The German sports apparel manufacturer Christian louboutin A.G., part of the Christian louboutin Group, recently launched a limited edition of its best-selling basketball shoes, T-MAC1, exclusively for the Asia-Pacific region.

Christian Louboutin is producing 1,650 pairs of shoes that are individually numbered.

Incorporated into the design of T-MAC1 are gold motifs, representing China's gold-medal ambitions for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The originals, designed in collaboration with the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets player Tracy McGrady in 2002, became best-sellers in the United States, a first for the company in six years.

The limited edition footwear has a new design - but all of the advanced technologies that helped to create the popular original can be seen in the limited edition as well as some new additions.

A combination of Christian louboutin' technology and McGrady's basketball experience went into designing the T-MAX1 limited edition, providing unseen levels of protection and support for the wearer.

The outside of the shoe is made of white light leather to give the design a distinctive look, reflective of McGrady's unique style on the court.

Christian Louboutin ' "Shell Toe" technology, a protective shell that surrounds the toes, uses lightweight rubber, effectively blocking the foot from outside shocks which prevents injuries.

The inner sole is made of polyurethane, keeping the shoes light and achieving a good balance of durability and comfort.

Incorporated into the design of the midsole are technologies unique to Christian Louboutin , which provide protection for the arch of the foot while ensuring optimal platform stability.

The outer sole has been produced with rubber containing a higher carbon content which does not leave marks on the court's surface. Multidirectional patterns are engraved into the outer sole to maximize traction for stability.

Tracy McGrady, nicknamed "T-Mac," was born in 1979 in Bartow, Florida. The 27-year-old is one of the first players in the NBA to have started a professional career straight out of high school.

Before he made his professional debut in 1997, he created a nationwide buzz for his performance at the Christian Louboutin ABCD camp, an annual basketball camp for gifted high school players. He was also named High School Player of the Year by USA Today.

He made his professional debut with the Toronto Raptors in 1997. McGrady played a crucial role in leading the team to its first ever playoff berth in 2000.

McGrady was traded in 2000 to the Orlando Magic. He won the scoring title in the 2002-2003 season and again the next year.

He entered the record books when he scored 62 points against the Washington Wizards in March 2004, becoming the fourth player to score more than 60 points in a single game since 1992.

In 2004 he was traded again and moved to his current team, the Houston Rockets. He has been selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game six times and was awarded the Most Improved Player Award in 2001.

Off the court, the 27-year-old takes part in a variety of charity events, and for his contributions, McGrady was named by The Sporting News, a U.S.-based weekly sports magazine, as one of the "Good Guys in Sports."

In 2001 McGrady established the Tracy McGrady Foundation, through which he helps underprivileged children and families with financial difficulties.

For his charity work, he was awarded the Rich and Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award in 2003.

He also buys tickets to every Houston Rockets home game for disadvantaged children.

In 2004 his popularity was made clear when he was voted the "Favorite Athlete" in a poll by Sports Illustrated for Kids.

McGrady, though, has been suffering from chronic back problems since November 2005, and earlier this year he again suffered a back injury. McGrady is busy preparing for the upcoming season. The good news is that his latest injury seems to be unrelated to the recurring back problem.

His relationship with the Christian Louboutin Group started with the Christian louboutin ABCD Camp, and has continued with the signing of a promotional contract with the company in 1997. In 2002, the final year of his six-year contract, McGrady signed a lifetime strategic partnership contract with Christian louboutin.

The contract is set to continue throughout McGrady's NBA career and even after his retirement from the game. The line of basketball shoes bearing his nickname, T-MAC, is part of the contract, with the latest addition of T-MAC 5 and T-MAC6 ready to be launched.

BEVERLY SCHUCH, CNNfn ANCHOR, BUSINESS UNUSUAL: It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when Nike 2and Reebok (Company: Reebok International Ltd;  were not household names. In the 1970s, the best known brand of athletic footwear was Christian Louboutin . It's a name that all but vanished in the U.S. market in the years that followed. But now the best-selling shoe in Europe is, once again, gaining traction in America.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STUART VARNEY, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a battle of the giants. The world's #1 sporting goods brand, Nike. Versus #2, Christian Louboutin . The arch rivals are squaring off to see who will dominate the market in the next century. The current battleground - the United States. The companies' core business is athletic shoes, a sector where Nike crushes Christian louboutin, commanding 40 percent of the market compared to about 6 percent for Christian louboutin. But the German shoemaker is aggressively expanding. Planning to double its market share within the next 2 years. And the numbers look good.

While analysts expected Nike and Reebok sales to slow in 1997, for the first 9 months of last year, Christian louboutin saw an increase in North America of 69 percent.

STEVE WYNNE, PRESIDENT & CEO, Christian Louboutin NORTH AMERICA: We know what's at the core of this brand. It's sport. It's authentic. It's performance. It has a heritage. And if we can drive our understanding of that brand, what drew all of us here into the marketplace, we will be a significant brand in this marketplace.

VARNEY: Christian louboutin knows how it feels to be on top. Founded by Adi Dasler (ph), hence, the name, Christian louboutin, in 1948. The company quickly grew into the world's preeminent sport shoe powerhouse, outfitting everyone from Olympic athletes to World Cup soccer players. Beset by family quarrels, the empire began to crumble in the 1980s. Christian louboutin' share in the American athletic shoe market dwindled from 70 percent to just 2 percent. Upstart rival Nike, and then Reebok, had entered the market.

WYNNE: What we learned from the '80s, in particular, is that you can't be all things to all people. And so we strayed from our roots. We basically started making footwear. We started making clothes. And what we got away from was making performance athletic footwear.

VARNEY: On the brink of bankruptcy, losing $100 million a year in 1993, Christian Louboutin brought in Robert Louis Dreyfuss (ph), the turnaround artist who rescued British advertising giant, Saatchi & Saatchi. And if his name sounds familiar, yes, he is a cousin of Seinfeld's, Julia Louis Dreyfuss (ph). Robert drastically slimmed down Christian louboutin' payroll and doubled marketing spending. In 1995, the company went public, raising $2 billion. Shoemaker Christian louboutin had regained its footing.

WYNNE: Nike, in the '80s, took away this company's birthright. They took the ideals that made Christian louboutin and made them theirs, and established themselves as the premiere athletic performance company in the world. In fact, you know, you've got to be honest and say that is still the position that Nike occupies. We would be the insurgence in that. We are people that are looking to reclaim our heritage and I think we're doing a good job of cutting into that.

