Footwear News articles from December 1984

Footwear News archives from December 1984

Independents to find little aid in '85 picture.
December 31, 1984... Let's be realistic -- for the independents, "it ain't like it used to be," and in 1985 it's not going to be much better. Most independents continued to have difficulty in 1984 -- price competition cut into margins, costs continued as slow...

Mangione of VFRA sees sales up in '85.
December 31, 1984... With few exceptions, the nation's chain shoe stores had healthy sales increases for most of 1984. Following the strong sales recorded during 1983, the chain store trade looks back on 1984 with considerable satisfaction. While uncertainty...

NSTA's Jacob gives overview of the industry.
December 31, 1984... I'm sorry that I re-read last year's forecast before starting to write this one. Last year I predicted a banner footwear year. Either the consumers failed to read the forecast or disagreed. They stayed away from shoe stores in droves. The...

Shoe buyers, dmms outdo women's rtw in pay hikes. (divisional merchandise managers, ready-to-wear salespeople)
December 31, 1984... NEW YORK -- Department store shoe buyers and shoe divisional merchandise managers outpaced their counter-parts in women's ready-to-wear in salary increases during the past two years, according to the National Retail Merchants Association (NRMA)...

EPA slates plan to ease tanners' pollutant rules.
December 31, 1984... WASHINGTON (FNS) -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing a proposal easing water pollution regulations on the leather tanning industry, following settlement of a lawsuit brought against the agency by Leather Industries of...

Hometown independent key is adapt or perish.
December 31, 1984... CHICAGO -- As today's society has become increasingly more mobile, consumers in small and mid-sized towns are traveling with greater frequency to large metropolitan centers to spend their dollars. This exodus, coupled with competition from...

'85 ushers in changes for figuring firms' Fed taxes.
December 31, 1984... WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Beginning on or near Jan. 1, a number of important new provisions that govern how businesses calculate their Federal taxes are scheduled to go into effect. The changes are part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984,...

Macy's to unite two divisions.
December 31, 1984... NEW YORK -- R.H. Macy & Co. will consolidate its Kansas City-based Macy's Midwest division and its Atlanta-based Davison's division under the new name Macy's-Atlanta, the company said. This absorption of Macy's Midwest by Davison's,...

Avia sees sales up 160% in '84 and 150% in '85.
December 31, 1984... PORTLAND, Ore. -- Banking on its "partners in profit" philosophy with customers, Avia is expecting a 160 per cent gain in sales for 1984 and is projecting a 150 per cent increase for 1985. The three-year-old firm, which built its reputation...

New Balance boot lauded at Everest.
December 31, 1984... NEW YORK -- Faced with subzero temperatures, winds blowing 50-pound food sacks off the mountain, "hamburger" throat and an airless altitude of 29,000 feet, just how important was footwear in the most recent climb of Mt. Everest? "Very...

WWW signs licensing pact with Coleman.
December 31, 1984... OCKFORD, Mich. -- Wolverine World Wide (WWW) has signed a licensing agreement with Coleman, Inc., a Wichita, Kan.-based producer of outdoor equipment, to manufacture and market outdoor and casual footwear under the Coleman brand name, Wolverine...

Importers look at challenges in coming year. (shoe industry)
December 24, 1984... The coming yeasr emerges with our country facing serious economic problems. The last half of 1984 showed that our economic recovery has slowed perceptively. Corporate profits have declined, industrial production has slowed, capital...

IFA spinoff from AAEI. (International Footwear Association)
December 24, 1984... WOBURN, Mass. -- A group of shoe importers have broken off from the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) to form their own trade group. Spearheaded by Richard Callum, treasurer of Rainbow Imports, Ltd., here, and Larry...

The Russians are coming -- to Pusan. (Pusan, South Korea)
December 24, 1984... PUSAN (FNS) -- The footwear business in this rough-hewn port city on Korea's south coast, has always had its elements of surprise. Two yeas ago, it was the Libyan caper. The radical regime of Mohamer Khaddafy placed an unprecedented...

U.S. firms '85: Waterloo or Valley Forge? (U.S. shoe industry)
December 24, 1984... In 1815, Napoleon returned triumphantly from his exile on the island of Elba to seize control of france and its army. Shortly thereafter he faced the English and Prussians in the monumental Battle of Waterloo which ended in his total defeat...

PBL Limited acquires Beatrice leather div.
December 24, 1984... MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- PVL Limited Partnership has acquired the Milwaukee-based leather division of Beatrice Cos., Inc., a move which affects Pfister & Vogel Tanning Co.; Lackawana Leather Co., Conover, N.C.; and Schwarz Leather Corp., Carlstadt,...

