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Sneaker Craze Drives Nike Sales Up 13% [Fashionista](Fashionista Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Photo: Mike Lawrie / Getty Nike may not be experiencing the same flurry of interest from the fashion industry that Adidas has in recent months thanks to the revival of the Stan Smith and its upcoming Topshop collab, but the athletic retailer didn’t have a bad quarter for it. Gearing up for a major push ahead of this summer’s World Cup, Nike is reporting 13 percent growth in revenue totaling $6.97 billion for the quarter, which ended Feb. 28. Western Europe is seeing the fastest growth, with a 54 percent surge over the last three months, while Central and Eastern Europe grew 23 percent. Of Nike’s product divisions — footwear, apparel and equipment — footwear seems to be growing the fastest, rising 15 percent for the quarter globally. Apparel followed at 10 percent. Having bumped up marketing expenditures in advance of the World Cup, which takes place this summer in Brazil, the brand is reporting that “futures orders” — ones that are placed now but will be delivered between March and July — are up 12 percent relative to the same period last year, at a total of $10.9 billion. Soccer-obsessed Western Europe saw the biggest bump, at 33 percent, with North America and Central and Eastern Europe following at nine and seven percent, respectively. Asia, meanwhile, dropped six percent futures orders in Japan and one percent in China. Japan appears to be a weak spot for Nike overall, with revenue before taxes and interest down 13 percent in the quarter. Apparel in particular took a hit in the market, dropping 16 percent. (c) 2014 Breaking Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company |