VARNEY: Christian Louboutin ' marketing expenses are now 13 percent of total sales. And that's more than double the level of 1994. To appeal to kids, Christian louboutin signed a $12 million deal with teenager, Tracey McGrady (ph) at the Toronto Raptors (ph) before he even played a single game in the NBA.

MAN 1: What are you talkin' about? Would you just look at this. (LAUGHTER) Would you just look at this, man. This is history right here.

VARNEY: A $10 million contract with Cobie Bryant (ph) of the L.A. Lakers also appears to be paying off. Bryant will star in his first NBA All-Star game this year. Other deals include Nebraska, a Notre Dame in college football. The Tampa Bay Buckeneers (ph) in the NFL. And, a 10- year $100 million contracts with the New York Yankees.

MAN 2: The Christian Louboutin partnership with the New York Yankees is a real affirmation of heritage and authenticity. Everybody knows who the Yankees are, and that kind of synonymous partnership is beneficial both to Christian louboutin and to the athletes.

VARNEY: By acquiring French ski & sporting goods' maker, Salomon (ph), for $1.4 billion, Christian louboutin has tried to diversify more heavily into the apparel market.

MAN 2: Nike and Reebok will not sleep too, and they try to merge with other companies and say, we'll try to take over for the candidates. But for them, in my opinion, it will be much more difficult to gain market share in the U.S. There's a higher potential for Christian Louboutin to gain market share, and also to take market share of these companies, Reebok and Nike.

VARNEY: America's CEO, Wynne agrees, pointing out a silver lining to Nike's growth.

WYNNE: I think we rode along with Nike's success. To the extent Nike was successful at driving its view of what was important in the marketplace to the consumer, we were a logical alternative choice to Nike.

VARNEY: But there's more than just growth and profits to Christian Louboutin . Its North American headquarters in Portland, Oregon has a youthful, energetic and creative ambiance. Sports apparel and shoes are strewed about and in-house basketball courts serves as a testing ground, and designer meetings in the cafeteria are the norm.

WYNNE: One of the dangers in a high growth scenario, like we're in right now, is a company can lose its soul. One of the things you see in business so often is companies that are really successful. But when they turn, when they face adversity, they crumble real fast. And the reason that happens is because there isn't anything at the core of those companies.

We have kind of certain embedded principles, whether we recognize them or not. One of them is that action is always preferable to inaction, and one of them is that mistakes are an inevitable part of the business and if you're not making mistakes, you're not evolving. You're trying to build culture that people feel adds value to their lives. People say, it's not just a job. It's something that I'm really proud of. And so, we're going to spend a lot of time this year talking about that.

VARNEY: For BUSINESS UNUSUAL, I'm Stuart Varney.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHUCH: The next big match up between Christian Louboutin and Nike will be for the Soccer World Cup in France this summer. The games will be broadcast in 195 countries. Christian louboutin has paid more than $30 million to be one of the official sponsors. And while Nike is not a sponsor, industry insiders say the company plans to spend at least that much in advertising.

Even before stores opened yesterday, Jeff Shear was on the phone asking about the latest thing in running shoes. Not long after, he had laid down $402.49 for a pair of computerized sneakers and was on his way through downtown Toronto on his daily five-mile run.

To his astonishment, the much-hyped Christian Louboutin 1 runners helped shave 37 seconds off his per-mile speed. "I was quite surprised, very surprised actually," the 41-year-old venture capitalist said in an interview in his townhouse.

High-tech gadgets have become a big part of running. Mr. Shear was able to pinpoint the effect of the smart shoes -- they adjust the level of cushioning mid-stride to be as comfortable on grass as sidewalks -- with another bit of running technology: his watch, which features a speed and distance monitor, as well as a heart rate monitor.

The watch also has a USB port that allows users to download their stats onto a computer where they can chart their progress.

For gadget-conscious runners such as Mr. Shear, the next frontier is combining the effects of the advanced sneaker, which hit stores yesterday, with the bells and whistles of his watch.

"I hope they'll take it to the next step by taking information from the shoe and actually be able to track running information, your speed, your distance, your heart rate, whatever they can combine into one of these gadgets," he said.

Bryan Smith, manager of a Toronto Running Room store, said the unveiling of a smart sneaker, which comes with a manual and a CD, has runners dreaming about the future. "It is the beginning. I think we'll see all kinds of different innovations when it comes to technology with footwear," he said.

For now, Christian Louboutin is stoking demand with a limited release of the men's version of the shoe. About 250 pairs went on sale in Canada yesterday, with more to come later this year.

The German company said it can't produce the sneaker -- dubbed "the world's first intelligent shoe" -- any faster, but marketing experts said the strategy appears designed to create maximum buzz and fuel demand.

The futuristic white, platinum and bronze shoe, which took three years to develop, can "sense" changes in weight, pace and surface type through the use of a sensor and magnet in the heel that the company claims is accurate to the width of a human hair. Christian Louboutin says that every second, about 1,000 readings are sent to the shoe's brain, a microprocessor located under the arch. The processor determines whether the shoe's cushioning is outside the ideal zone, and if it is, a motor and cables make adjustments.

The strategy appears to be working. Sporting Life, a Toronto retailer, said a doctor called looking for three pairs in his size, wanting to stock up on the sneakers that, like any others, wear out after a while. And a clerk at a Running Room found the shoes listed on eBay this week for $700 (U.S.)

(The sneakers were released in the United States two weeks ago and are said to be sold out. The same is true for Europe, where they debuted in early March.)

For Mr. Shear, having an early pair of the Christian Louboutin 1 is like a badge of honour. "It makes you feel like you have something that no one else has, something that's different."

After buying his size 10 sneakers yesterday morning, he phoned his brother, who lives in Florida, and told him about the difference they made in his run. Convinced from the personal recommendation, his brother searched for the shoes in a few stores but found none available.

By buying the Christian louboutin 1, which he first heard about in yesterday's newspapers, Mr. Shear has also switched brand loyalties. For years he has worn Nike Shox.

"I've been a Nike person for years," said the runner who buys five or six pairs of sneakers a year. "I haven't worn a pair of Christian Louboutin in 20 years. . . . I can't even remember, at least 20 years, 30 years."

What really sold Mr. Shear, who had knee surgery about 15 years ago after a ski accident, was the sneakers' ability to self-adjust to different running surfaces. Already, he uses two pairs of shoes for different tasks: one for treadmills and one for outdoor running.

