SHOE INDUSTRY Foot locker, Nike end sneaker-sales feud

Both companies admit they lost sales.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The year-old business chill between Nike Inc. and the sneaker giant's biggest buyer is thawing, though not in time for Foot Locker to receive the shoe designer's hottest celebrity product by Christmas.
Instead, in the next two weeks Foot Locker Inc. will unveil "20 Pack," a line of retro footwear designed by Nike exclusively for the retail chain.
Analysts describe the new line as a peace offering -- the more than 3,000 Foot Locker outlets nationwide will have to wait at least another six months to receive the signature shoe of rookie basketball star LeBron James.
On the court, James, the No. 1 draft pick of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers this year, is often compared to the young Michael Jordan. Off the court, Nike, which spent $90 million securing the player's endorsement, hopes to make his footwear the new Air Jordan.
A week before Thanksgiving, Nike announced it would resume marketing high-end shoes to Foot Locker next year. But orders take a minimum of six months to process, Nike spokeswoman Joani Komlos said Thursday.
Big release
Nike will launch the James shoe at several of Foot Locker's competitors on Dec. 20.
"We're expecting to have people sleeping outside," said Ryan Haviland, manager of the Finish Line store in Portland's Lloyd Center mall. "This is the biggest release any company has seen since Michael Jordan's. We're all wearing name tags right now with LeBron's picture and a shirt with the release date."
Ironically, it was Foot Locker's reticence to buy Nike's triple-digit shoes, such as the Air Jordans, that plunged the two companies into disagreement.
How it began
The schism began early last year when Foot Locker chief executive Matt Serra said the company was changing its marketing strategy, scaling back on orders of Nike's high-end offerings to focus on medium-priced shoes.
In a move analysts described as retaliatory, Nike announced it would stop shipment to Foot Locker of its "marquee" line -- shoes above $100. The line includes many of Nike's most-sought-after sneakers, like the retro Air Jordan.
The decision initially hurt Foot Locker more than Nike.
"There were certainly Nike products that were missing from our store. If we had had that product, we could have done better," said Peter Brown, Foot Locker's treasurer.
But Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike suffered, too. In its fourth quarter report in September, the manufacturer blamed a 10 percent domestic sales drop on the estrangement of its longtime partner.