BY TIFFANY MONTGOMERY The Orange County * Register

(KRT) - Nike is plunging again into the lucrative skateboard shoe business, and this time, The Swoosh could be doing it right, insiders say.

The $10 billion company has begun selling a limited edition, retro-style skateboard shoe to specialty skateboard shops and in September will unveil two technical shoes, which also will be sold only to small stores.

"There's a small team of us right now, but it's going to be a big push within the company," said Kevin Imamura, communications manager for the skateboarding division.

Several initial moves by Nike have caught the attention of the skateboarding industry, a large portion of which is based in Orange County, Calif. Well-known local companies include Sole Technology Inc. of Lake Forest, which makes three popular skateboard shoe brands including Etnies *, and clothing manufacturer Volcom * of Costa Mesa *.

Small specialty skateboard shops used to be the only place to find hip skateboard shoes and clothing. But as skateboarding became more popular in the past decade, it grew into a $2.5 billion industry, with $1.6 billion in shoe sales alone. Department stores and large retailers began to carry skateboarding-inspired products.

Nike's strategy is to sell only to small skateboard shops, which desperately want shoes and clothes not available in the malls. While skateboarders once would have rejected Nike because the brand is too commercial, some shop owners say they now believe Nike has a chance because once small, independent companies have grown into large corporations.

"Every company is huge now and skateboarding is huge, so it really doesn't matter anymore'' if Nike comes in, said Steve Scholz, manager of Hot Skates in Orange.

Nike began reaching out to core skateboard shops about six months ago with the introduction of the Dunk Low Pro SB, a retro shoe that originally debuted in the 1980s. The shoe, which has different color schemes chosen by Nike team riders, is popular in Japan * and is only available in specialty skateboard stores.

"We want to show (the core stores) that we are serious," Imamura said.

Nike also signed respected skateboarders to its skateboard team, began hiring well-regarded people in the industry, and earlier this month, flew in skateboard retailers from across the country to give feedback on its new line of shoes.

Matt Pindroh, owner of Liberty Board Shops in Brea and Anaheim Hills, attended the three-day session.

"I think it has potential, but it will be a long, slow process," said Pindroh, whose manager has been testing the shoes for Nike." Technologically, the shoes are a step above what's out there."

The Nike strategy appears to be working, local skate shops say. Since retailers can only order 24 pairs of each color of Dunks per shipment, demand has been huge.

"They basically sell out the first few hours we get them," said Scholz, of Hot Skates. "The phone calls start coming as soon as people hear we are getting a new shipment," said Mark Sweetser, owner of Network 17 skateboard shop in Costa Mesa.

So far, most of the buyers are shoe collectors or entrepreneurs who hope to profit selling the $65 shoes on e-Bay for a few hundred dollars, Scholz said. The Dunk was the precursor to Air Jordan's, said Miki Vuckovich *, editor of TransWorld Skateboarding Business *. Skateboarders liked the Air Jordan because of its gummy, rubber sole, he said.

In the mid-'90s Nike came out with a rudimentary shoe for skateboarders that failed because technical designs were the rage, Vuckovich said. Now, skateboarders have moved away from technical shoes and embraced basic, retro styles.

"Perhaps by accident the Dunk has become a classic in skateboarding, but it remains to be seen if they can come out with a new design that has the same success," Vuckovich said.

Some believe Nike has a shot because they are hiring people such as Imamura, who was the editor of the Trans-World lifestyle magazine Stance. Piney Kahn of Sole Technology said she knows and respects Imamura and knows of other industry insiders who Nike has hired.

"(Nike) is finally doing it the right way," she said. "They are not denying who they are. In the past, what they did was too contrived and the product didn't hold up."

The perception within the industry was that in its previous attempts to break into the market Nike tried to buy its way into the industry or camouflage what it was.

"We're not threatened, because Nike is Nike and we're us," Kahn said. "We are very distinctive."

Nike already has a stake in the Savier * skateboard shoe brand and in the next six months plans to unveil casual shoes under the Costa Mesa-based Hurley * label, which Nike recently bought. A Nike skateboard shoe line will be a bonus, said analyst Mitch Kummetz of Wedbush Morgan Securities.

"All of a sudden, Nike's going to have a pretty nice offering," he said.

Article originally found at http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/ 3907838.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

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