Predict '85 growth rate of athletics will soften.
December 24, 1984... NEW YORK -- The new year will bring a leveling off in the sporting goods industry and a slowing in the growth rate of athelic footwear, industry watches have predicted. Fitness equipment and activewear are most likely to show the strongest...

Albany's Empire Plaza strikes back with success. (market letter)
December 24, 1984... ALBANY, N.Y. (FNS) -- As motorists approach Albany, New York State's capital, from almost any direction, the white towers of the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza greet the eye, suggesting that this city of some 105,000...

Madrid hosts Frizon, Kelian stores.
December 24, 1984... MADRID (FNS) -- Maud Frizon has crossed the Pyrenees, heading south. Her newest shop -- number 14 world wide -- opened in mid-October on Madrid's trendy Calle Claudio Coello with a 260 square foot selling area and an additional 325 square...

Dignitaries gather for N.Y. center.
December 24, 1984... NEW YORK -- During the ceremonial "topping off" of the long-awaited New York Convention Center here last week, the 1.8-million-square-foot building was officially renamed the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York in honor of the...

Korea orders ride roller coaster.
December 24, 1984... PUSAN (FNS) -- For the Korean footwear manufacturer, 1984 was a year of boom and bust, with record orders and exports through June, and then a sudden severe drop that had major factories reeling through Christmas. Nike, at one point, cut...

'Capitalist' China buoys importers.
December 24, 1984... HONG KONG (FNS) -- Western shoe importers are optimistic business will improve under China's new blueprint for stimulating the economy and reducing Government control. Traders said the reforms should bring greater freedom to source...

Gator opens Asia div.
December 24, 1984... HIALEAH, Fla. -- Gator Industries, Inc., a domestic manufacturer of injection-molded footwear, has opened a Far East import division. Ben Kurtz, formerly head of Scoa's import division in New York, will head Gator International, here....

Compo registers loss of $1.4 million in qtr.
December 24, 1984... WALTHAM, Mass. -- Compo Industries reported a loss of $1,496,000 or 44 cents a share for the fourth quarter ended Sept. 29, despite a 68 per cent increase in sales. In response to the shrinking domestic footwear market, Compo also...

Italy's CDV indicates red ink for fiscal '84.
December 24, 1984... VARESE, ITALY (FNS) -- Calzaturificio di Varese (CDV), Italy's largest footwear manufacturing and retailing firm, has predicted it will close fiscal '84 in the red. The yearend loss will be the company's third in a row. Umberto Colombo,...

FFANY attendees agree promos are out of hand.
December 17, 1984... NEW YORK -- "We have met the enemy and the enemy is us." It was a comic strip character named Pogo who delivered those immortal words, but retailers and resources attending the FFANY show here last week agreed the footwear industry might do...

Makers bullish on retail operations. (FN Special Report: dollar & sense)
December 17, 1984... NEW YORK -- Several leading shoe firms expect their retail operations to be a greater factor in overall sales in the coming years, despite the current sluggish retail environment. Brown Group, Inc., St. Louis, is looking at its specialty...

Volume show slumps as inventories overload.
December 17, 1984... NEW YORK -- The theme for the volume show was high inventories and no fashion direction. Calling the inventory problem "one big expressway pileup," one volume importer said, "It's gridlock." Several volume sources attributed the high...

Nike to move r&d to Oregon.
December 17, 1984... EXETER, N.H. -- Nike, Inc., will relocate its research and development facility here to company headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., the firm disclosed last week. "We view this move as a major step in enhancing our footwear product effort,"...

Shoe-Town shifts plans to keep ahead of rivals.
December 17, 1984... NEW YORK (FNS) -- Shoe-Town, Inc., reported several changes in corporate strategy last week intended to keep the company one step in front of its competitors. The changes, which range from the elimination of the less profitable children's...

Elda show leaves much to be desired.
December 17, 1984... ELDA, Spain (FNS) -- Last week's Modatecc (Dec. 6-8) offered scant pickings, reflecting an industry fractured by politics and infighting. Exhibitors included less than a dozen tanners (about 10 per cent of the leather industry), 14 modelists...

Drops shoe prices 20% due to strong dollar.
December 17, 1984... NEW YORK -- Customers shopping in the Chelsea area here may have noticed an unusual sign in the front window of the Adamici shoe store on Seventh Avenue at 19th Street. The sign read: "20 per cent off all shoes, due to the strength of the...

