Some of the world’s biggest footwear brands have been backing away from wholesalers’ shelves in favor of DTC channels, but new developments in shoe retailing are signaling that wholesale might prove to be a better fit. What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Nike and other footwear brands that have focused much of their resources on direct-to-consumer channels?

Designer Brands Inc., the parent of DSW, recently set a goal to double sales of its owned brands in response to direct-to-consumer efforts by national brands. Its acquisition earlier this week of the Topo athletic brand furthers that effort. Do you see more benefits than drawbacks to DSW’s move to increase emphasis on in-house brands?

In her first quarterly analyst call as Foot Locker’s CEO, Mary Dillon said she sees many parallels between sneakers and the beauty category when it comes to supporting growth, but also sees a bigger opportunity for Foot Locker to drive consumer demand. Do you see more benefits than drawbacks from Foot Locker adopting more of a “consumer-led” than “product-led” approach?

Joining a number of other retailers with in-house investment vehicles, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced the launch of DSG Ventures, a $50 million fund that will initially focus on companies that directly serve athletes and their communities, or that help Dick’s better serve its customers. What should Dick’s Sporting Goods hope to gain from its launch of DSG Ventures?

Facing a heightened promotional environment amid elevated inventories in the marketplace, VF Corp. has rejiggered its near-term plans to drive higher revenue and profit in the second half of its fiscal year ending March 2023. What do you think is key to preserving profitability in an environment marked by elevated promotions and inventories?

Consumers can now walk into any of the 500+ DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse stores with their old shoes and get them repaired. The retailer has partnered with Cobblers Direct, an online service that repairs shoes, boots, belts and handbags.  Will the repair services throughout DSW stores encourage more consumers to repair their shoes, boots, belts and handbags instead of discarding them?

YZYSPLY, the sneaker and apparel company of sometimes-controversial rapper, producer and fashion entrepreneur Kanye West, has filed a trademark hinting that a physical storefront for the brand could be on the way.  How would a Kanye West entrance into physical retail affect the sneaker and apparel markets?

Amazon Fashion yesterday introduced its Virtual Try-On for Shoes, which uses augmented reality technology to help customers visualize how they will look in footwear from a variety of angles. Do consumers trust augmented reality try-on technology in making purchasing decisions?

Allbirds, the environmentally-friendly footwear upstart, has opened third-party distribution for the first time. Do you see more benefits than risks in Allbirds’ move to open up wholesale distribution?

Foot Locker is counting on Adidas, the second largest athletic footwear vendor, to help compensate for the loss of business as Nike, the largest, Nike, pulls back some of its business. Do you see Adidas as the lynchpin to resetting Foot Locker’s merchandise mix amid reduced allocations from Nike?

Nike is opening a new hub solely for technological innovation that will be dedicated to improving the brand’s logistics and supply chain. Do you think a center geared toward supply chain, artificial intelligence and security tech is a worthwhile investment for Nike?

Nike has communicated its major “account pivots” as part of its marketplace realignment that reduced the number of wholesale partners worldwide over the last four years by more than 50 percent. Is the bigger reason behind Nike’s wholesale reset likely exiting “undifferentiated” retail partners or expanding direct channels?

Shares of Foot Locker crashed 30 percent on Friday after the sneaker chain said sharply-reduced allocations from Nike would lead to a same-store decline of between eight and 10 percent in 2022. How should Foot Locker realign itself amid reduced access to Nike products?

Allbirds was able to report substantial sales growth, but that was not enough to earn the admiration of Wall Street for the fourth quarter of 2021. Where do you see the right balance for Allbirds when it comes to its consumer-direct business and wholesale relationships?

Nike in November set member engagement records with the launch of its first globally coordinated Member Days event. The event, started in 2019, offers loyalty members special access, offers and rewards over five themed days. Would an extended-days program similar to Nike’s Member Days work for other retailers?

Direct-to-consumer brands that have made their names focusing on one product very well are starting to expand into new product lines, making their selections broader and more akin to what you would find in a traditional store. Should D2C companies that make their name on one product consider expanding into adjacent categories?