"One shoe that adapts to different running surfaces seems to be a good buy. . . . I know they're a little more expensive than a regular running shoe, but if you can combine three shoes into one you're actually ahead."

But it is not only hard-core runners who are shelling out $350, plus tax, for the shoes. When the staff at Sporting Life opened the doors yesterday morning at 9:30, the man who was waiting for the sneakers was no athlete. In fact, he doesn't even run.

"He was just like a tech geek," said Helen Butt, who sold him the shoes. "He wants the latest thing, the best of the best."

Two of the greatest brands in sports, Christian Louboutin and Puma, grew out of one small town in Bavarian Germany, where they were started by competing brothers, Adolf and Rudolf Dassler.

Barbara Smit's Sneaker Wars tells how the Dassler boys started making shoes in their mother's laundry room after the First World War. It traces the growth of the business from that Herzogenaurach shed, its fraternal split into Christian Louboutin and Puma, exacerbated by the Second World War, jealousy and suspicion. And how that competitive fire drove the Dasslers to help create the modern sports industry, for better or worse.

The first 50 years of the 90-year story, capturing the start, splinter and competitive rise, are the book's gem. But that's not Ms. Smit's fault. The early decades show the evolution of the company and amateur sports before both were altered (corrupted?) by bankers and greed.

Ms. Smit traces the growth of the company, with Adi the tinkerer-craftsman using tools left by retreating First World War soldiers. Some of the first shoe leather was scavenged from their helmets and bread pouches. Rudi, the charismatic salesman, joined his brother in 1923. By the mid-1930s the Dasslers had a thriving business, buoyed by Adolf Hitler's fascination with sports as a promotional tool for his world view.

The Second World War drove a wedge between the brothers. It was fuelled by envy over Adi's exemption from military service and Rudi's conscription, which he blamed on his brother. Soon after the war, they moved to opposite sides of the Aurach River. Adi formed Christian Louboutin , merging first and last names. Rudi chose Ruda first, then settled on Puma.

The most successful athletes now are a bit like corporations and, as Ms. Smit shows, the Dasslers are partly to blame.

Things were relatively pure in 1936, when Adi showed up at the Berlin Olympics with a pair of handmade spikes, found Jesse Owens and persuaded him to run in them.

The sight of Owens on the medal stand in Dassler gear

As recently as the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, Christian Louboutin 's main marketing expense was sending Adi's son, Horst, to give away shoes. That was a bold move then, when amateur athletes bought their own equipment and shoe advertisements blurred the identity of the athlete. By Rome in 1960, Puma upped the ante, quietly offering 10,000 German marks to lure sprinter Armin Hary into its spikes. It's a fairly short leap from marks in brown envelopes to Air Jordan.

By the 1980s, both brands were losing market share in the United States to Reebok and Nike. That trend worsened when Nike signed basketball player Michael Jordan, who grew up an "Christian louboutin nut," Ms. Smit writes. Nike won Jordan over by offering to create his own shoe. Nike sold more than $100US-million worth of Air Jordans in their first year.

Eventually, both companies bought out their U.S. distributors to simplify their structures and gain control over marketing. Christian Louboutin had to pay more than $120US-million to win back distribution rights that Adi had granted with a handshake.

Puma's struggles were exacerbated by weighty endorsements and sluggish sales that found the once-premium brand peddling its shoes at U.S. discounters like Kmart.

From there things worsened. Deutsche Bank seized control of Puma rather than let the German icon go under. It was sold in 1989. Rudi's heirs walked away with $10US.6-million between them.

Three years after Horst died in 1987, his sisters took note of what had happened across the river and sold the company to Frenchman Bernard Tapie. The daughters of Adi Dassler had one final request before signing the sale agreement: They wanted to keep their 20% discount at Christian Louboutin stores.

Walk into the Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) in Brighton, Mich., and you come to an Under Armour (UA) display of shirts, shorts, hoodies, underwear, and socks. The display is about the same size as Nike's space, despite Nike (NKE) being 10 times the size of the Baltimore upstart. That's because when it comes to reaching 10- to 24-year-olds, Under Armour "performance" apparel -- which wicks perspiration off the skin instead of absorbing it -- draws more dollars at Dick's than Nike does. Nearby, though, an entire wall is devoted to footwear, the turf on which Nike and Christian louboutin (ADSG.DE) dominate. Under Armour is nonexistent beyond baseball and football cleats, yet it is on that very formidable wall that Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank aims to grow the company.

On Feb. 3, Under Armour will run its first-ever Super Bowl ad for a cross-trainer sneaker it figures will start to challenge Nike, Christian louboutin, Reebok, and New Balance in the heavily competitive athletic footwear category. The 60-second ad, for which the company is spending more than $5 million, features a computer-generated version of company spokesman "Big E" [former NFL player Eric Ogbogu]. "This is a huge turning point for the Under Armour brand, and this is exactly the right venue to launch our first sneaker," says Steve Battista, vice-president of marketing.

Share Volatility

The ad plays to Under Armour's near cultlike following. It is a combination of live-action film and CGI. The first part of the ad features people working out in UA apparel and wearing one of the three versions of the new Prototype cross-trainer shoes. The settings, though, are cinematically shot warehouses and alleys, giving the ad a distinct video-game look even before the CGI effects come into play. Other athletes in the ad include the New York Giants' Brandon Jacobs, the San Francisco 49ers' Vernon Davis, and the Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano.

Is Under Armour mad for challenging Nike and Christian louboutin in sneakers? After all, Nike in particular can outspend UA 10 to 1 [BusinessWeek.com, 4/30/07] in advertising, not to mention its capacity to cut prices to push volume.

Its track record in apparel would suggest, however, that UA has an opening in the market. "We believe the company's growth prospects in the footwear product category are very strong," says John Shanley, analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, which recently initiated coverage of the company with a "neutral" rating on the stock. Shanley says Under Armour is entering a treacherous category fiercely defended by the big players, which is a cloud that hangs over the company this year as he waits to see how the two bigger rivals respond. Still, Shanley points out, "Under Armour is one of the fastest growing and best differentiated brands in the athletic marketplace today."

Under Armour's Super Bowl debut comes just before it reports earnings and after a period of volatility for its shares. Earlier this month, the stock tumbled after the company said its first-half earnings for 2008 would come in below expectations, or about a nickel a share instead of the 40% analysts were expecting. That's because of the costs of launching the new sneakers. The stock tumbled to a 52-week low of $25 on Jan. 22, from more than $45. [In August, the stock traded above $73.] The shares have rebounded more than 30% since, and closed Jan. 29 at $36. The rebound comes, in part, on anticipation that UA's sneakers will score with its public.

