Adidas AG Strikes Again

NICOLE URBANOWICZ

NEW YORK – Adidas AG is prepping to battle Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in the same Portland, Ore., court that last month awarded it $305 million in a trademark infringement suit against Payless ShoeSource.”Obviously, they won a huge award with the court, so maybe they think they can catch lightening twice,” said Matt Powell, an analyst at SportsOneSource.

Susquehanna Financial Group analyst John Shanley agreed. “There is a better-than-even chance that Adidas will also win its suit against Wal-Mart, just as it had against Payless,” he said. “The venue of the suit, in Portland, gives Adidas a decided advantage. [But I'm] not sure if the size of the potential award will approach what the jury awarded Adidas from the Payless litigation.”

Economy Slows Down as Exec Comp Moves Up

MEREDITH DERBY

NEW YORK – Even as the economy began to show signs of erosion last year, footwear executives’ compensation packages were on the rise.Buoyed, once again, by stock and option awards, as well as by non-equity incentive plan compensation, packages in 2007 for the highest-paid executives at 27 footwear retailers and vendors tracked by Footwear News averaged $3.1 million, up 14 percent from $2.8 million the prior year.

Stock and option awards alone averaged nearly $1.1 million, with Matthew Rubel of Collective Brands Inc. raking in nearly $4.7 million, the highest among the firms analyzed. In contrast, bonuses averaged just $104,670. As has been a general trend over the past few years, bonuses were often replaced with non-equity incentive plan compensation, referring to rewards given to executives when certain financial targets are met frequently over several years.

Shoe Pavilion Gets Nasdaq Warning

NICOLE URBANOWICZ

NEW YORK – Shoe Pavilion Inc. received notice from Nasdaq that its stock has failed to meet the minimum bid price requirements for continued listing on the exchange and has until December to regain compliance.On Friday, the off-price footwear retailer said a June 19 letter from Nasdaq stated that if Shoe Pavilion doesn’t achieve a $1 minimum closing bid price by Dec. 16, Nasdaq plans to issue a written notice of delisting. If at any time before that date, the bid price of the company’s common stock closes at $1 a share or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, the company will regain Nasdaq compliance. However, Nasdaq retains the right to require a $1-a-share minimum stock closing price for as many as 20 consecutive business days under certain circumstances.

If Shoe Pavilion does not meet the minimum bid price requirement and receives a delisting notice, the company may either appeal or apply to transfer its listing to the Nasdaq Capital Market. If it is ineligible to transfer, Shoe Pavilion’s securities will be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market – subject to its right to appeal the determination to a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel.

Shares of Shoe Pavilion closed down 11 percent Monday at 47 cents.

Nike Earnings Surge Again

By : MEGHAN CASS
NEW YORK (June 26, 2008) – Nike, Inc. reported on Wednesday an increase in income and revenues for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2008.Full-year income rose 26 percent to $1.9 million, up from $1.5 million in 2007. Earnings per diluted share spiked to $3.74, a 28 percent increase over last year’s $2.93. And revenues for the year increased to $18.6 billion, up 14 percent from last year’s $16.3 billion.

Fourth-quarter profits were $490.5 million, compared with $437.9 million in the year-ago period. Sales for the period were up 16 percent, reaching $5.12 billion. The company noted that a change in currency exchange rates accounted for a revenue increase of 5 percentage points for the full year, and 7 points for the fourth quarter.

“Nike turned in another strong performance in fiscal year 2008,” Nike President and CEO Mark Parker said in a statement. “The power and strength of the Nike brand, as well as the depth and diversity of the Nike portfolio produced solid sales growth across all geographies and key product platforms. By continuing to deliver compelling consumer experiences, backed by strong operational execution, we’re confident we can deliver long-term profitable growth and create value for our shareholders.”

Parker remained confident about the future. “Going forward, we are going to play to those strengths and continue to invest in product innovation, deep brand connections, improved retail presentation and operational effectiveness. Our focus is on working stronger, leaner and smarter through uncertain macroeconomic conditions to maximize our unique potential as a leader and innovator,” Parker continued. “As we complete fiscal 2008, we are better positioned than we ever have been.”

http://www.footwearnews.com

QUALITY CONTROL GUIDANCE

QUALITY CONTROL GUIDANCE
1. UPPER MATERIALS – LEATHER
Leather parts at vamp & toe with loose-grain or finish … finish peeling
Leather with “orange peel” finish … pipe … grainy
Leather torn … cut … nicked
Visual leather defects in vamp or toe cap area
Distinct color deviations / discoloration
Edges not dyed or dyed with wrong color
Long fibered (suede) leather
Color crocking
Leather cut in wrong stretch
Leather under lays not skived correctly creating visible “x-raying”2. UPPER MATERIALS – SHYNTETIC / TEXTILE
Distinct color deviations / discoloration
Weave faults (i.e. clubs; surface not uniform; loose weave)
Delamination
Materials cut in wrong direction / stretch

3. SKIVING & MARKING UPPER MATERIALS
Skiving quality (reduction thickness / skive width) not to standard

4. STITCHING
Incorrect needle type or size
Stitching not locked
Broken stitches
Stitch length under 3 per 1 cm or over 5 per 1 cm
Stitching not to standard over a distance of more than 2 cm
Edge distance of more than 2.5 mm
One stitch of the edge
Loose thread tension on upper
Tongue placed 3 mm or more off center
3 stripe stitches more than 2 mm out of place, visible crocked

ASSEMBLING

ASSEMBLING
A. HEEL COUNTER INSERTINGBefore inserting heel counter we must understand the type and grouping of heel counter. We also to know discrepancy between left and right heel counter.

Lining and upper material must be coated with cement in the whole area where the heel counter is placed. Heel counter has to dip with correct cement.

The heel counter must be inserted straight, not too high and not too low. Correction are not possible after inserting and molding.

B. HEEL COUNTER MOLDING

Important: Sizes of uppers, heel counters and molds must fit.

The molding must be done properly. The upper must straightly be pulled down and held until male and female molds are closed with the upper in between. A mirror should be placed at the machine in such a way, that the operator can control the backside of the mold.

The heel mold must correspond to shape and size of the heel counter.

C. ATTACHING STROBEL INSOLE BOARD

After heel counter inserted to the upper, heel lining and heel cap will be stitched together.

CUTTING

A. INCOMING MATERIAL INSPECTION
All materials from warehouse must be checked and ensure that warehouse department sends the right materials, and cutting department has to check that there is “released” sticker on materials.
If there are any color grouping, cutting dept. has to inform other dept (stitching, assembly, and packing)

B. CUTTING PREPARATION

Leather Storage
Materials from warehouse should be prepared and stored according to the standard for each type of materials.
1. Leather need to be protected from the sunlight, otherwise the leather will be yellowing.
2. The temperature can’t be too high, otherwise the chemical in material will come out.
3. It is better hanging the leather than rolling leather in the leather storage , so wrinkles or creases can be avoided.

Cutting Dies Inspection
In order to make the cutter have high performance the cutting template the most important preparation process before cutting. It can help the cutter avoid the defective.
Cutting Dies Inspection :
· Check the size of the cutting die to see whether it is fit with the pattern.
· Check the horizontality the cutting die on the cutting board or glass.
· Inspect the cutting dies quality through both sound and vision.

Machines Adjustment
1. The optimal distance between cutting die and cutting board is 8 – 10 mm
2. Always set the pressure to zero after every shift finishing and when every shift starting need to reset the pressure in order to avoid any cutting board and any cutting dies damages.