Nike has acquired RTFKT, a London-based studio for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), in another sign that management believes the metaverse will be about much more than engaging with online gamers. What do you think is behind Nike’s acquisition of RTFKT?

DSW’s strong third-quarter sales recovery was made possible by past steps to increase emphasis on its top-50 footwear brands. What are the pros and cons of a “narrow and deep” vendor mix?

While supply chain disruptions are impacting all industries, the recent closure of factories in southern Vietnam have become a particular roadblock for many in the apparel and footwear sector. Do you see a minor or major impact on the apparel and footwear sector from the Vietnam factory shutdowns?

Crocs, facing both factory shutdowns overseas and port congestion in the U.S., on Thursday unveiled a multi-step plan to circumvent supply chain challenges and drive another year of strong growth in 2022. Which of the steps Crocs is taking to mitigate supply chain constraints make sense for other vendors and retailers to embrace?

In the prospectus for its IPO, Allbirds said its growth will be driven by three trends influencing how consumers make their purchase decisions in apparel and footwear: purpose-driven positioning, casualization and omnichannel retail. Which of the three trends will be most important in driving Allbirds’ growth in the years ahead?

Reebok is getting another chance to recapture its past glory under new ownership by Authentic Brands Group (ABG) after nearly 15 years of floundering under Adidas. How should Reebok be repositioned for growth under ABG’s ownership?

With business on the rebound, DSW has not been able to attract the number of associates it needs to staff its 500+ U.S. locations. This situation is reportedly behind the chain’s decision to test self-checkout technology at some stores. Do you see current labor challenges hastening the expansion of self-checkout technologies in retail stores?

Amid Nike’s moves to consolidate wholesale accounts, a few affected retailers are expressing confidence they’ll be able to shift to other vendors to fill the void. In March, Nike informed six chains that they were being cut off. Nine others were similarly informed in 2020.  How difficult will it be for most chains to replace Nike’s sales?

Foot Locker last week announced plans to close its Footaction chain, citing an overlap with its flagship property and other stores. Will the decision to close Footaction ultimately prove to be the right or wrong one for Foot Locker?

Vans’ streak of robust double-digit annual gains ended with the novel coronavirus pandemic and an expected relatively modest recovery has stoked concerns that the skate brand has fallen out of favor with teens.  Has Vans lost some of its cool or is its underperformance a pandemic casualty?

The musician Questlove showed up on the red carpet at the 93rd Annual Academy Awards in a pair of shimmering gold Crocs, drawing praise across social media as well as wonderment over how the clunky foam clogs have become a fashion statement. How do you explain Crocs’ recent success and its ability to resonate with younger consumers?

Nike is selling used sneakers directly to consumers with the launch of Nike Refurbished, a program that takes sneakers returned by customers, inspects and cleans them up for resale at a lower price to the brand’s loyalists. Do you see Refurbished as a program that Nike will scale in a big way or will it remain a niche offer?

Toms, the pioneer of the one-for-one charitable model, will no longer donate a pair of shoes to a child for each pair purchased. Instead, it plans to give a third of annual profits to local community-focused organizations. What, if anything, does Toms’ decision to end its one-for-one charity model say about cause marketing at this point in time?

Nike reportedly plans to stop selling to six additional wholesale accounts as it increasingly emphasizes direct-to-consumer commerce and exits “undifferentiated” wholesale accounts. Is Nike at risk of no longer reaching certain customer segments or geographies with its pivot to direct-to-consumer and select “strategic” wholesale partners?

Foot Locker recently began piloting a drop ship program with Nike to provide customers with access to inventory beyond its stores and warehouses.  Do you see more positives than negatives in drop shipping for retailers?

After declaring bankruptcy and closing its operations, Payless is returning to the world of brick-and-mortar retail and may be leveraging a celebrity endorsement as it tries to get the business off the ground again. What types of moves do you see Payless needing in order to reestablish itself in the marketplace?

