large number of people who say they exercise regularly do so in Stux a other than those designed for that activity. Con Pilod irom Small ii Fol Wim Ruport sneaker attacks and War gets rough two men plunge headfirst from a Bridge with elastic cords tied to their sneakers. After a disturbing instant the one wearing Reebok a pumps bounces Back. His companion Clad in a pair of Nike a Isnit so Lucky. The viewer left to imagine the worst sees an elastic Cord spinning in air and hears the voice Over a the pump from Reebok a it fits a Little better than your Ordinary athletic the and bizarre even by contemporary standards represents an Adieu to sportsmanlike Competition among athletic Shoemakers. And Reebok is not the Only one jabbing the Competition. Nike is also stepping up its Campaign. A the gloves have really come off a says John Horan publisher of sporting goods intelligence a Glen Mills pa., Industry newsletter. Quot there was a time when these Guys whack each others shoes now its starting to look like the cola Competition in the athletic shoe Arena has been around since sneakers meant the High top kids you wore in gym class. Lately though gentlemanly sparring is turning cutthroat a trait that will Likely characterize marketing in the 1990s. Much of the emphasis is on image. Companies vie for athletic stars to shill their shoes and new looks to help fill them. But even familiar faces and fancy colors wont sell shoes to people who done to want them. Like Many consumer product businesses the $8 billion athletic shoe Market is humping up against its limit. The sales growth that accompanied the social phenomenon that brought sneakers out of the gym and into the fashion world has peaked. And growth from legions of women wearing sneakers on their Way to work and in aerobics classes is Starling to slow Loo. As Horan Points out Quot 1 Here Are Only -140 million feet in the country Quot and most of them already have athletic shoes. Thus to improve sales and profits one company must grab sales from the other Guy. And As one and executive says Quot knocking the other Guy is one Way to gel your product noticed by All indications Are the War is just beginning. Ballir Noro Sunmay 20, 1990 sunday c
