Weekly trends for footwear remained weak for the third week in a row, but the overall trajectory was essentially unchanged. We suspect there will be a lull in near-term in momentum as retailers clear inventory for the back to school season and await help from the calendar to drive demand. With overall industry trends remaining soft, there were few brand callouts this week. Converse picked up some momentum, with a 10.6% increase vs. only 1% last week. Van’s showed the most volatility, with sales declining 13% after increasing 31% last week. As we highlighted the other day, Under Armour appears to be in clearance mode in the sporting goods channel. ASP’s for the brand decreased from $81 to $75 over last week. Overall, athletic footwear trends remain stable but decidedly negative and it remains much too early to make a call on back to school.
