While overall sales at US DSW stores fell 3% in the most recent quarter, sales of athletic footwear, including Nike, rose 16%. The positive momentum at sneaker chains across consumer categories - from fashion, to family, to speciality - underscores the optimism for athletic footwear writ large, if not for Nike. “Once you discover that you can wear sneakers for almost everything, you hardly ever go back to heels”, Foot Locker chief executive Mary Dillon said last month. Some of the increased competitiveness in athletic footwear can be attributed to factors precipitated by Nike. Foot Locker has said it expects a “return to growth” with Nike this year.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 13, 2024 18:46 UTC