Archive for July, 2008

US: K-Swiss Q2 profit soars on litigation payment

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com]

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.

(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #1


Reaching Your Customers Via Text Message: The Time Is Now

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

[Source: Smallbiztechnology.com]

sms.jpg39% 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.

Read Warrillow's latest newsletter, with this information, here.


(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #2


US: Iconix to expand five brands internationally

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com]

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

(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #3


ITALY: Geox H1 profit up 13% on higher sales

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com]

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.

(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #4


Nike pulls basketball shoe ad on antigay concern

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

[Source: Footwear News]

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.


(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #5


US: SAP to support Brown Shoe’s growth strategy

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com]

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.

(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #6


US: Under Armour raises FY outlook on footwear sales

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com]

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.

(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #7


US: Nine West and New Balance launch fashion footwear

Monday, July 28th, 2008

[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com]

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.

(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #8


Merrell to Open First U.S. Store in San Francisco

Monday, July 28th, 2008

[Source: Footwear News]

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.


(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #9


EU: Drops preferential tariffs for Vietnamese footwear

Friday, July 25th, 2008
[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com ] The European Commission this week revealed details of its next three-year tranche of trade preferences for developing countries - and confirmed reports published on just-style last month that it intends to lift Vietnam's preferential market access for footwear. (click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #10


UK: Retail sector facing “decade of gloom” - report

Friday, July 25th, 2008
[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com ] Bankruptcies, job losses and falling sales are set to affect the UK retail sector for the next ten years amid dwindling levels of disposable income, according to a new report. (click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #11


US: Brooks’ “green” midsole used in Trance 8 shoe

Friday, July 25th, 2008
[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com ] Performance shoe company Brooks Sports is to use its BioMoGo midsole - claimed to be the world's first biodegradable product of its kind - in the company's new Trance 8 support shoe. (click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #12


Benchmark 2008: The Web Purchasing Power Of Gen X

Friday, July 25th, 2008

[Source: Forrester Research: Retail]

Despite recent economic woes, online retail sales are projected to grow 17% in 2008 and surpass the $200 billion mark. Further, the bulk of online retail sales are driven by tenured Gen Xers and Boomers, a cross-section of the Web buyer population that values the convenience of the online channel and is actively spending more on the Web. These folks are less price-sensitive, disproving the theory that online shopping inevitably leads to brand-disloyal shoppers. Gen Xers account for 34% of all online shoppers, while Boomers represent 38%.

(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #13


Crocs, Inc. Launches Escalator Safety Awareness Initiative

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
NIWOT, Colo., Jul 22, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Crocs, Inc. (CROX 9.88, +0.25, +2.6%) today announced plans to launch an escalator safety awareness initiative over the course of the next year. The first steps will include the addition of consumer education messages regarding escalator safety to hang tags on Crocs(TM) shoes sold worldwide as well as supporting organizations that further the cause of safe escalator maintenance and use.

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #14


Loserkids Goes High-Tech with CORESense

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
[Source: The Retail Site - Retail Business News, Ideas, and Tips Blog ] From Apparel Magazine by Masha Zager Loserkids prides itself on edginess. Back in 1999, members of the punk rock band Blink-182 - a group of Southern Californians who had grown up as skateboarding, surfing “loser kids,” or anti-jocks - launched Loserkids.com as a retail site for their fans. Operated by Artist Direct, the online store sold everything an aspiring punk rocker might need: Clothes and shoes that real punkers wore onstage (many of them designed by the band members’ “vegan” brand, Macbeth Footwear), skateboards, and, of course, music CDs and DVDs. Because the band toured worldwide, the site drew shoppers from around the world; only 10 percent of them are from the band’s home territory of California. While the customers haven’t grown up - they are still overwhelmingly in the 16-to-24-year-old age group and heavily involved with MTV and pop culture - the business itself eventually matured. In the past two years the company added many new categories, brands and lines to the e-commerce site, and began planning the launch of a brick-and-mortar store. Read the entire article at Apparel Magazine (click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #15


Established Brands International Acquires Exclusive License to Wenger - Maker of the Genuine Swiss Army Knife - Footwear Brand

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY, Jul 21, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Established Brands today announced that it has acquired the exclusive worldwide license to the Wenger - maker of the Genuine Swiss Army Knife(TM) - footwear brand, including all Wenger shoes and socks/hosiery for men, women and children. The inaugural Wenger Footwear line will be formally launched in August 2008, during the Outdoor Retailer Tradeshow in Salt Lake City.

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #16


TSGrinder - Brute Force Terminal Services Server

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
[Source: Darknet - The Darkside ]

This is a tool that has been around quite some time too, it’s still very useful though and it’s a very niche tool specifically for brute forcing Windows Terminal Server.

TSGrinder is the first production Terminal Server brute force tool, and is now in release 2. The main idea here is that the Administrator account, since...