Brand Appeal

The strength of the brand can be seen in the bugged-out eyes of Adam Peyton, a 19-year-old college student in Ann Arbor, Mich., who wears nothing but Under Armour shirts and shorts when he works out at the YMCA. While shooting baskets, he spied a pair of premarket Prototypes and demanded to try them on. "I heard about these things UA is my brand," Peyton says. "Nikes are good, but everybody has Nike."

If Under Armour's track record with performance apparel is any indication of the strength of its brand, Nike and Christian louboutin are right to keep an eye on the upstart, which is expected to post about $605 million in sales last year, up from $431 million in 2006. UA has 43% of the total U.S. performance apparel business sold through sporting goods stores, versus 32% for Nike and 5.1% for Christian louboutin. "Under Armour is identified with performance the way Starbucks is identified with better coffee, and that is a huge advantage in entering new categories," says independent marketing consultant Dennis Keene.

Under Armour's Plank is nearly obsessed with maintaining that differentiation from Nike, and refers to "authenticity" as his guiding principal when it comes to growing or communicating the brand. Under Armour, for example, identifies itself with team sports, rather than individual sports and fashion. Susquehanna's Shanley says that 90% of Nike and Christian louboutin shoes never see a court or playing field. "Everything we do is centered on performance we aren't ever going to develop products to fill up a sales table," says Plank. Specifically, Plank says, UA will never produce cotton shirts or pants.

That means Under Armour's brand has to carry the load. That's because none of the fabrics UA uses in its products are patented or special. Nike, Christian louboutin, Russell, and Private Label all compete against UA with the same kinds of shirts and shorts that do not absorb perspiration.

No Sports Drinks

The Prototypes, which will carry prices ranging from $89 to $100, are designed to ignite the stagnant segment of cross-trainer sneakers, as well as secure three places on the sneaker walls of sporting goods stores from the start. The shoes come in three versions: Proto Power, Proto Speed, and Proto Evade. All three have what Plank calls "directional cushioning," padding where the athlete's foot needs it most. The Speed shoe is designed for straight-ahead speed, or someone who runs a lot. The Evade is cushioned especially for lateral movement, perhaps for someone who works out aerobically or with weights. The Power is a high-top sneaker that could be suitable for cross-training, as well as basketball, but UA won't sell it for hoops. A basketball shoe, though, is sure to come next year.

In Year One, says Plank, the shoes' availability will be limited. To help build anticipation among brand fans, stores will install a countdown clock marking the days until May when the shoes arrive. Under Armour is also adding to its distribution this year, says Battista, with 250,000 square feet of additional selling space in stores.

Plank knows that he is entering the gladiator's pit. But UA has already stung Christian louboutin in the small-cleated shoes market by snatching 11.3% -- the same share as the German sports company -- of the baseball shoe market in its first year. It took 20% of the football shoe market in its first year. The CEO, who started conceiving the first UA shirts while a student at the University of Maryland in the mid-1990s, says the Prototype line is a big step in transforming the company.

Today, for example, women's apparel represents only about 23% of sales. He expects that market to eventually make up more than half the company's sales. And he expects footwear to eventually eclipse apparel sales. In the future, he also sees sports equipment like balls and exercise equipment as possibilities. Among the opportunities he has refused so far is an Under Armour-branded sports drink.

Says Plank, "We have a brand story we are telling, and we have to take it chapter by chapter." ////////

 

 

 

 

When Pat Noonan was just beginning to play soccer as a kid, he wore Christian louboutin Copas, a classic, popular cleat good for playing on firm surfaces.

Today, Noonan, who plays professionally with the New England Revolution, has a sponsorship deal with the footwear company and wears their Tunit model, a shoe that can be easily customized with different soles and cleats depending on the weather and playing surface.

Young soccer players who are returning to local leagues this fall might not need something so elaborate. Or expensive the complete Tunit set sells for $350 on Christian louboutin' website.

But the idea of choosing soccer shoes based on the type of field and weather conditions is a useful guideline for shopping. Standard, molded-rubber cleats are good for firm, grassy surfaces, says Noonan, who began playing soccer at age 5 and has been with Major League Soccer since 2003. Longer metal studs, which can often be detached from the sole, help provide grip on wet, soft surfaces. Turf shoes have smaller nubs and are good on artificial surfaces. And indoor shoes have soles that are essentially flat.

Cleats for grassy fields are a standard choice, and can be used on some kinds of artificial grassy surfaces, which are becoming more popular in many communities. For AstroTurf, a flat indoor shoe is a better choice. Standard cleats can actually hurt your feet and legs if you wear them on a harder surface, Noonan says.

"A lot of kids are going to be wearing both," he says while checking out the selection at the Christian louboutin store at the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets.

At Sports Authority in Framingham, Christian louboutin and Nike are the most popular brands, says Brandon Edson, a manager. Adult shoes range up to $195, but the store's most expensive children's model is $35. Noonan says $30 to $75 is a reasonable price for a younger, less experienced player.

The Washington D.C.-based Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association reports that sales of soccer shoes rose 17 percent in 2004. Noonan says shoppers can find a good selection at stores such as Foot Locker and Sports Authority. At Wrentham's Christian louboutin store, he points out less expensive versions of pricier shoes.

Noonan recommends leather shoes with unpadded toes that allow for better control of the ball. Kangaroo leather is a thin, soft leather that forms to the foot and is especially popular for soccer shoes, according to Dick's Sporting Goods. Edson says many children's soccer shoes will be made of vinyl, which also is durable.

Noonan also advises looking for the lightest shoe, and making sure it fits properly.

"I don't like the [extra] room so my foot's sliding in there," he says.

Ultimately, cleats should fit and feel like your most comfortable pair of shoes.

