Athletic Footwear News and Trends

Study athletic footwear news and trends to stock the products your customers want

You not only want to ensure that your customers get athletic footwear that performs well and makes them look their best, but that you also increase your profits by ordering the shoes from reliable wholesale vendors. Keeping up with industry and company news will help you find footwear with the comfort features and styles that your clientele demands, while giving you the merchandising strategies to sell it easily.

Information on the athletic footwear industry can boost your bottom line. Hearing about upcoming trends, seasonal forecasts and customer requests directly from manufacturers, vendors and other retailers will help you make informed buying decisions. When looking for athletic footwear news and trends to assist your athletic shoe business, try to:

1. Discover news articles and discussion forums on athletic footwear to keep you apprised of new product offerings, consumer trends, company developments and hot fabrics and styles.

2. Become an active member in sporting goods retailer associations to communicate with manufacturers of athletic shoes, take advantage of educational business seminars and network with other retailers.

3. Walk the floor at athletic apparel trade shows to see the latest styles of running shoes, learn sneaker trends and buy running shoes, hiking boots and other sport styles from wholesale sources.

 

Read athletic footwear news to ensure your inventory is in line with current styles

As the industry develops, manufacturers discover new ways to incorporate comfort, safety and performance features into athletic footwear. Ensure you're offering your customers the latest and greatest by staying up to date with product and company information. Blogs, vendor sites and online publications are all good sources of breaking news.
Try: Footwear News not only features information on athletic shoes, companies and designers, it also keeps you apprised of developments in the shoe industry as a whole. Check the Footwear Business Update section at SportsOneSource for industry sales forecasts, manufacturer news and trends in athletic footwear styles.

Join sporting goods groups for news and business strategies for your athletic shoe business

In addition to trade shows, news archives and online discussion groups, industry associations also host social and educational events where you can discuss information from company rumors to the best running shoes with manufacturers and retailers.
Try: Sign up with the National Shoe Retailers Association to attend business-related events and receive Shoe Retailing Today, a publication that discusses advertising, marketing, vendor and style trend news. The National Sporting Goods Association gives you the opportunity to network with other athletic apparel retailers, take part in buying groups and hear about womens and mens athletic footwear news.

Attend athletic expos to see styles and displays for mens and womens athletic footwear in action

Seeing new product offerings and merchandising ideas first hand isn't the only benefit of attending trade shows and conventions. You'll also be able to attend seminars, discover new wholesale sources and get time to discuss the athletic shoe business, including the latest athletic footwear news and trends with company representatives and retailers.
Try: Attend The World Shoe Association Show to see the latest athletic footwear styles, talk to manufacturers and attend the Footwear and Accessories Business Conference designed to improve your business practices and profits. Check out the Athletic Business Conference + Expo put on by Athletic Business Publications to discuss trends in footwear and apparel with other retailers and the people who operate sports facilities and programs.

 

• When researching athletic footwear to add to your inventory, consider ordering several styles of cross training sneakers along with tennis shoes, trail running shoes and golf shoes. This multi-purpose footwear can earn you extra sales, since it will appeal to casual athletes and customers who simply want a comfortable pair of shoes.

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