Nike's Quarter

Nike had reported yesterday that it had another great quarter, blah, blah, blah....the only negative they admitted to was that sales were down in Japan, BUT they were up like crazy in Asia overall. The exec who talked on the earnings call, who said he has been to his fair share of store openings, noted that the recent opening of a flagship store in Beijing was crazy like he had never seen before. Thus, we can safely conclude that like the rest of the world China has drunk the Swoosh-flavored Koolaid.

I swear to Christmas so times I hate Nike so much I love them.

Under Armour: Not Your Soccer Momma's Mindset

A while back I was talking with retailers about Under Amour's campaign to promote their women's line. The people I spoke to it described it as one that features hardcore athletes, who weren't at all femmy. I, like the buyers I spoke to, thought that was a mistake on Under Armour's part. We all agreed that while women not only want to, but also and have more pressure on them to be in good shape, ultimately they still wanted to be soft and feminine.

And then after I saw the ad and it made me realize, I am an old-damn crow. Because you know what? This new generation of women is different. They're really serious about competetive sports in a way that my generation wasn't.

So now I have to give Under Armour its props. It created ads that set itself apart from its biggest competitor, Nike. It's like if you're a soccer Mom like me, you'll probably identify more with Nike, but if you're a young woman, you're going to like the feel of Under Armour more. So rather than take on the Swoosh head on, Under Armour chose to plant its seeds with the up-and-coming crew and slowly grow with them.

On a side note, we're going to see the launch of Under Armour's athletic footwear line in late spring. Me? I'm pretty damn excited about it. It's been too long since anyone has given Nike serious competition in the footwear category.

David Ortiz's Beard = Nike's Swoosh

Busy today, kids. I'm writing an assigned story that I'm pretty much dragging myself through. I'm pretty sure the topic has been written about a million times before, no one is saying anything interesting and no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to incite them to do so. The upside is that even though I'm bored to tears, because I work from home I'm able to write the story wearing a tee-shirt, panties and my new white Jordan hydro slides (which I love to pieces), whilst listening to Amy Winehouse and munching on a box of Honey Nut O's cereal. And of course in between every call I take blog breaks, which brings me back to this adorable video I came across just now on Deadspin. It's a Tina Cervasio interview with Manny Ramirez and his stylist in his hotel room. Beyond the weird comparisons the team haircutter, "LMonstro" makes between Ortiz's beard and the Nike swoosh, there's this weird sexual tension floating in the air, inspired no doubt by the interview's location, the funny topic and what I'm thinking is a case of genetic makeup that makes it impossible for a Dominican man NOT to flirt with a pretty female. Watch just to hear Manny state emphatically: "When you look good, you play good!!"

UPDATE: Normally I would go back in and edit the post, but in the interest of being honest, I'm gonna use this moment to point out one of my foibles as a writer. Note how in the first two sentences of this post, I use "pretty" once each in consecutive sentences. And then when I'm talking about the video, I use "weird" twice in one sentence. I do that shit all the time and it drives me nuts. You'd think given that I'm a flipping college graduate I'd have the vocabulary to think of another adjective besides "pretty" or "weird" but apparently not!

Anyway, I'm off to a Yankee game. If the game doesn't get rained out and you happen to tune in, look for me about four rows back from where Derek Jeter takes his warm-up swings. I sat in the same seats for two games last year and I don't believe there are any posher ones in the stadium. I'll be checking to see if Robbie is still spending most of his warm-up scanning the crowd for pretty senoritas and just seeing what his friend Melky does before he comes up to bat since he is currently my heart's favorite Yankee (I'll be wearing his tee), and he didn't play in the games I attended last year. Yes I know--between these tickets and the freedom to work in my underwear, I am one lucky woman.

POSTGAME UPDATE: Robbie Cano still very much scans the crowd for hotties during his so-called warm-up bats. A coworker of mine thinks it's because he's such a gifted player that at times the game gets boring for him. That could be true in part, but mostly I think it's 'cause he's a young, single man who's thinking about getting laid a lot. As for what Melky, aka "Leche," does during his warm-up time, there's not a lot of interesting going on there. He keeps his back to the crowd the whole time.

I did hear some interesting gossip at the game. Wanna hear? I thought so. Word on the street is that the mistress that Alex was caught up with last week was the same one that David Wright was dating last year. This news is courtesy of a friend of some guys who work in broadcasting. I'm told they viewed the fact that Alex took Dave's leftovers as yet another knock on his personality.