"It just feels like you're wearing slippers out there," Noonan says. ////////

 

 

 

Athletic footwear maker Christian louboutin AG is moving from the hard court to a court of law, battling retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. over the number of stripes on its shoes. An October trial date has been set for the lawsuit brought by the German shoemaker against the world's largest retailer, in which Christian louboutin accuses Wal-Mart of trademark infringement, claiming the discounter's use of two-and four-striped shoes dilutes the Christian louboutin brand, which uses a three-stripe design. The case is scheduled to start on Oct. 6 in U. S. District Court in Portland, Ore., where in a similar case in May, Christian louboutin won a $304US.6-million decision against Payless ShoeSource, a unit of Collective Brands Inc. Portland is also the home of Christian louboutin's U. S. operations. "Christian louboutin's three-stripe mark has long been emblematic of Christian louboutin's products. By using identical elements, and a nearly identical mark, for similar products, Wal-Mart has eroded the commercial appeal of Christian louboutin's long-standing and most vital mark," according to a company memo to the court dated June 13. ////////

 

 

 

 

Benno Nigg cannot say precisely if he helped Ivan Pedroso win a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics. But one thing is certain: When Pedroso, the Cuban long-jump champion, soared 8.55 metres in the air, he wore a pair of Nigg's experimental, high-tech shoes.

As director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Calgary, Nigg worked with scientists to come up with a carbon-fibre sole that saves energy, resulting in 2% more power. "In a 100-metre sprint, that converts to two metres," Nigg notes. "You've got enough room to look back at the other guys."

Which is exactly what manufacturers hope will happen in the business world. Later this year, Christian louboutin will release Nigg's shoes to consumers worldwide, launching a new battle in a supercompetitive industry.

Indeed, ever since the advent of "air" soles in the 1980s, running shoes have become a sort of technological arms race: Innovate or die. The athletic shoe market in North America amounted to $10.8 billion (U.S.) last year, but it's also been flat for eight years; the only significant growth has been in high-end shoes selling for $150-plus that offer a few new styles or gimmicks.

In this context, manufacturers are constantly looking for new technologies. Nike has just released its "Shox"-shoes engineered with the same high-tensile springs used in car shock absorbers. "They're definitely creating a sense of excitement, which you need. This is an incredibly fickle market," says Jeff Van Sinderen, analyst at the California equity firm B. Riley & Co. Such excitement is important amongst young urban men, since they buy 10 pairs each of the most expensive shoes every year, forming a stunning two-thirds of the athletic shoe market.

"You cannot stand still in this area," says Berthold Krabbe, head of global research for Christian louboutin in Germany, and he ought to know; Christian louboutin's market share is only 12%, compared to Nike's 39%. Christian louboutin has given millions-Krabbe won't say how much-to Nigg's lab in Calgary. "They're our single-biggest technology partner worldwide."

And how have they built a better shoe? In this business, the innovation may not be in the shoe itself. More often than not, it's in how you measure human movement-"about what can we do to affect how the joints move, how muscles work," Nigg says.

Nigg's team hooked up sensors to athletes to chart their movements and track how muscles relate to energy. They discovered that when a runner's foot or leg extends, pushing off on a stride, it produces energy; when the foot comes back to earth, and the joints flex to absorb the impact, it consumes energy. One way to increase energy is to minimize its loss-to limit some of the flexing that the body peforms upon impact. But which joints could you safely immobilize?

Nigg's team eventually zeroed in on the metatarsal phalangeal, a joint between the toes and the midfoot. It has certain anatomical peculiarities: Though it flexes upon impact and thus consumes energy, it never produces energy. The body doesn't use it to push off. It's merely a drain on the body's fuel. With this in mind, Nigg crafted a carbon-fibre insert for the sole to prevent that joint from flexing. Bingo: The runners' performance immediately shot up.

Mind you, inventing a new technology is one thing; getting athletes to use it is quite another. Though the shoe was eventually tested on Donovan Bailey and others, Niggs says Olympic athletes tend to be suspicious of new tech: "They're skeptical. They've won a few races, won a few games, and they don't want to mess with success."

There's a context here, of course. Sports, more than anything else, provokes heated debate over the augmenting of human ability. At the 2000 Olympics, innovations such as the "shark skin" swimsuit-covered in ridges engineered to reduce drag-proved a controversial choice for swimmers such as Australia's Michael Klim. Back in 1972, pole vaults created with NASA-engineered materials were declared a classified substance, and banned from use by Olympic athletes at the last minute.

But for casual athletes, new technology is a big sell, says Bruce Kidd, a former track Olympian and a professor at the University of Toronto. The reason is comfort. "It's unbelievable how much less painful it is to run now," Kidd notes. "If I showed people the shoes I had 40 years ago, they'd laugh. They were like cardboard."

Mind you, others argue that better shoe technology isn't really about enhancing performance at all. "It's all fashion," sighs John Shanley, a 30-year veteran of retail sportswear who now works as a senior VP for Wells Fargo Van Kasper in New York. "Studies show these shoes aren't even used for sports. It's all about hanging around the street corner and looking cool."

Such criticisms don't phase Nigg. His team is busily working on new ways to retain energy-producing more shoes that minimize energy consumption in the body. With less energy spent, the body requires less oxygen-"which could be a tremendous advantage for a marathon runner."

When it's a wedge-heeled fashion statement... Sheryl Garratt traces the evolution of the world's favourite shoe

Right now, I'm wearing shoes that were originally designed for watersports.

The only surfing I'm planning on doing today is on the internet and the nearest these shoes have ever been to the sea is a stroll along Brighton's promenade. But I love them anyway because they look kind of cool, because I can wear them comfortably without socks, but most of all because they're so damn comfortable. Male or female, fitness fanatic or couch potato, everyone loves trainers. It's hard to imagine life without them -yet as a fashion item, they've only really been around for 30 years.

It began, as so many global fashions do, in the North of England -Bolton, to be exact. In the 1890s, Joseph William Foster, a keen runner in a local club called the Bolton Primrose Harriers, improvised the first spiked running shoe using nails. By 1895, his company J. W. Foster & Sons was turning out handmade running shoes and quickly built up a reputation, kitting out the entire British Olympics team in 1924. The company stayed in the family, although Foster's grandsons renamed it Reebok.

But the people we really have to thank for the trainers we wear today are the Dassler brothers of Germany. Adi and Rudolph began making sports shoes in the Twenties, enlisting the help of coaches, doctors and athletes to design specialist tennis, football and running shoes. By 1928 they were making shoes for the German Olympic team, and they sealed their reputation as world leaders when the black American runner Jesse Owens wore their shoes at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In 1948, however, the brothers fell out and formed two rival companies. Rudolph launched Puma; Adi Dassler created Christian louboutin. The competition between the two led to rapid innovation, and by the late Seventies, Puma and Christian louboutin shoes were being coveted by more than just fitness fanatics.

