A $30m trademark infringement settlement has helped athletic footwear maker K-Swiss Inc to a three-fold rise in second quarter profit – and given it a strong balance sheet as it tries to reposition its brands.

39% of small businesses are using text. This is definitely a growth from previous years. What does this mean for your own business? This means it’s time to at least seriously consider reaching more customers via text message and not just email, blogs, web sites or traditional mail.

There are dozens (if not more) of services you can use to deliver text messages to your customers. It’s time you, your consultant or you in-house geek read up on text messaging and marketing.

Warrillow writes that some distinct advantages of texting include + Speed to customer: Marketing through text messaging carries a nearly instantaneous delivery time vs. the delays in email or direct mail channels.

+ High open rates: While open rates are much harder to track on an individual campaign basis, telecom industry studies suggest read rates in excess of 90% for text messages vs. 20% to 40% for a typical email campaign.

+ Ease of deployment: If you have your customers’ mobile numbers, you’re ready to start. There are a host of text providers (for example Clickatell or MOVO) ready to assist you with off-the-shelf solutions.

Iconix Brand Group is to expand five of its brands into new territories.

Geox SpA has posted a 13% rise in first half profit, driven by strong sales of its footwear and apparel, and says it expects significant growth for the rest of the year.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The world’s largest sportswear and shoe company Nike Inc pulled advertisements that some bloggers had dubbed anti-gay.

Controversy arose last week over poster and billboard ads for Nike’s new Hyperdunk basketball shoes showing a basketball player’s face in the groin of an opponent who is dunking a ball above him.

The print ads, accompanied by the slogan, “That ain’t right,” were dubbed homophobic, as well as offensive to African-Americans, by some bloggers and critics.

Brown Shoe Company Inc is to implement the SAP enterprise resource management (ERP) platform to support its growth strategy while streamlining and transforming day-to-day operations.

Even though lower margins and higher marketing costs have pushed Under Armour Inc to a 75.4% drop in second quarter profit, the performance apparel and footwear maker has raised its outlook for the year.

Jones Apparel Group’s Nine West division is teaming up with New Balance to create a new shoe collection that will drive both brands further into the fast-growing fashion athletic footwear category.

Wolverine World Wide Inc. will open its first company-owned Merrell store in the U.S. next month, in San Francisco’s Union Square district.