It's a total rumor, but it seems entirely plausible to me. I've heard that most athletes these days stick to professionals (more costly yes, but only about 1,000 percent more sensible that effing the barely legal teen who, you find out after the fact, keeps a scrapbook of your headlines and only stopped bringing her "I heart" posters to the games last year) so it makes sense that there's some repeat business among the women who have learned to work the MLB circuit. What's funny to me is that despite the ratings potential this latest twist has stayed secret. Guys and all their codes of silence crack me up. Listening to the broadcasts during the time Alex's spot was being blown up worldwide, you'd think the event was a no-hitter-in-progress the way announcers avoided talking about it.

POSTGAME UPDATE NO. 2: EVIDENCE!!

My buddy Al sent me this image from the Yankee's game last night. It's Robbie caught red-handed!!

^^NOT looking for Rudy Guiliani's mug! (Thanks, Al. This is gonna make me chuckle all morning.)

Jay and Jordan: This Means War

I was watching a Yankee game the other night, in which the umpire clearly called a low pitch to A-Rod a strike. A-Rod didn't say anything, but commentator Paul O'Neil pointed out how A-Rod used his body language to make it clear without saying a word that he thought the umps call was bogus. It's the same thing in the world of hip-hop. You have your "Ether" moments when we witness one man use words to publically eviscerate another man, and then you have your more subtle messages that fly under the radar for all except for a handful watching closely.

In this Rocawear ad, witness Jay's footwear. I can't speak for past ads, but even though Dame Dash and Jay have gone their separate ways, there is still a business connection between Rocawear and Pro-Keds. I'm not gonna say what Dash said when I asked him what he thought about Jay selling Rocawear and how he thought it would affect his company (gotta save that for the article), but I'm thinking this image of Jay rockin some sickalicious Jordans says a lot:


^^I got my Jordans on and they look like real sneakers

Note: And on an altogether different note, what kind of message is Jay sending Adidas/Reebok, with whom, as far as I know, he hasn't officially ended his shoe deal. Or maybe he has.

Source of image: Bossip.com

Jay and Jordan

According to the calendar, it's springtime in NYC, which means it's the perfect time to break out a fresh pair of Jordans. However, if you wanna know how very motherfather cold it still is here, look past Bee, who knows she's gonna be photographed and wants to flaunt her bod, and check out Jay. He's got on a quilted jacket AND a vest!

Bust Magazine: Sneakers for Girls 101

The latest issue of Bust magazine features an article by famed streetwear designer Claw Money, and here it is for your viewing pleasure (click on it if you want a closer look):

^^Photos by Gisel Florez

The tone of the piece is definitely instructional in that in assumes that the average reader doesn't have much experience wearing men's sneakers. Surrounded as I am by sneaker culture, it's hard for part of me to believe that there are girls out there who choose not to buy a pair of kicks--however cool they may look--cause they were made for men, but then I know that lots of women, who, even if they were once Tomboys, stop dressing in a boyish manner once they hit their twenties. I'm not sure if that's about being more presentable to men or feeling more comfortable in more feminine clothing and shoes once you "mature," but whatever, it's good to read an article encouraging women to embrace their masculine side.

p.s. Lately I've been posting more on Chicks With Kicks, but I'm gonna crosspost stuff like this here so TrendyNation doesn't become a blog that solely alternates between musings on single motherhood and what sneakers Jay-Z is wearing today.

Sticks and Stones...

...may break my styrofoam, but Ohio State STILL got its butt whooped in the bowl:



Go Gators!

Nike Nike Nike

I'll be attending some Nike product launch meeting a couple weeks from now. I'm kinda worried cuz it seems like whenever people go to Nike-sponsored events, they turn into pro-Nike pod people, seemingly incapable of saying a bad thing about the brand.

I think it's cuz Nike makes the people it invites to its events feel like they're special, like somehow they're the chosen ones, the cream of the sneaker world crop. Often you get flown to some faraway, cool destination or you're placed on a very VERY special guest list where even a measly plus-one is not allowed. Once at the event, all the entertainment is top-notch and the product you get to see is made all the more special cuz you had to sign a nondisclosure agreement before you could even lay your eyes on it.

So I'm just warning you, if I start gushing non-stop about Nike with nary a sideswipe about its ugly, money-grubbing ways, send help immediately!!

*****************************

On another note, but still on the topic of Swooshy, I bought a gorgeous Nike jacket from Century 21 a month or so back. I wanted to make sure I didn't have an excuse for not running in the park this winter so I figured if I bought some top-notch gear, albeit at a C-21 discount, I'd be ashamed NOT to jog at least three times a week.

And man did I love that jacket. Like any shopaholic, I buy my share of shit that I end up hating and never wearing, but mmm-mmmm did I FEEL this jacket. It looked good, fit me perfect and I'm pretty sure I ran faster when I wore it. My son liked it, too (yup, it was THAT slick) so when he asked to borrow it this past week, I said yes, but told him he'd better be very very careful with it cuz I would have to kill him if he ever lost it, which would suck cuz I do love my son to pieces, but a hot jacket is a hot jacket. 'Nuff said! Naturally, within, oh, three days of wearing it to school, he left it in the cafeteria at lunch and, duh, it wasn't there when he went to look for a couple of hours later.

