Reebok cuts running!!

Brooks: Actually 13 including Moving Comfort, including 2 VPs. Only two were product people.

Reebok announced yesterday that it “will cut about 100 employees” from its Canton, Massachusetts, HQ next spring as it shifts customer service and other departments to new adidas facilities in Spartanburg, South Carolina, according to Donna Goodison of the BOSTON HERALD. Reebok Senior VP & Chief Communication Officer Denise Kaigler said that the company's HQ “would remain in Canton.” Goodison notes the move “marks the second round of Reebok jobs being transferred to South Carolina since Adidas purchased the company for $3.8 last year.” In April, Reebok announced footwear distribution centers would close by the fall of '09, eliminating 230 jobs. adidas is “consolidating its U.S. footwear and clothing distribution for the Adidas and Reebok brands” into two South Carolina facilities, totaling 1.9 million square feet after construction. adidas said that the move” will give it a competitive advantage by reducing costs and improving shipping times” (BOSTON HERALD, 10/3).

avia is part of the ASG conglomerate, thus they probably lead the industry in margin, they will be well situated unless JT decides to sell them off

Zoot was just purchased by K2 which gives them some $ (very strange purchase for K2 though, not sure what they are thinking)

Etonic is owned by an italian firm with other shoe brands

I think the niche brands with a solid focus will be OK, times will be tough but with focus they can survive

I feel significantly less sure about brands like Saucony (lost inside the payless morass), NB (with all their dollars now being focussed on the youth/casual market) and of course reebok (what was the adi board thinking? just a very poor purchase decision, PF must be grinning from ear to ear)

Great, and how long ago was that? I just see the running-only brands as being the ones that will struggle the most versus other prominent running brands that diversify into different sport markets. New Balance was smart to get aggressive with its football segment.

Look out for Puma... in addition to a strong overall brand presence and their running product is becoming increasingly dialed in. They are one of the few companies that is actually growing in the running segment through these tough economic times.

I don't get why Puma added "Trailfox" to the names of their spikes.

As a running specialty retailer who carried Reebok, I had confidence in the product and the team behind it. Without both of those Reebok would have no place in our already strong lineup.

That said, the very sad part aside from true running people losing their jobs, is that a company like Under Armour will probably snatch up some of everyone's business. Ironically, one day after receiving the call from my RBK rep about the cuts, I had a meeting for the first time with the UA rep. A non-runner reping a non-running brand with no history of footwear development, no apparent support for runners or events.

What we'll see is a avalanche of advertising trying cover up a lack of history as well as IMO average product. If you think Spira's marketing turned you off, get ready for UA. I truly hope they struggle and are forced to cut their loses and go back to football.

Chris Brewer (formerly of Fila, Mizuno, Adidas) is involved with UA's running footwear development, FWIW.

trackgeek wrote:

By the way, the listed athletes are not all US athletes, they may be US based but

Kim Smith (NZL)

Roisin Mcgettin (IRL)

Martin Fagan (isn\\\'t he from Irl?)

Mary Cullen also and Irish athlete just based in the US

The Torres Bros and Cabada are going over to LA Gear.

Truly sorry about your circumstances, but as a running specialty retailer for 26 years, I can tell you that I've repeatedly sat through product focus meetings and have heard the Reebok song and dance about how serious their efforts toward the tech running category were. As we had a great deal of success with the brand in the distant past, I have been hopeful that my perceptions were wrong, but as the performance "bar has been raised" by many other vendors, Reebok always seemed to be a day late and a dollar short in what was offered. There are just too many great products available for retailers to give very much shelf space to repeated mediocrity.

Since the mid-nineties, however, there has been very little credible evidence that the negative trends were changing, so in essence, the most recent announcements are in fact, a formal confirmation of what most specialty retailers have known for the last decade+.

This is sad for me personally, as one of these running reps was a personal friend who fought the good fight, yet was cast aside with a phone call. So much for loyalty, although I'm sure PF is losing little sleep over it.

LA Gear?!? Joke, correct? We all know money talks, but I can not see LA Gear even making a running shoe, let alone attract this kind of talent to commit to endorsing the brand. I call BS. Steve Jones is a lifer with Reebok, no way this goes down, he'll choke on his Guiness.

The Puma Trailfox isn't a spike, its a trail shoe.

One would think so from that term

http://www.holabirdsports.com/m/Running/Running-Shoes_Men/Puma/p2/043615.htm

Oh my god! They named their spikes Trailfox! Whatever shall we do?

God, it's a name. They could be named the "Puma Sh*t Stain" and as long as they fit and feel good I'll buy them.

Go back to Dyestat and "fap" over the new rare colorway of the Victories.

Um, thats a Holabird mistake. It's actually TFX Sprint, not Trailfox. TF is Track and Field X is i don't know what. X-cellent?

http://www.firsttothefinish.com/ItemMatrix.asp?Cc=fw_foot_sprint&GroupCode=183829-01&eq=fw_18382901&MatrixType=1

And the women's colors are money, by the way.

http://www.firsttothefinish.com/ItemMatrix.asp?Cc=fw_foot_sprint&GroupCode=184190%2D01&eq=fw_18419001&MatrixType=1

You're kinda late to this one, the original comment was that the name didn't make sense. Go grab your metamucil shake, old crank.

stringer bell wrote:

Oh my god! They named their spikes Trailfox! Whatever shall we do?

God, it's a name. They could be named the "Puma Sh*t Stain" and as long as they fit and feel good I'll buy them.

Go back to Dyestat and "fap" over the new rare colorway of the Victories.

From the Boston Globe article that someone mentioned earlier:

The Canton-based sneaker maker, which is owned by Adidas Group, is laying off about 6.5 percent of its 1,700 Bay State employees, including 101 at its headquarters and 12 in Mattapoisett. Across North America, the company is laying off 65 employees in Indianapolis; 12 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; 60 in Montreal; and about 60 in Mexico. After the dismissals, which are effective immediately, Reebok will be left with slightly more than 8,500 employees worldwide.

The job cuts are spread throughout the company's departments, although the majority are in sales operations and marketing, said spokeswoman Josie Stevens. The company would not say how much it expects to save through the downsizing.

In its most recent earnings report, Adidas said group revenue in North America fell 7 percent during the first nine months of 2008 due to lower sales in the United States, while its sales in all other regions of the world grew by double digits. Sales at Reebok slid 2 percent

The article doesn't mention anything specific about sponsored athletes, or even their running program, so I wouldn't freak out too much. I don't think Nick Willis is going to fall under the 6.5% of employees who are laid off. It's too bad for the company and the people who work for them, but I think sponsored runners should be fine.