Everytime I read something good about Shaq, I try to post it because I think that he is what is right about sports in comparison to some clowns such as the guy with the initials in Philadelphia and I am not talking about A.I. Here is another example of how Shaq connects with the community, and the community gives him love right back.
O'Neal knows worth of low-cost shoe</B>
By Sarah Talalay
Staff Writer
November 9, 2005
Like many NBA players in the 1990s who signed lucrative signature shoe deals, Shaquille O'Neal signed a five-year, $40 million deal with Reebok when he entered the league with the Orlando Magic in 1992.
But the combination of wanting to run his own shoe business and a dressing down from a woman in Orlando who cried to the center about the high cost of his shoes convinced O'Neal to launch his own line.
"She was crying so much, I reached in my pocket and handed her some money," O'Neal said of the Orlando woman. But she didn't want money. Instead, she begged O'Neal: "When is somebody going to make some shoes affordable?"
That's how O'Neal, with the Heat since 2004, formed his Shaq and Dunkman brand shoes, which retail for less than $40.
Today's athlete signature shoes run $90 to $125.
O'Neal wears his own brand on the court, but his performance shoes previously have not been for sale. That will change Dec. 1, when O'Neal's first performance Dunkman shoe will be available at Payless ShoeSource for $39.99 for men and $24.99 for kids.
O'Neal's shoes are in what he calls "the downstairs market," referring to value retailers including Payless, Kmart and Wal-Mart.
Both brands are licensed by Exeter Brands Group, which is a subsidiary of Nike. They feature a distinctive logo of the big man dunking a basketball, but the Dunkman brand is sold exclusively at Payless. The brands put out different versions of shoes for retail each year, since, O'Neal says, the stores don't want to sell the same shoes.
"Nobody was doing the downstairs market," O'Neal said, adding that his brands sold 8 million shoes last year and are projecting 10 million this year. "See, you've got to realize this world we live in there's more downstairs people than there is up. (Word)"
O'Neal knows worth of low-cost shoe</B>
By Sarah Talalay
Staff Writer
November 9, 2005
Like many NBA players in the 1990s who signed lucrative signature shoe deals, Shaquille O'Neal signed a five-year, $40 million deal with Reebok when he entered the league with the Orlando Magic in 1992.
But the combination of wanting to run his own shoe business and a dressing down from a woman in Orlando who cried to the center about the high cost of his shoes convinced O'Neal to launch his own line.
"She was crying so much, I reached in my pocket and handed her some money," O'Neal said of the Orlando woman. But she didn't want money. Instead, she begged O'Neal: "When is somebody going to make some shoes affordable?"
That's how O'Neal, with the Heat since 2004, formed his Shaq and Dunkman brand shoes, which retail for less than $40.
Today's athlete signature shoes run $90 to $125.
O'Neal wears his own brand on the court, but his performance shoes previously have not been for sale. That will change Dec. 1, when O'Neal's first performance Dunkman shoe will be available at Payless ShoeSource for $39.99 for men and $24.99 for kids.
O'Neal's shoes are in what he calls "the downstairs market," referring to value retailers including Payless, Kmart and Wal-Mart.
Both brands are licensed by Exeter Brands Group, which is a subsidiary of Nike. They feature a distinctive logo of the big man dunking a basketball, but the Dunkman brand is sold exclusively at Payless. The brands put out different versions of shoes for retail each year, since, O'Neal says, the stores don't want to sell the same shoes.
"Nobody was doing the downstairs market," O'Neal said, adding that his brands sold 8 million shoes last year and are projecting 10 million this year. "See, you've got to realize this world we live in there's more downstairs people than there is up. (Word)"
