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WF FOOTPRINTS
HAPPENINGS, PEOPLE AND PLACES
5
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 | www.footwearbiz.com
SHOE INDUSTRY VETERAN
DIES IN NEW YORK
The man credited with one of the
first commercial tie-ups of a footwear
brand for his licensing of the Snoopy
character in the 1970s has died in New
York aged 83.
Jack Weissman worked in his family
shoe business before setting up
Marketing Footwear Associates, which
also licensed ET, the National Football
League, Pac-Man and Budweiser.
In 1999, Weissman was inducted
into the Licensing Hall of Fame, the
highest award of the Licensing
Industry Merchandisers’ Association.
He was a career-long member of
Two Ten Footwear Foundation, the
charitable arm of the shoe industry
and which has launched the Jack L
Weissman Memorial Scholarship Fund
in his honour.
LI NING CFO RESIGNS
The chief financial officer of Chinese
sportswear company Li Ning has
resigned.
Chong Yik Kay will step down on
November 1 but will remain an
adviser, the company said in a
statement filed to the Hong Kong stock
exchange.
It added that an adviser with over 20
years of operations experience,
including serving as the chief financial
officer of a multinational company in
China, will help to lead the finance
function of the company in the interim
period. It is in talks with potential
candidates to fill the post.
Li Ning has suffered from a
slowdown in the Chinese economy,
reporting in August first half profit was
down 85%, and it warned it could end
the year on a loss.
Li-Ning has also announced it is to
collaborate with NBA basketball
Dwyane Wade in a new athletic
footwear and apparel brand called
Wade, in an effort to grow its foothold
in the sport in the US and in its home
land.
SENIOR SPANISH SHOE
INDUSTRY FIGURE DIES
The Spanish footwear industry has
said goodbye to Francisco Vicente, one
of its most prominent figures during
the period of intense growth in the
1980s and 1990s.
Mr Vicente died at the end of
August. He was president of the Elche
Footwear Industry Association (AICE)
and a driving force behind the creation
of regional footwear associations
across Spain and a major player in
establishing strong relations between
footwear manufacturers and trade
union organisations, particularly in the
early years of democracy following the
death of Franco in 1975.
LACROSSE FOOTWEAR CEO
AND CFO RESIGN
The chief executive and chief
financial offer of LaCrosse Footwear
have resigned, three months after the
US-based company was bought by
ABC Walmart, a Japanese footwear
group.
CEO Joseph Schneider and CFO David
Carlson had been in their positions for
more than a decade. Mr Schneider’s
father was the company’s chairman
until his death in 2005 aged 82.
The company, which makes boots
for the outdoor, work and military
markets, was acquired for $138
million in August. Both resignations
were reportedly on their own terms,
and not at the request of the new
owners.
NORTHAMPTON FIRM
SUPPLIES BOOTS AND
SHOES FOR JAMES BOND
Specialist handmade men’s
footwear manufacturer Crockett &
Jones, based in Northampton, supplied
four styles of footwear for actor
Daniel Craig who plays James Bond to
wear in the latest film, Skyfall,
featuring the fictional spy.
The first of the four is Alex, a plain
design wholecut shoe made from fine
calf leather and featuring single
leather soles. Highbury, a plain fronted
three eyelet derby shoe, also made
from calf leather, and with rubber
soles feature in the film too.
Tetbury, a plain fronted chukka boot
made from antique nubuck is the third
style to feature, but the most eye-
catching of all is probably the Islay, a
full brogue derby boot with wing tip
design and bold punching detail.
Made from grain calf and with rubber
soles, the Islay boot also has storm
welts for added water resistance.
Consumers who want to emulate
James Bond will be able to find all
four styles in Crockett & Jones’s own
retail shops in London, Birmingham,
New York, Paris and Brussels.
ADIDAS SIGNS TWO-YEAR
DEAL WITH JUSTIN BIEBER
Sportswear group adidas has signed
a two-year contract with US pop star
Justin Bieber to promote its Neo gold
trainers to a global teen audience.
As well as wearing the Neo range,
Mr Bieber will make appearances for
the label in its major markets next year
and promote its news and collections
through his vast social media reach. “I
found a real connection with Neo
because it is about fashion, freedom
and being true to who you are,” he
said.
Adidas is also running a Facebook-based competition for fans to win the gold
trainers and all-inclusive trips to meet the singer on tour in Miami.
Hermann Deininger, chief marketing officer at adidas, said: “Justin will help us
spread the spirit of Neo worldwide and showcase the brand’s sports and lifestyle-
inspired apparel and footwear silhouettes.”
Adidas Neo Label is sponsoring Bieber’s ‘Believe’ world tour.
CREDIT: ADIDAS
Daniel Craig playing James Bond will
be wearing the Alex shoe from
Crockett & Jones