Fortunately, the school dean called me to warn me what had happened (my son was so distraught at losing it that he wondered what the heck was going on) before he got home so thanks to him, my son is still alive today. Alas, I'm still missing that jacket. There's an approximate .002 chance the jacket may still be found, but my son is on vacation this week so I won't find out until next week if some kind soul chose to turn it into the lost & found.

In the meantime, I'm feening to replace the old jacket. I've already looked on Ebay and it's gonna be hard not to check for it at Century 21 while my son is at one of his practices in the City this weekend. The fucked up thing is that I don't really need another jacket. I bought another Nike running jacket at the same time as the perfect one, I just don't like it AS much. Stupid I know, but these are the true thoughts of a girl who lives for that perfect purchase. Shopping, like Madonna famously once said, can indeed really cheer a gal up, but, sigh, it can also bring her down, down, down.

UPDATE: One of my five regular readers asked that I post up a picture of the jacket that broke my heart. Last week I took my son to the Westminster Dog Show and he was wearing the jacket that night so it turns out there is photographic evidence of its existence:


^^My son wearing THE jacket, which even the Bedlington Terrier loved.

^^And since I uploaded one show photo, I couldn't resist another. If you love pageantry like I do, there's nothing more beautiful than a standard poodle in show mode, and this girl here even knew her good side!

^^A whippet featuring a frou-frou jester collar. I'm not sure how, but somehow I lost the image I took of a chihuahua in a tiara. The Westminster: Truely the gayest show on earth.

I'm thinking of changing the name of this blog to The Jay-Z Blog

Sorry. I'm gonna be lazy and just throw-up another post featuring Jay-Z and the clothing he's wearing. There's other stuff I want to write about, but I have a deadline hanging over my head. I did do some posts over at KicksWithChicks. This one is about Amy Winehouse and this one is about another blog I discovered called ChicksAndKicks.



^^Oh slip, check out Jigga and his neckerchief. Is this a good look on the man or not? One minute I'm feeling it and the next I'm not.


^^Jay shows off his Nikes.

If you're confused or behind on the Jay vs. Jones & Co. drama and you wanna catch up, TheRapUp does a good job of putting all the drama in one place. In listening to this recent interview with Jay and Flex, I can't help but feel that Jay sounds a tad weary and that his heart aint really in it.

Oh. These were taken at a Nov. 24th concert at Roseland, which is in New York. You can see more images/credits here.

Nike Reax is NOT a Low Profile Shoe

From hanging out on political sites like DailyKos, I'm thoroughly familiar with complaints from bloggers who get really annoyed by shoddy reporting. As bad as the media can be when it comes to reporting on politicians, sometimes I think Wall Street reporters are worse.

Part of the problem is that they take the word of analysts as gospel. Apparently, if the employee of a Wall Street firm says it, then it doesn't need to be fact checked. Which is just crazy cause analysts say all sorts of wrong shit. Just now I was watching an online finance video on which an analyst stated with a straight face that Nike's near term sales will feel the pressure of a recovering Reebok brand. Pick up the phone and talk to any footwear buyer in the country and you will quickly find out how wrong that statement is.

This morning I came across a prime example of poor reporting in the form of an article entitled "Nike Continues to Dominate Athletic Shoe Sector As Low-Profile Shoe Trend Emerges." The reporter references two recent reports on Nike written by analysts, and the whole thing is riddled with innacuracies.

Perhaps you can call this a quibble, especially since there's a chance that the reporter didn't write the headline, but first off, low-profile athletic is NOT an emerging trend. A couple day ago in fact, I was chatting with a department store buyer who was arguing that the trend was starting to fade in importance!

That bitch aside, here's the paragraph that really pissed me off:

Nike Reax points to a new trend toward lower-profile, lower-cost shoes, that may be contributing to weaker performance at footwear retailers such as The Finish Line Inc. and Foot Locker Inc.

The Reax is NOT a low profile shoe. It's a takedown of Nike Shox and on top of that, Nike doesn't distribute it to either Finish Line OR Foot Locker. Consumers can only buy the style at family footwear chains like Famous Footwear.

Here's a picture of the shoe so you can see for yourself:


^^Nike Reax: not a low profile shoe

This paragraph wasn't so hot either:

The Finish Line in September reported second-quarter sales that declined 1 percent in the third quarter, below expectations.

Yes, The Finish Line's sales were down, but it actually beat earnings expectations. But don't take my word for it, here's a quote from an article published shortly after Finish Line reported its results:

The company earned $9.9 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with $18.9 million, or 38 cents per share, during the same period last year. The results edged out Wall Street expectations, with analysts polled by Thomson Financial expecting earnings of 20 cents per share.