The Swiss running shoe company, On, won’t let consumers buy its new Cyclon shoes when it launches them next year. Instead, the company has come up with a monthly rental plan. Will On find success with its Cyclon rental/recycle program?

The Red Wing Shoe Co. announced that instead of offering sales discounts on its boots, it will help unemployed Americans by promoting job opportunities within its organization and at other businesses.  Will Red Wing Shoes’ #LaborDayOn initiative elevate the brand and its sales in the U.S.?

Nike is ending its wholesale relationships with Belk, Dillard’s, Zappo’s and other retailers as the athletic lifestyle brand continues to focus more on consumer-direct, according to an analyst. What is your take on Nike’s reported plans to sever its wholesale relationship with Zappos and other retailers?

On July 9, international streetwear and sneaker retailer SNIPES added its first stateside experiential flagship, launched in a city with both sneakerheads and multiple other experiential footwear flagships. Is now the right time for SNIPES to try to establish itself more firmly in the U.S. sneaker market with a brick-and-mortar flagship?

DSW has closed its 1,000 stores across the U.S. as the footwear chain has been classified as non-essential retail by government authorities. A new partnership with Hy-Vee, however, may give DSW a foothold in an “essential” grocery outlet. What is your assessment of DSW’s deal with Hy-Vee, considering the current state of retailing with the coronavirus pandemic?

Nearly all retailers have updated their websites to detail how COVID-19 has disrupted business as usual, but few have gone as far as Zappos in assuring customers it is prepared to meet their needs in the uncertain days ahead. Should Zappos’ approach serve as a model for other retailers to follow?

Community-driven experiences. Local art and science. Stores as destinations. Product discovery through theater and storytelling. These themes were heard at the recent Future Stores Miami conference. As retailers and brands open more localized, community-driven stores, how will they scale the experiences to the rest of their store fleets?

Vans’ new Los Angeles store is meant to pay respect to a city that’s possessed to skate. The location, billed as a community-driven retail and event space, has two floors and features art made by professional skateboarders and other local artists. What do you find most intriguing about Vans’ experiential store concepts and activities?

In partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Self-Assembly Lab, Canadian footwear brand Native Shoes has created a technology that prints full shoes out of liquid rubber. What is your reaction to the 3-D printing experiment being conducted by Native Shoes and MIT?

Zappos announced the launch of Goods for Good, a site featuring over 150 eco- and socially-conscious brands. How would you rate the appeal of a platform featuring purpose-driven brands such as Zappos’ Goods for Good?

In 2017, Nike hoped to reduce counterfeits and increase sales when it signed a pilot deal with Amazon. The benefits evidently weren’t enough. What will the end of Nike’s deal with Amazon mean for each company in the short- and medium-term?

Nike announced earlier this week that its longtime chief executive, Mark Parker, would be stepping down from that role and be replaced by former eBay CEO John Donahoe in January. What do you think of Nike’s decision to name former eBay CEO John Donahoe as the athletic lifestyle brand’s new president and chief executive?

Women looking for new shoes to wear without adding to the collection they have accumulated will now have an option to swap online, thanks to a new Los Angeles-based startup called Shoe Bank. Do marketplaces that facilitate swapping like Shoe Bank stand to impact how traditional shoe retailers do business?

Sports Direct, the UK’s largest sporting goods chain, is calling for a Europe-wide investigation into the dominance of Nike and Adidas in sports retailing. Do retailers have any rights to the brands they’ve built their business around?

Nike Adventure Club is the athletic brand’s first subscription service designed for kids. Nike is promoting the service, which launched yesterday, as “a parent’s best friend.” Do you expect that the Nike Adventure Club will be a success or a failure?

Foot Locker will be opening its latest Power Store in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood, according to SGB Media. What might Foot Locker have to do to make itself a unique offering for NYC sneakerheads?

Yesterday, DSW Inc. announced a three-year strategic plan that includes a name change for the company, a decision to add private label footwear to its current mix of brand name shoes and a further strengthening of its omnichannel operations. What factors do you think have had the greatest impact on shoe retailing over the past five years?