Intershoe hires Hardy, expands.
December 17, 1984... NEW YORK -- Intershoe, Inc., is adding a new division and expanding two of its existing women's divisions. As part of the expansion, the company has shifted one executive and hired Neil Hardy, the former top salesman for 9 West, in a sales and...

Fillin buying rules Volume Expo.
December 17, 1984... NEW YORK -- Backed up inventories, the softness of the jogging market and the continued dumping of branded merchandise at retail contributed to a "doom and gloom" atmosphere among most athletic resources and retailers during the recent NSF...

Prince will bring out a line of tennis shoes.
December 17, 1984... PRINCETON, N.J. -- Prince Manufacturing Co., maker of the oversized Prince tennis racquets and other tennis products, will introduce its first tennis shoes for men and women next month at the Miami Tennis Show. Aimed at bringing "something...

Footwear index takes 7.8% tumble. (money matters)
December 17, 1984... NEW YORK (FNS) -- Stocks on the Footwear News stock index fell an average 7.8 per cent in the 11 months ended Nov. 29, as a slowing economy and continuing surge of imports into a sluggish market dimmed prospects for the issues. By...

SEC's pilot computers enter the paper storm.
December 17, 1984... WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Before long, publicly owned companies will be routinely filing their annual reports, proxies, Schedule 13S and other documents electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rather than delivering paper to...

Efforts to uncover data about rivals intensifies.
December 17, 1984... NEW YORK -- In the athletic shoe business -- one of the most hotly contested sectors of the footwear industry -- efforts to unearth information about the competition are intense. Some say privately-held companies have an advantage since...

Industry posts disappointing 3d quarter results. (ups & down)
December 17, 1984... NEW YORK -- Third quarter sales of many of the nation's footwear resources and retailers were softened by a falloff in consumer spending on shoes and apparel. At the same time, many retailers saw their earnings dip as they promoted...

Hanson Trust registers substantial profit gain.
December 17, 1984... LONDON (FNS) -- Houston Trust PLC, which acquired U.S. Industries earlier this year for $511 million, last week reported a 97.6 per cent leap in after-tax profits to 125.7 million pounds ($150.84 million) on a 60.5 per centincrease in sales to...

WWW expects qtr. loss but year to be in black.
December 17, 1984... ROCKFORD, Mich. (FNS) -- Wolverine World Wide, Inc., said it expects to report a loss in the fourth quarter ending Dec. 29 compared with earnings in the period last year. The company, which did not release the size of the expected loss,...

Dyeables volume booms, especially in exporting.
December 17, 1984... MT. KISCO, N.Y. -- James Botti's company is an anomaly among domestic shoe manufacturers. At a time when the American dollar is very strong and many domestic manufacturers have begun importing shoes to survive, Botti is exporting more...

Shoe output down 26.4% in September.
December 10, 1984... WASHINGTON--Sluggish retail sales and a 28.4 per cent surge in imports combined to sock domestic nonrubber footwear manufacturers with a 26.4 per cent production decline in September. Commerce Department figures put domestic production at...

Volume buyers may tighten purses.
December 10, 1984... NEW YORK -- The inventory overhang at retail has turned into an inventory hangover and that means that retailers attending the NSF Volume Footwear Exposition probably will have very conservative open-to-buys. "The reason," one large volume...

Craddock loss in qtr. blamed on retail deal.
December 10, 1984... LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Craddock-Terry Shoe Corp. reported a loss of $3,084,000, or a loss of $1.99 a share, for the fourth quarter ended Sept. 29, 1984, all of it attributed to retail operations and the estimated cost of disposing of those...

Japan stalls on lifting of leather import curbs.
December 10, 1984... GENEVA, Switzerland -- Japanese trade officials continue to hedge on what steps they will take to lift import restrictions on U.S. leather, according to Ralph Johnson, U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and Japan. Although they have...

Small Taiwan plants hit by retail inventory glut.
December 10, 1984... NEW YORK -- The inventory pileup at retail is causing a shakeout among smaller Taiwanese factories, according to several retailers and resources. B.A. Bridgewater, Jr., president of the Brown Group, Inc., recently returned from Taiwan and...

Launzel talks about future NSF locations. (Ed Launzel)
December 10, 1984... This is part two of a two-part interview with National Shoe Fair executive director Ed Launzel. FN: Will National Shoe Fair always be held in New York in the future? LAUNZEL: The industry at the moment has opted to remain in the New...

West Virginians undaunted by India gas tragedy. (Market letter)
December 10, 1984... CHARLESTON, W. Va. -- The poison gas leak from a pesticide plant in India -- and the fact that the only such plant in the United States is located in nearby Institute, W. Va. -- has had little impact, other than general shock, on the people...