I have no doubt that Wall Street reporters are likely crushed by deadlines, not to mention the need to write about a wide variety of industries, but come on, this is people's money and there is really no excuse for this level of innacuracy when all the facts are not just out there, but easily accessible.

Top Ten Shoes: Summer 2006

Okay folks, Labor Day has passed, summer is done so I'm going to list what I think were the top ten footwear brands during summer 2006. Please note: There is no factual basis to this list. I did not refer to any data reports or anything like that. This is strictly based on what I’m hearing from my sources and observing while out and about in New York City.

It should also be noted that this list mainly applies to sporty footwear trends. I have a hunch that Manolo is dead these days, but I’m not really sure and what faster way to make an ass of oneself that pontificating on a topic one knows nothing about?

Also note, while sell-through rate (a percentage that indicates how fast a style or brand is selling over a given period of time) of certain styles may still outsell every other style in the store, I’m not including any style whose momentum is on the decline. In other words, I’ll include a super hot shoe that’s blowing out the doors of ten boutiques before I do a style that sells great, but is clearly coughAirForceOnecough in decline.

Finally, for all you readers out there who shop strictly in the boutiques, I'm guessing you're going to read this list and wonder how much CRACK I smoke per day. Listen, I'm aware of how hot certain limited edition styles are, but I'm trying to take a bigger picture outlook. And again, even if a style was hot this summer, if it was hotter last summer, it can't be on my list.

So here goes:

1. Vans slip-ons: When it looked like the canvas trend was dead, Vans arrived on the scene and injected new life into the category. You name the hot celeb and he is probably wearing a pair of Vans.

^^Samuel Jackson has his Vans on.

2. Crocs Cayman: Love them or hate them, everyone is wearing them. A niche opened this past spring for a shoe that took the fun and comfort of flip-flops, but upgraded them to something more closed-up and thus more versatile and appealing to both children and the fellas, and CROCS fit the bill perfectly.

^^Whadya wanna bet this guy, who I recently photographed dispensing change at Coney Island, was wearing sneakers last summer?

3. Reissued 90s Nike Air: I just purchased a pair of Nike Stab so that’s part of the reason Nike is getting the No. 3 slot, but in my recent visits to various and sundry New York sneaker boutiques over the past few days, I’ve asked and have been told that for the trendsetters, it’s the Air—especially Air Max 95--product that’s been the most popular with trendsetters.

^^My new Nike Stabs. I bought them at Jean Stop (511 5th Ave., Brooklyn, 718-499-0159), a great local shop that serves up a great selection of sneakers without a lick of pretension. As you can see, my Stabs already have a smudge on the front part of the right shoe. Bummer.

4. Jordan sandals: I'm told by retailers that these basically blew out of their stores. In addition to the slides linked here, there were also some flip-flop type sandals, which I saw at the beginning of th summer.

5. Sebago boat shoes: The brand has great, updated top-to-bottom designs. And no, boat shoes weren't all that big this summer, but my hunch is that the trend was in simmer mode this summer and will go into full boil next year.

^^Recent Sebago ad featured in Footwear News magazine

6. Under Armour football cleats: They blew out of stores. I have a hunch that by the time this brand’s footwear line is running on all four engines, in will right in synch with a brighter day for athletics.

^^While the World Cup helped perk up soccer cleat sales, it was Under Armour football cleats that scored the most points with retailers.

7. Heelys: I’m hesitant to include this "shoe" (for those not in the know, this is the brand name of those sneakers with the wheels built into the bottoms) because the feedback I’ve received on it has been positive for so long that I have to believe a downside is on the horizon. News to note: this company just announced that it's getting ready to go public.

8. CR8TIVE RECREATION: The darling of the boutiques, the owners of this company are nobody’s fools (both of them once worked for VANS) and they’re as focused on good design as they are on slowly and carefully expanding the brand’s distribution. Make note though, this is more of a boutique brand for the metrosexual guy than it is for the Nike-loving urban guy.

9. NIKE REAX: This shoe is a takedown of Shox and saw a very successful launch in the family/value channel during July. This is the payback shoe for when this channel had to sit and watch mall and performance get rich off of Shox. The question is, does it have legs next spring? I’ll say this, of all the styles listed here, due to the quickness with which the Reax was included in buy-one-get-one-half-off sales, this one was the one I most hesitant to include.

10. Adidas Adicolor: I didn't like this program for the most part because I thought it was a rehash of the 35th Anniversary offerings, but there's no denying that many of the shoes in the Adicolor Group, especially Tron, saw brisk sales.

^Adidas Adicolor Tron