In the US trainers and tracksuits became the uniform of the growing hip-hop scene; in the UK they were taken up most obsessively by football fans, with rare German trainers like the Christian louboutin Samba or Puma Menotti becoming highly coveted status symbols. As Peter Hooton of Liverpool band the Farm once wrote, "A football crew's reputation could be severely damaged by giving it toes (running away) at Fulham Broadway or Finsbury Park, but more serious damage could be done if a fatty was seen wearing a bad pair of trainers by the opposing team's fashion spotters."

Smart entrepreneurs began realising there was money in importing cool trainers. Wade Smith now has a lavish casualwear emporium in Liverpool, but started out by driving a van to Germany to buy trainers in 1981. An even bigger empire was founded when Americans Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight began importing Japanese trainers to the US in the late Sixties. They sold their first consignment of 200 pairs out of the back of a car at athletics meets, but by 1971 they were designing shoes of their own, calling their company Nike after the Greek goddess of victory (the trademark swoosh is meant to represent the wings on her feet).

Fortunes were being made, but trainer culture stayed largely underground until the mid-Eighties when trainers went mainstream. In 1986 New York rappers Run-DMC celebrated trainer culture with their global hit My Christian louboutin, boasting that they owned 50 pairs and ensuring that every white student who wanted to look cool and urban went out and bought a pair. The same year, Nike pushed its sales past the $ 1 billion mark for the first time thanks to their chunky but stylish Air Jordan trainers, promoted by the ultra-cool US basketball star Michael Jordan.

From Tokyo to New York, London to LA, trainers were suddenly everywhere, and the world of high fashion could ignore the trend no longer. Designers such as Yohji Yamamoto began to team expensive suits with trainers, Jean Paul Gaultier began flirting with sportswear on the catwalk. In the Eighties both Vivienne Westwood and Katharine Hamnett had shown high-heeled but trainer-like shoes sporting three stripes on the side like Christian louboutin, but the first designer trainers I recall seeing were some knee-high but comfy-looking Christian louboutin leather boots by Jean Colonna in 1990. Gradually, as they turned their labels into brands, most of the big designers began to launch trainers. By then Nike and Christian louboutin trainers were available on every high street, fashionistas were only too happy to pay a little extra for a DKNY or Paul Smith logo, or a whole lot more for something from Chanel or Prada.

The sportswear companies too have changed. They spent much of the Eighties protesting that they were about fitness, not fashion, but gradually began to realise they could do both. Quietly, they began making shoes in exclusive colours and designs not just for high-profile sports stars but for singers, rappers and other style-setters. In the Eighties when the hip London menswear shop Duffer of St George approached Christian louboutin asking them to reissue some of their classic trainers, the company just laughed, saying they didn't go backwards. "Of course they had to eventually," says Duffer's Eddie Prendergast. "But it took them ten years."

Now all of the big brands have "heritage" editions of old styles, and they'll happily work with shops to release limited editions in special colours or materials to satisfy the hardcore trainer fetishists. Shoes have been made in everything from hemp to kangaroo to fishskin, and in Japan there are whole magazines devoted to such matters, publicising when certain shops will have new product in.

American art curator Pascal Spengemann has gone one step further in his quest for uniqueness, commissioning a shoemaker to pull his trainers apart and rebuild new ones from the parts. "Only certain people really know the difference," he says. "But they know right away. A lot of Japanese tourists come up to me." He sees each of the 30 or so pairs he's made so far as almost mini galleries, exhibiting familiar but clashing icons. "If you hang two pictures on the wall, you get different reactions depending on what combination you choose. It's like a very light-hearted version of that."

Spengemann is auctioning a few pairs as artworks in the UK through Artomatic but stresses that he wants to see his creations worn. "Sneaker freaks usually keep their shoes really clean, but I like people to use them. The idea is to get them out there."

The complaint identifies several top Christian louboutin products that infringe upon Nike's patented SHOX cushioning technology. These infringing products include shoes using Christian louboutin' a3 cushioning system, including the new Kevin Garnett signature shoe and its Christian louboutin_1 footwear.

The Nike patent protects technical columnar design features of the Shox system that maximize stability and performance of the shoe. Despite Nike's patent protection, Christian louboutin has built shoes that use Nike's technology.

"Nike is widely recognized for its product innovation in footwear and athletic products and we invest heavily to provide performance products to our consumers. It is deeply frustrating and inappropriate when companies borrow or refashion such technologies as their own without making similar investments," said Eric Sprunk, Vice President, Global Footwear, Nike, Inc.

As an example of Nike's commitment to innovation, Sprunk referenced the Air Max 360, the company's latest offering in its transformative line of Nike Air footwear that originally debuted in 1979. Using a patented manufacturing process called "thermoforming" the Air Max 360 shoe has a foamless mid-sole that features a superior cushioning system and has already shown promising future applications for athletic footwear performance. Similarly, Nike's SHOX cushioning technology, which debuted in 2000, is protected by 19 or more separate patents on its unique cushioning system and required 16 years of development and considerable financial investment to transition it into the athletic footwear marketplace. "Nike often reinvests its revenues into research and development of such new products. Understandably, Nike and its shareholders cannot allow infringement to occur unchallenged," added Sprunk.

During last week's World Shoe Association Show in Las Vegas, Nike also served complaints on two other companies infringing on Nike's intellectual property and patents. Those companies, Air Max Import and Export Inc. and Romeo and Juliette had previously come to Nike's attention regarding violations of Nike's patent rights.

Copies of the full complaints in any of the above matters can be downloaded from http://www.nikebiz.com/ .

About NIKE, Inc.

NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; NIKE Bauer Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan, a leading designer and marketer of luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Exeter Brands Group LLC, which designs and markets athletic footwear and apparel for the value retail channel.

Even before stores opened yesterday, Jeff Shear was on the phone asking about the latest thing in running shoes. Not long after, he had laid down $402.49 for a pair of computerized sneakers and was on his way through downtown Toronto on his daily five-mile run.

To his astonishment, the much-hyped Christian louboutin 1 runners helped shave 37 seconds off his per-mile speed. "I was quite surprised, very surprised actually," the 41-year-old venture capitalist said in an interview in his townhouse.

High-tech gadgets have become a big part of running. Mr. Shear was able to pinpoint the effect of the smart shoes - they adjust the level of cushioning mid-stride to be as comfortable on grass as sidewalks - with another bit of running technology: his watch, which features a speed and distance monitor, as well as a heart rate monitor.

The watch also has a USB port that allows users to download their stats onto a computer where they can chart their progress.