Kramer named Jasmin prexy. (Marshall R. Kramer)
December 10, 1984... PENSAUKEN, N.J. -- Marshall R. Kramer has been named president and sales manager of Jasmin, Ltd. He had been a sales representative for Fisher Camuto's 9 West division, based in Texas with responsibility for major accounts. Steve Secol,...

Jourdan plans more Seducta shops.
December 10, 1984... PARIS (FNS) -- Charles Jourdan's first "Seducta" boutique, which opened here in August to promote its one-year old lower-priced brand of women's shoes, has proven to be a commercial success. Jourdan management is now planning to open...

Water Tower top Chicago attraction.
December 10, 1984... CHICAGO -- Although its doors have only been open since 1976, Water Tower Place has become as closely linked to Chicago as Cubs baseball and shady politics. The success of the downtown shopping mall can be measured both in terms of money...

Chicago Shoes, Etc. unfazed by posh neighbors.
December 10, 1984... CHICAGO -- At Shoes Etc. Etc. Etc. there are no gimmicks, no themes no frills. Yet despite its lack of fanfare, the small women's footwear store has managed to thrive in the shadows of posh Michigan Avenue retailers for more than 15 years....

Edison center gets Beaux Arts styling.
December 10, 1984... ST. LOUIS -- Edison Bros. Stores, Inc., through the use of optical illusion, is about to complete some unique architecture in a downtown area once dominated by drab brick buildings. Last July, artist Richard Haas began the task of...

USM building to keep historical role.
December 10, 1984... BOSTON -- A developer here is trying to salvage a bit of the shoe industry history here. The firm of Meredith & Grew has committed $90 million to renovating the original United Shoe Machinery Corp. building in the heart of the financial...

Kreider's expands men's, brings out women's line.
December 10, 1984... PALMYRA, Pa. (FNS) -- In a move to wipe out the "valleys in sales," W.L. Kreider's Sons Manufacturing Co. Inc., a producer here of children's shoes, has broadened its output of men's footwear and expanded into a line for women. Kenneth...

Knapp asks U.S. court to overturn Araizo award.
December 10, 1984... BOSTON -- The Knapp King-Size Corp., Brockton, has asked the U.S. Federal Court to overturn damages awarded earlier this year to one of its franchisees. Jacob Lewiton, a member of the American Arbitration Association, awarded Knapp...

'And sheepskin sales will roar like a lion'. (Murray Laub and Master Inc.)
December 10, 1984... ST. PAUL -- If Murray Laub had nothing left in the world but two newspapers, he would probably fashion a suit of clothing from one, sell the other at a profit and be back in business. The chairman of Master, Inc., has developed a reputation...

BBC Int'l looks beyond the 'big mark'.
December 10, 1984... NEW YORK -- In the newly remodeled reception room at BBC International, Inc., backdrop lighting emits a soft glow on textured gray wallpaper. On a clear day, powder blue carpeting in the windowed back rooms melds with the sky intensifying the...

EPA and TCA agree on pollution standard.
December 10, 1984... WASHINGTON (FNS) -- After a year of haggling over water pollution standards, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tanners' Council of America (TCA) have reached an agreement, including a way to change the measurement of sulfide in...

Importer says Brazil seeks better air traffic. (Bill Morgenstein)
December 10, 1984... ENGLEWOOD, N.J. -- Brazilian Government officials have told the head of an American import firm that more planes bringing foreign merchandise will land in their airports in the future, creating a more balanced trading situation. Bill...

Brazil shoes flooding into U.S. market.
December 3, 1984... Brazil shoes flooding into U.S. market Jobbers, importers, and sources from one-price stores report that there is a glut of Brazilian shoes in the U.S. market. All agreed the glut has one major cause: One-price retailers,...

FFANY buyers shopping for spring, fresh styles.
December 3, 1984... FFANY buyers shopping for spring, fresh styles Retailers attending this week's FFANY show will be concentrating on spring and transitional merchandise, with an eye open for fresh fashion direction and items for fall. Although a sampling of...

Macy's N.Y. shoe depts. sales top store average.
December 3, 1984... Macy's N.Y. shoe depts. sales top store average Since assuming operation of its footwear departments from Wohl Shoe Co., St. Louis, the Macy's New York division of R.H. Macy & Co. reported sales for the departments have been generally...

Oct. footwear imports off 6%, first drop in '84.
December 3, 1984... Oct. footwear imports off 6%, first drop in '84 Nonrubber footwear imports declined in October for the first time this year, apparently ending the strongest sustained surge in many years, the Census Bureau reported last Friday. ...

