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All-Stars and new footwear a perfect fit
JordanZone.com
- Jordan Shoes, Air Jordan Shoes, Michael Jordan Shoes
USA Today - USA (Jordan Zone)
The players in the All-Star Game won't wear makeup.
They won't face wind machines meant to give them
extra glamour. But at least when it comes to selling
shoes, the players will be runway models —
for shoes about to become available to the masses.
When it comes to selling sneakers, the NBA All-Star
Game isn't just an exhibition.
Says Brian Povenelli, a Reebok marketing vice
president, "It's a battleground for the industry."
That's partly because the event is a congregation
of the kind of players who are used prominently
in sneaker marketing or even have their own signature
shoes. And marketers don't face restrictions on
color schemes in shoes worn in the All-Star Game
— unlike the usual NBA rule that players
wear shoes that are mainly black or white.
Because consumers have come to expect the All-Star
Game to give them their first glimpses of new
shoes, it's become a launch pad for new looks.
"It's an event where a lot of eyes are on
the product," Nike spokesman Rodney Knox
says.
Nike's fashion statements in the All-Star Game
will include LeBron James, who usually wears black
shoes, modeling gray and blue versions of his
signature Zoom LeBron II shoes, which hit retail
stores last weekend.
Kobe Bryant will wear gray, red and blue Nike
2K5 sneakers, a shoe that also will come out in
three more color schemes in March.
Nike also will shod Vince Carter in red, white
and blue versions of his signature VC IV shoe.
Jermaine O'Neal's All-Star version of the Shox
Bomber will have a similar color scheme. Versions
of the Shox Bomber without the All-Star color
scheme go on sale in March; Carter's All-Star
kicks are available this weekend.
And what would a sneaker story be without a pair
of Air Jordans? Seattle
SuperSonics guard Ray Allen will unveil a special
pair of AJXX's, marking the 20th anniversary since
the shoe first hit the market.
"It's always been more than just a shoe to
me," Jordan says. "I'm honored that,
even after 20 years, my loyal fans and friends
have continued to support me and the legacy of
Air Jordan."
The special edition Allen will wear won't be available
in stores; however, a version of the shoe will
be in stores All-Star weekend. The motorcycle-inspired
design of the AJXX (Jordan owns a motorcycle team,
Team23 Racing) includes a laser-etched strap that
features more than 200 icons that were done to
create a tapestry of stories connected to Jordan's
career.
Players modeling new shoes for Adidas include
Tracy McGrady, wearing his laceless signature
shoe, and Antawn Jamison, in an AQ sneaker that
will launch in March. The company is counting
on long consumer memories: Tim Duncan will be
wearing a D-Cool shoe that won't be available
until July.
But nobody is counting on longer memories than
Reebok. Using the feet of Allen Iverson and Yao
Ming, it will resurrect its Pump sneaker, which
sold from 1989 to 1992 and was Reebok's best-selling
sneaker ever — more than 20 million pairs.
"It's the first time I've ever worn a pump
shoe," Iverson says of the trip down memory
lane, "but I loved it. I loved it."
It's coming back, suggests Povenelli, because
"right now there's a huge void in the (sneaker)
marketplace for technology."
But the sneaker marketplace will never suffer
from a lack of hype and hustle.
Consumers, as Adidas spokesman Travis Gonzolez
says, have been trained to look at the All-Star
Game for shopping tips. "Shoe companies do
more with the All-Star Game than they did in the
past," he says. "The weekend just seems
to be a time when kids get hyped about the game
and want to buy shoes."
Contributing: Oscar Dixon.
By Michael Hiestand
USA TODAY
February 10, 2005
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