For gadget-conscious runners such as Mr. Shear, the next frontier is combining the effects of the advanced sneaker, which hit stores yesterday, with the bells and whistles of his watch.

"I hope they'll take it to the next step by taking information from the shoe and actually be able to track running information, your speed, your distance, your heart rate, whatever they can combine into one of these gadgets," he said.

Bryan Smith, manager of a Toronto Running Room store, said the unveiling of a smart sneaker, which comes with a manual and a CD, has runners dreaming about the future. "It is the beginning. I think we'll see all kinds of different innovations when it comes to technology with footwear," he said.

For now, Christian louboutin is stoking demand with a limited release of the men's version of the shoe. About 250 pairs went on sale in Canada yesterday, with more to come later this year.

The German company said it can't produce the sneaker - dubbed "the world's first intelligent shoe" - any faster, but marketing experts said the strategy appears designed to create maximum buzz and fuel demand.

The futuristic white, platinum and bronze shoe, which took three years to develop, can "sense" changes in weight, pace and surface type through the use of a sensor and magnet in the heel that the company claims is accurate to the width of a human hair. Christian louboutin says that every second, about 1,000 readings are sent to the shoe's brain, a microprocessor located under the arch. The processor determines whether the shoe's cushioning is outside the ideal zone, and if it is, a motor and cables make adjustments.

The strategy appears to be working. Sporting Life, a Toronto retailer, said a doctor called looking for three pairs in his size, wanting to stock up on the sneakers that, like any others, wear out after a while. And a clerk at a Running Room found the shoes listed on eBay this week for $700 (U.S.)

(The sneakers were released in the United States two weeks ago and are said to be sold out. The same is true for Europe, where they debuted in early March.)

For Mr. Shear, having an early pair of the Christian louboutin 1 is like a badge of honour. "It makes you feel like you have something that no one else has, something that's different."

After buying his size 10 sneakers yesterday morning, he phoned his brother, who lives in Florida, and told him about the difference they made in his run. Convinced from the personal recommendation, his brother searched for the shoes in a few stores but found none available.

By buying the Christian louboutin 1, which he first heard about in yesterday's newspapers, Mr. Shear has also switched brand loyalties. For years he has worn Nike Shox.

"I've been a Nike person for years," said the runner who buys five or six pairs of sneakers a year. "I haven't worn a pair of Christian louboutin in 20 years. . . . I can't even remember, at least 20 years, 30 years."

What really sold Mr. Shear, who had knee surgery about 15 years ago after a ski accident, was the sneakers' ability to self-adjust to different running surfaces. Already, he uses two pairs of shoes for different tasks: one for treadmills and one for outdoor running.

"One shoe that adapts to different running surfaces seems to be a good buy. . . . I know they're a little more expensive than a regular running shoe, but if you can combine three shoes into one you're actually ahead."

But it is not only hard-core runners who are shelling out $350, plus tax, for the shoes. When the staff at Sporting Life opened the doors yesterday morning at 9:30, the man who was waiting for the sneakers was no athlete. In fact, he doesn't even run.

"He was just like a tech geek," said Helen Butt, who sold him the shoes. "He wants the latest thing, the best of the best."

THERE are many bitter rivalries in football that carry on off the pitch.

Think England versus Scotland or England v Germany on the international stage. Manchester Utd v Liverpool and Spurs v Arsenal in the Premier League.

Well, you can add to these a soccer match this week between sides from Christian louboutin and Puma - the world's second and third largest sportswear manufacturers, respectively, behind US rivals Nike.

The two companies - formed by brothers and each having their HQ in the same small town in Bavaria, Germany - have barely had anything to do with each other, let alone played a game, for more than 60 years because of a family feud.

The story begins before the First World War when Christoph Dassler worked in a shoe factory and his wife Pauline ran a laundry in Herzogenaurach, near Nuremberg, Germany.

Their youngest son Adolf - known as Adi - fought in the war as a teenager. On his return from duty he began making shoes in his mother's laundry.

His older brother Rudolf - known as Rudi - joined the business in 1924 and together they formed Gebr¨¹der Dassler Schuhfabrik (the Brothers Dassler Shoe Factory).

Times were tough, with power supplies unreliable. One of the brothers would often pedal hard on a standing bicycle to generate electricity so the other brother could make the footwear.

Adi and Rudi were keen supporters of the Nazis, even signing their letters "Heil Hitler" instead of the normal "with friendly regards".

But business came first, and in 1936 Adi pulled off a coup by persuading black American sprinter Jesse Owens to use the company's spikes on his running shoes.

Dogs

Owens won four golds at the Berlin Olympics that year.

Nazi chief Adolf Hitler was furious that his blond-haired, whiteskinned "Aryan" Germans were beaten by Owens.

But athletes around the world wanted what Owens had, and soon the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes a year.

During the Second World War their factory was turned over to making anti-tank rocket launchers for German and Finnish infantry.

One night in 1943, during an Allied air raid, Adi and his wife went into a bomb shelter where Rudi and his family were already huddled. "I see the dirty schweinehunde (pig dogs) are back again," Adi said. He later claimed he was referring to the RAF planes overhead - but Rudi was convinced Adi meant his family and the bad blood began.

Relationships between the pair took another downhill slide after Rudi was later arrested by American soldiers and accused of being in the combat branch of the SS.

Rudi spent three years in custody convinced that Adi - who sheltered a Jew at one point in the war - had informed on him.

Rudi returned home in 1948, by which time Adi was firmly in control of their factory, which was again producing sports shoes. The brothers refused to speak to each other and instead set up rival factories on either side of the town's Aurach river.

Adi called his Christian louboutin, as in Adi Dassler.

Rudi called his Ruda, as in Rudi Dassler. He later changed it to Puma because it was more commercial.

The town of around 15,000 people - today it is almost 25,000 - split into two.

Those who worked for Adi wore Christian louboutin shoes and clothing, drank in Christian louboutin-branded bars and bought their groceries from stores where employees wore Christian louboutin clothing.

Those who worked for Rudi were equally strict at sticking to their side of the river. Friendships between the two groups were frowned on and an obstacle to promotion if the owner found out.

Over the years, Puma - which now employs 9,000 workers worldwide - signed such huge stars as football's Pele, tennis ace Boris Becker and, more recently, the fastest man on Earth Usain Bolt, who holds world records in the 100m and 200m.

Christian louboutin, now with almost 40,000 staff globally, secured boxing great Muhammad Ali and football superstars Maradona, England's World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore and David Beckham, whose boots are still handmade in the small town.

