Archive for the ‘Shoes in the News’ Category

FitFlop Fitness Shoes

Monday, April 14th, 2008

I’m not sure whether I believe the claims of this flipflop brand, touting that your legs will get a workout when you walk in them.

The supposed benefits include less joint impact, muscle engagement. increased calorie-burning and leg toning. They come in silver, black and red. Would this be a wise $49 investment or would it be a total flop?

Check out what others have said about the FitFlop at Stylelist.

 

 

China fears Western brands and marketing

Monday, April 14th, 2008

Joe Nocera of the New York Times met with Li-Ning chief operating officer to discuss the importance of brands in China. Li-Ning is a Chinese sneaker and athletic wear company named after its founder, a three-time gold medalist in gymnastics at the 1984 Olympics. Six years later, he realized that China lacked a high-quality sneaker, and he started his own company.

Li-Ning Shoe

Li-Ning sneakers look strikingly similar to Nike and Adidas sneakers. The brand is currently serving domestic markets only, but Guo wants to export to Europe and the United States. But to do this, the company needs to become a brand like Nike or Adidas. Li-Ning shoes are priced 20 percent below their Nike and Adidas equivalent, which indicates that the company is not confident that it can compete with these Western competitors.

China has been experimenting in capitalism is less than three decades old, and much of it is low-cost manufacturing. It was a country used to scarcity, and some areas still are, so branding doesn’t get as much attention as it does in the west.

Read the full story on nytimes.com.