LA Gear

LA Gear (or L.A. Gear) is an American shoe company based in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by ACI International.

Early days

L.A. Gear was founded by Robert Greenberg in 1979, to market and rent roller skates in Venice Beach.[1] In the mid-1980s, L.A. Gear expanded into athletic footwear and almost instantly became popular.

Although L.A. Gear marketed shoes to all ages and genders, the focus of their early commercials and advertising was centered around young women. The earliest L.A. Gear shoes for men were almost strictly basketball-oriented, while the earliest women's shoes were high-top fashion models with a velcro strap across the middle of the foot. Unlike most high-top shoes the early L.A. Gear shoes' eyelets stopped at the ankle, a trend the company took pride in and noted in several ads (see link below). Two pairs of shoelaces were typically offered with these shoes, one almost always white and the other a different color. In the case of the women's line, as was the case with Keds and the Reebok Freestyle earlier in the decade, trends dictated that the shoes were usually worn with slouch socks (a recent addition to fashion in the 1980s and a trend L.A. Gear exploited by making their own specific line of slouch socks to be worn with their high-top sneakers, perhaps to further the recognizability of the brand).

The line expanded in 1989, with L.A. Gear adding other shoe lines. During this time L.A. Gear began marketing shoes with a flame design on the sides which is still recognizable today. Also during this time L.A. Gear began aggressively targeting its female demographic further by revamping their fashion model line. In addition to adding certain feminine accents to the shoe L.A. Gear also would typically add a pair of shoelaces that were lace-like in appearance (a far cry from the typical laces in shoes today). To distance the primarily for women-marketed shoes from the rest of the line, L.A. Gear began using a stylized script logo, as seen here.

Endorsements

One of the original athletes to endorse L.A. Gear shoes was NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who ended a long association with Adidas to sign with the upstart company toward the end of his playing career. Then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana signed an endorsement deal with L.A. Gear in 1990 and quickly became the company's feature athlete. Hockey star Wayne Gretzky was also signed as an endorser while he was still playing with the Los Angeles Kings, and eventually would have his own line of street hockey shoes before his endorsement contract expired.

In addition to Abdul-Jabbar several other NBA stars wore L.A. Gear shoes, perhaps the most notable being Karl Malone who appeared in several commercials for the brand beginning in the early 1990s before he too left the brand. Hakeem Olajuwon was another L.A. Gear-endorsed basketball player who after being signed stayed with the brand until 1994 when he was contracted by Spalding to endorse a line of basketball shoes with his name and number.

Unlike other athletic shoe companies of the day L.A. Gear was not averse to going outside of sports to find endorsement contracts. One of the earliest celebrities to sign an endorsement deal with the company was singer Belinda Carlisle, who appeared in a series of print ads for L.A. Gear when the brand first began to become popular (as seen in this ad). Two of the most notable celebrities to endorse the shoes were Michael Jackson, who promoted shoes for both men and women, and Paula Abdul, who was signed away from Reebok in 1991 and whose shoe[2] became one of the biggest sellers of the early 1990s.

Into the '90s

As the 1990s began L.A. Gear's popularity continued to rise as more and more people began to buy their shoes. Although the original lines were typically featured in high-end department stores such as Macy's, as the decade turned L.A. Gear shoes became easier and easier to find in other stores- in fact, discount retailer Caldor began carrying L.A. Gear shoes designed specifically for the store and its clientele.

The improved accessibility helped L.A. Gear's sales, and the company responded by coming out with more and more shoe lines to accommodate buyers. As the decade continued L.A. Gear began aggressively promoting its performance athletic shoe line.

For the newer shoes, some of the designs included:

Catapult: The LA Gear equivalent of Air Jordans, a high-end basketball shoe and training shoe line. The original spokesman for the line was Karl Malone, as noted above.

Regulator: The MBT shoe craze of the early 1990s spawned this shoe, L.A. Gear's answer to the Reebok Pump. The shoe featured a large pumping button on the tongue (much larger than the Reebok Pump's was) and a switch on top that deflated the shoe when pushed to the right.

L.A. Lights: One of L.A. Gear's most noticeable lines, which came out in early 1992. L.A. Gear began marketing shoes with red LED lights in the heels, and once a wearer's heel hit the ground the lights would light up and continue to do so with every step. L.A. Gear went further in 1993 by introducing the L.A. Tech line of performance athletic shoes, which moved the light to the rear of the shoe and allowed it to be removed from the heel if the wearer so chose to do that. Although L.A. Gear eventually discontinued this line of shoe, many off-price brands of shoes added lights to their shoes and continue to do so to this day. (A recent line of children's shoes made by Skechers also featured lights in the shoes).

Flak: A brand similar to popular Nike and Adidas products during the mid-1990's.