Read the full post at darknet.org.uk

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #17


Retail Relationships Differ Across Ethnic Groups

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

[Source: Forrester Research: Retail]

Forrester asked nearly 5,000 US consumers about many aspects of their relationships with retailers. We examined their feedback on overall customer experience and their satisfaction with Web, store, and phone interactions, along with their plans to stay loyal to their current retailers. To understand the dynamics of these relationships, we analyzed the data based on the ethnicity of the respondents. Some of our findings: Blacks enjoy retailers the most, Asians are the most satisfied with phone interactions, and Caucasians are the least likely to switch retailers.

(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #18


US Email Marketing Volume Forecast, 2008 To 2013

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

[Source: Forrester Research: Retail]

Email's low cost and high ROI continue to drive email marketing volumes upward. In the US, volumes will reach a high point of 838 billion marketing messages in 2013. We expect returns resulting from email campaigns to remain strong through 2009, but after that, volumes will level off as consumers increasingly start to ignore marketers' loud and frequent pitches. Messages triggered by events, which only 13% of marketers currently send, represent the next era of email marketing. Because they're tailored to match customer needs, they can generate returns of up to three times their cost. Increasing email volumes and a shift in the types of messages sent will force email marketers to adopt direct marketing techniques, use email for two-way customer communication, and embrace Social Computing.

(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #19


Stride Rite Children’s Group Launches New Store Concept: Collections by Stride Rite(TM)

Friday, July 18th, 2008
LEXINGTON, Mass., July 17, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----The Stride Rite Children's Group, the leading provider of premier children's footwear, announced today the launch of a new store format, Collections by Stride Rite(TM: 91.92, -0.95, -1.02%), which combines separate, dedicated shopping areas for kids seven to ten years of age, with an environment for parents to shop for baby and toddler shoes.

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #20


US: Rocky Brands wins $7.2m military boot orders

Friday, July 18th, 2008
[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com ]

Rocky Brands Inc has been awarded two new boot orders worth $7.1m from the US military.

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #21


US: Government agency approves CrocsRx range

Friday, July 18th, 2008
NIWOT, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, CrocsRx, the medical division of Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), announced the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has accepted the Custom Cloud model into the diabetic shoe program. Acceptance by the CMS validates the superior benefits of Croslite material, Crocs proprietary closed-cell resin, as the Custom Cloud is the first molded shoe to receive an approved code verification from the organization.

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #22


Do The Right Thing When You Are Marketing With Email

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
[Source: AllBusiness.com - Just for Small Business ]

Marketing with email still works. Make sure you are doing it correctly.

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #23


Wolverine World Wide’s shoes set record pace

Monday, July 14th, 2008
With plans to open a Merrell store in San Francisco and a Hush Puppies store recently launched outside London, Wolverine World Wide Inc.

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #24


Training in PCI Compliance

Friday, July 11th, 2008
[Source: Retail - RSS Feeds ]

Compliance and Audit Group creates a division aimed at helping retailers comply with PCI credit card standards. TurboPCI offers education and training for retailers.

A security assessor company is creating a division within its company that will focus on offering education, training and validation to help retailer comply with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards). Compliance and Audit Group ann...

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #25


Deckers Outdoor, Stella in joint venture to open UGG stores in China

Friday, July 11th, 2008

NEW YORK (Thomson Financial) - Deckers Outdoor Corp. late Thursday said it entered a joint venture with Stella International Holdings Ltd. to open retail stores and wholesale distribution in China for the UGG Australia brand.

The joint venture will be owned 51% by Deckers and 49% by Stella, and the companies will invest about $5 million in total to open one or two stores in 2008 as part of the deal.

(click here for original article)

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NEWSLETTER ITEM #26


Wolverine World Wide Q2 profit increases; Maintains FY08 EPS forecast - Update

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
(RTTNews) - Wednesday, Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (WWW: News, Chart, Quote ), a provider of footwear, apparel and accessories, announced an increase in second-quarter net earnings on higher revenue. The company said, despite a challenging business environment, improved performance of global markets and distribution channels helped to record improved results. The company further maintained its full year 2008 earnings guidance and provided revenue outlook.

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #27


Kids set world record for longest chain of shoes

Monday, July 7th, 2008

WASHINGTON - If the shoe fits, donate it.

National Geographic Kids magazine set a Guinness World Record Wednesday for the longest chain of shoes. More than 10,500 sneakers were tied together by their laces, heel to toe, measuring a total length of 1.65 miles.

(Click here for original article.)

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UK: Hi-Tech to launch ion-mask treated footwear line

Monday, July 7th, 2008
[Source: Daily apparel and textile news and comment - from just-style.com ]

Footwear company Hi-Tec is to launch a collection of footwear made waterproof by ion-mask enhancement, a plasma treatment originally developed to protect soldiers from chemical attack and patented by Oxford UK-based P2i Ltd.

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #28


Don’t Sweat Nike

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
You know it's a crazy market when a company posts 16% quarterly sales growth and a 14% jump in earnings to beat analyst expectations, only to have its stock punished 10% on concerns about growth in its home ...

(click here for original article)
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NEWSLETTER ITEM #29