Brown Group expects net fall.
December 3, 1984... Brown Group expects net fall citing a sharp drop in earnings from domestic shoe manufacturing operations, B.A. Bridgewater, Jr., told the New York Society of Securities Analysts that net income of Brown Group, Inc., will be off 15-20 per...

Launzel gives history lesson on origin of NSF. (Interview with Ed Launzel)
December 3, 1984... Launzel gives history lesson on origin of NSF Ed Launzel is executive director of the National Shoe Fair of America, which produces the footwear industry's national trade shows. FN: How did the National Shoe Fair originate? ...

Miller ends output: continues marketing welts.
December 3, 1984... Miller ends output; continues marketing welts Miller Shoe Co. will cease manufacturing operations Friday (Dec. 7) but will continue to market its traditional women's welt comfort shoes and other footwear. The company will show at the...

Canada opens hearings on the future of quotas.
December 3, 1984... Canada opens hearings on the future of quotas The Canadian Government opened hearings on the future of footwear import quotas last week. In a separate development last week, the Canadian Minister for International Trade announced that the...

Vivier designs shoes as works of art.
December 3, 1984... Vivier designs shoes as works of art Roger Vivier is a humble, softspoken Frenchman with the long, tapering fingers of a romantic poet. In a high-stepping career spanning nearly five decades, he has used them with the utmost expression,...

Tax reform plan affects depreciation, accounting.
December 3, 1984... Tax reform plan affects depreciation, accounting Among the dozens of recommendations contained in the Treasury Department's tax reform plan, those certain to catch the eyes of retailers include proposed changes in depreciation, inventory...

Ex-sales rep at Bates files $1.6 million suit.
December 3, 1984... Ex-sales rep at Bates files $1.6 million suit A former sales representative for Bates Shoe Co., Webster, who claims he is owed more than $100,000 in unpaid commission, has filed suit against the company and its owner, Wolverine World Wide,...

Bata U.S.A. starts move to middle, higher prices.
December 3, 1984... Bata U.S.A. starts move to middle, higher prices Bata Shoe U.S.A., the American entity in the international Bata footwear manufacturing and retail organization, is undergoing major restructuring and redirection. Historically a...

NESRA chief calls show role vital. (Howard Penn)
December 3, 1984... NESRA chief calls show role vital The best thing an independent shoe retailer can do for himself is attend a trade show, or two, or three, according to Howard Penn, newly elected president of the New England Shoe Retailers Association. ...

Jewelry offers big rewards for small investment.
December 3, 1984... Jewelry offers big rewards for small investment Today accessories have become big news as footwear retailers have learned that sales need not be limited to shoes. Yet despite its profitability, jewelry is too often bypassed by shoe...

New Orleans mart features posh pushcart shop.
December 3, 1984... New Orleans mart features posh pushcart shop A festive looking pushcart that doubles as the showroom and construction shop for tailormade shoes is one of the centerpieces of a recently opened urban marketplace here. The tiny shop on...

FBI's sole-searcher tracks criminals by their missteps.
December 3, 1984... FBI's sole-searcher tracks criminals by their missteps The murderer's fingerprints were cleverly concealed by leather gloves and his face was covered by a menacing ski mask. Leaving the murder scene he thought he had everything under...

Sensi plastic sandals make U.S. splash.
December 3, 1984... Sensi plastic sandals make U.S. splash Although Sensi sandals have been flip-flopping around Italian beaches for the past 15 years, they have only recently made their debut on American sands. The high-tech plastic sandals are being...

Elefanten distributor sees revolt in kids' shoe market.
December 3, 1984... Elefanten distributor sees revoltin kids'shoe market There is a revolution in the children's shoe market, according to Bernard Berzack, president of Berlane International, Inc., the distribution company for Elefanten, the German-made...

Volume firms' frustration grows: dumpers romp.
December 3, 1984... Volume firms' frustration grows: dumpers romp Volume athletic footwear resources, faced with continuing and intensifying dumping and price-slashing by large branded manufacturers, have all but thrown up their hands in the frustration of...

Ellesse pins '85 hopes on footwear.
December 3, 1984... Ellesse pins "85 hopes on footwear Faced with declining athletic apparel sales, Ellesse, SPA, officials said they were counting on the firm's recently introduced athletic footwear line to improve its fortunes in 1985. Leonardo...

McCrory seeks to buy remaining HRT shares.
December 3, 1984... McCrory seeks to buy remaining HRT shares McCrory Corp., York, Pa., the majority shareholder in HRT Industries, Inc., is seeking to purchase the remaining shares in the discount store retailer and take the company private. HRT, the...