Although they had de-emphasized them by this time, L.A. Gear continued to market shoes towards women. One of L.A. Gear's more popular lines during this time for women was the Dancer line, which was a high-top shoe almost identical to the Reebok Freestyle in design. In addition, L.A. Gear consolidated one of its other sneaker designs into a complete women's design and renamed it Street Shots, featuring both high top and low top sneakers sold primarily in white with silver trim (although other colors were featured).

As part of this change L.A. Gear once again changed their logo for their women's line, using a gray diamond shape with the company name inside it.

Popularity fades

By 1993 L.A. Gear's popularity was beginning to wane. Within a year the company began restricting access to the shoes, returning to higher-end department stores and such to market the brand. By doing this L.A. Gear hoped to gain a more upscale clientele for their shoes. However, in doing so the company was so desperate to sell the remaining inventory that L.A. Gear shoes began showing up at flea markets, swap meets, and supermarkets.

In 1994, L.A. Gear abandoned their men's performance footwear line and began marketing the lifestyle brands for women and children more aggressively. They also tried to acquire the Rykä brand of women's shoes, but the deal failed as Ryka, which was struggling as much as L.A. Gear was, continued its downward decline.

In 1995 Wal-Mart and L.A. Gear agreed to a three-year contract where the shoe company would design lower-valued and specific-to-store shoes for Wal-Mart. Since Wal-Mart was such a large retailer L.A. Gear felt they could not pass up an opportunity that lucrative (despite an apparent contradiction in strategy), but the venture failed as sales for L.A. Gear shoes at Wal-Mart had declined.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1998, in the process greatly reducing the lines of shoes it was selling.

Comeback

Since the bankruptcy filing L.A. Gear has made three concerted attempts at coming back. The first was in 1999, with an emphasis on casual shoes for men and women and the return of the popular L.A. Lights line for children. However, the brand failed to catch on.

In 2004 L.A. Gear again went through a relaunch, this time with an emphasis on men's performance footwear as the Catapult line was reintroduced. Los Angeles Laker rookie Luke Walton was signed on as the brand's spokesman, but his contract eventually ran out and he never appeared in any advertising for the brand. (Ron Artest also was endorsed by L.A. Gear for a brief period of time in 2004 and 2005 in conjunction with his "Tru Warrier" persona, but the company dropped him as spokesman following the infamous Pacers–Pistons brawl.) L.A. Gear primarily marketed fashion athletic shoes for women and continues to do so to this day, although a recent relaunch of the brand has result in the de-emphasis of these lines (with L.A. Gear discontinuing the new Catapult line for men altogether).

LA Gear returned on December 8, 2008, with a line of sneakers reviving many of the brand's signature styles from the Unstoppable line, while updating some colors and materials. There is now an official blog, [3], where news is updated on an ongoing basis, with links to [4], where the shoes can be purchased).

LA Gear-owner ACI teamed up with top indie retailer Sportie LA for the relaunch, with the Fire High (known for its fiery emblem), the Star Shooter High (B-ball on the tongue), the womens Flame High (with its twisted leather pattern, recognized as one of the brand's most iconic styles), and the K.A.J. (which updates the classic shoe with striking metallic silver and gold) among the styles brought back for the endeavor. The much-anticipated line releases today in-store and online only at Sportie LA, with select retailers entering the mix in 2009. LA Gear and SLAM (Sportie LA Media, the marketing firm behind the launch), issued this Sneak Peak video: [1], and vlogger Kamila Kalish took to wearing the sneakers in her video posts: [5]

"LA Gear is one of the classic heritage brands, and we're staying true to that," said Sportie LA co-owner Isack Fadlon at the time. "A few years ago, everyone was coming back, it was the thing to do. With LA Gear, we and ACI have chosen the timing, we didn't fall into the trap of following suit." Fadlon added that the LA-centric theme is no coincidence: "ACI and Sportie LA are both based here, and the timing reflects a boon in fashion in Los Angeles. The city's profile in that regard is rising so quickly, gaining stature in its own right."

On a broader note, said Fadlon, "Based on early reaction, we're confident about the level of energy this will bring to stores, consumers, and the industry as a whole."

"It has been almost 20 years since these original LA Gear styles have been in the market, and we feel like it's time to bring them back," said ACI's Lance Jackson, Director of LA Gear Specialty Product. "It's a project LA Gear is very confident and excited about!"

In its second phase, the team will bring back the LA Lights, a trademark of the period, which will be available in kids, mens, and womens sizes.

With four stores in the Los Angeles area, and a clientele that reads like a Who's Who of fashion-conscious celebrities, Sportie LA is considered one of the chief influencers on today's sneaker scene. In 2007, the company was listed #3 among Independent Retailers on Footwear News' Power 100. Fadlon himself has been ranked #44 in this year's list of Top 100 industry players.

In May 2009, LA Gear will release a limited edition run of Stardust sneakers for women. [6]

For more info visit: [7]

External links

Official site