Word: nike
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Until a few years ago, athletic-shoe companies designed their women's lines to mimic their men's lines, only in smaller sizes and pastel colors. Today virtually every athletic-footwear company, from Nike to Reebok to New Balance, is competing to offer women shoes designed expressly for them. Not only are the heels tailored for the narrower female foot, but the shoes may come backless or toeless; they may be styled to resemble Mary Janes or bowling shoes; they may be made of woven or mesh fabrics; and they come in a panoply of colors. They are sturdy enough...
...challenge in the women's market concerns image. For men, Nike can snag Michael Jordan, tack his name onto a shoe and watch as pair after pair fly out of Athlete's Foot stores everywhere. For women, designers have to find another way to generate sales. Thus Martin Lotti, Nike's global creative director of women's footwear, travels the world seeking visual inspiration that he can combine with the company's technology. As he puts it, "If you have an ugly shoe, no one is going...
...trip to Bilbao, Spain, two years ago, Lotti was struck by the wildly spiraling metallic towers of the Guggenheim Museum. "It looked so different from everything around it," he recalls. "I wanted to do the same thing with a shoe." Eighteen months later, Nike unveiled the Air Max Specter, a slip-on sneaker with an upper sole of grooved, sinuous curves, available in the same titanium gray as the museum's exterior. The shoe became the season's No. 1 seller...
...should be no surprise that the sportswear powerhouse has thrown its weight behind the women's market. (For one thing, there are millions to be saved in endorsements.) When Nike started its women's division in 2000, women generated about $1.5 billion in annual global sales, or 20% of the company's total. The goal is to boost that to one-third, via products such as the Visi Havoc, a $70 sling-back, and the Air Rift, a split-toe design that has been spotted on actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Gwyneth Paltrow...
Beal is the most promising player after Martin. An athletic 6’4 shooting guard, he attended the Nike All-America Basketball Camp, held last summer for 180 of the most talented high school players in the country...