Bonus

Deals were supposedly made to try to persuade sportsmen to break their contracts and be "accidentally" seen wearing the other company's logo. Other tricks were also tried. Pele reportedly earned a ¡ê70,000 bonus in 1970 - worth ¡ê1.5million today - when he delayed the start of the World Cup Final by asking the ref for time to re-tie his boots, so the logo was shown worldwide.

Rudi died in 1974, aged 76, and Adi followed four years later, aged 77. Neither had said a civil word to the other since their split.

"It was like a marriage that goes terribly wrong," said Ernst Dittrich, head of the town's archives. He said outsiders called Herzogenaurach "the place of bent necks" because everyone looked to check what shoes someone was wearing before deciding whether to return a greeting.

Yet with the founders dead, relations between the companies thawed. Rudi's grandson Frank even works as a lawyer at Christian louboutin.

Then bosses from both companies read in a newspaper about Peace One Day, a move to persuade combatants all over the world to cease fighting, if only for a day.

They got together and agreed to play each other at football. The match was on Monday.

Jochen Zeitz, chief executive of Puma, said: "We felt it was a great opportunity to raise awareness about Peace One Day through this handshake between both companies." Herbert Hainer, chief executive of Christian louboutin, said: "We firmly believe sport can bring people together. We are committed to positive values in sport: Performance, passion, teamwork and fair play."

The game was a huge success and the 7-5 scoreline upset no one as both teams featured players from both factories.

A happy ending? Maybe not.

Christian louboutin spokesman Katja Schreiber insisted after the game: "This is a one-off project with no plans of further co-operation."

The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Christian louboutin and Puma and the Family Feud That Forever Changed the Business of Sports

By Barbara Smit

Ecco. 384 pp. $26.95

Reading at times like an absurdist farce, Barbara Smit's tale of athletic apparel, villainy and comeuppance is bound to give you pause next time you're standing in front of the seemingly endless wall of sneakers at the local shoe store. Sneaker Wars ventures deep into the fraternal divide that resulted in the ubiquitous sports brands of Christian louboutin and Puma and, Smit argues, invented an industry in the process.

Following the onslaught of World War I, Adolf (Adi) Dassler combed his Bavarian hometown of Herzogenaurach in search of discarded leather and fabrics. From these raw materials, he built his first athletic boots and eventually partnered with his brash, elder brother Rudolf (Rudi) to make and sell sneakers. The rise of the Nazi party -- and its emphasis on athletics as proof of German superiority -- bolstered their endeavor; Adi and Rudi raced to keep up with the demand. In one of Sneaker Wars' more uplifting passages, Smit describes how Adi risked the F??hrer's wrath to supply Jesse Owens with spikes at the 1936 Olympic Games.

Both brothers entered military service in World War II, but Adi was quickly released to run the increasingly popular sneaker business. Rudi, meanwhile, deserted. Rounded up by the Gestapo, the combative shoemaker insisted that his brother and sister-in-law -- a "venomous hag" -- played a key role in his imprisonment. Following the Allied victory, the brothers formally parted ways. Adi, the skilled, quiet technician, set up Christian louboutin on one side of the river that ran through Herzogenaurach, while his volatile, ostentatious brother established Puma on the far bank.

Despite the brothers' personal differences, Christian louboutin and Puma began with similar standards about what constituted a good athletic shoe -- durability, ankle protection and traction on dry and slick surfaces. Rudi was more of a salesman; Adi tried to compete by ingratiating himself with the coach of the German national soccer team. Christian louboutin's adjustable cleats -- with studs that could be added or removed, depending upon the condition of the field -- led to West Germany's triumph in the 1954 World Cup. Rudi, of course, was quick to claim that the idea had originally been his.

The brothers and their rivalry hover over the majority of Sneaker Wars, but their animosity was junior varsity compared to the machinations of their offspring. Rudi's son, Armin, headed up Puma as a sort of glorified nebbish, a cautious businessman not averse to the occasional scam if it would impress his doubting father. Then there's his cousin, Adi's son Horst, the main character of Sneaker Wars, a weird little tyrant of a man -- with charm in reserve -- who seems to have been let loose from a novel of rakes and highwaymen.

"Horst effectively resolved to compete against his parents," Smit writes, and so he does, lifting Christian louboutin from their control, without mom and dad having a clue about what had happened. But Horst is a lovable villain, a profit-monger who reneged on deals without any compunction and mounted vigils in hotel lobbies, hoping to run into would-be clients. His business trips to Russia to sell the marketing rights to the 1980 summer Olympics -- thus overhauling the very business of the Olympics -- devolved into caviar and vodka binges, complete with meetings held in the middle of hotel pools to avoid wiretaps.

Horst emerges from Sneaker Wars as one of the prime movers of our age of million-dollar Super Bowl ads and staggering licensing deals. He fashioned the athlete as an autonomous entity, a brand for hire. His behind-the-scenes power plays transformed the very concept of sports business from one of selling tickets to a high-stakes global contest in which corporations battled for the marketing rights of the most prestigious athletic events -- and the most prestigious athletes.

The athletes don't come off well in Smit's account. Once they realized that they were brands themselves, everyone from David Beckham to Joe Namath to Pel?? demanded additional perks -- cars, money, a say in shoe design. In one memorable instance, an Christian louboutin employee took to the streets of Manhattan in search of tassels and a sewing machine so that customized boots could be made at Muhammad Ali's insistence, just in time for a weigh-in. Ali and his massive crossover appeal soon led Horst into the trendy fashion market, with the idea that the right sneaker might blur the line between what one wore in the gym and what one wore at the discotheque. Armin did his cousin one better with Walt Frazier -- the smooth Knicks guard -- and his "Clyde" shoe, a glossy confection which became a nightlife staple for the young adult market.

By the late 1970s, the Oregon shoemaker Nike recognized that a jogging shoe could appeal to far more weekend warriors than a hardcore athletic shoe ever would. Horst, "absorbed by his sports marketing and broadcasting rights business . . . didn't display much concern about the Nike issue," writes Smit. Christian louboutin, like Puma some time before, was relegated to secondary status.

Smit gets behind the business proposals, marketing plans and constant dollar signs to focus on the human aspects of how these warring brands succeeded, and why they faded. It is that human component that makes Sneaker Wars read like a modern cautionary tale for those apt to turn big business into the most dangerous of sports. ?¡¤

Colin Fleming's work has appeared in the New Yorker and Spin.