We take a look at five business stories and trends that could impact the footwear industry in the year ahead. What major business stories will we be talking about in 2022?

FRANKiE4, a women’s fashion/comfort footwear brand from Down Under, following its successful U.S. ecommerce launch in 2021, has opened a retail store and its U.S. retail headquarters in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.

A never delivered 247 cartons of footwear, being shipped from Haiphong, Vietnam to Los Angeles in Dec. 2020, is at the center of a federal lawsuit filed in federal court last week by Skechers USA. Named defendants in the case are Shipco Transports Inc. and Transpac Cargoline.

Persistent consumer demand, despite headwinds from inflation, supply chain disruptions and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, pushed Nov.-Dec. 2021 holiday season retail sales up 14.1 percent to $886.7 billion, according to data released by the National Retail Federation on Jan. 14.

A class action lawsuit was filed in federal court in California last week, charging the San Luis Obispo, CA operators of online sporting goods stores—Sports Warehouse, Tackle Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse, Running Warehouse and Skate Warehouse—with negligence and violations of...

We take a look at five business stories and trends that could impact the footwear industry in the year ahead. What major business stories will we be talking about in 2022?

Boot Barn, which expects to end its FY22 in March with 300 doors nationwide, says its new locations in the Northeast are “outperforming expectations” with cannibalization coming in less than anticipated.

Ahead of the ICR Conference earlier this week, several companies released preliminary Q4 results and forecasts for FY22. Lululemon cited consequences of the COVID-19 Omicron variant—limited staff availability, higher capacity constraints and reduced operating hours...

Citing its own research from discussions with both retailers and brands, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) and Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY) last week announced its decision to not formally promote its scheduled New York Market Week next month.

Aiming to be a more ubiquitous player in the $125-billion, global casual footwear market, Crocs is acquiring privately-owned HEYDUDE for $2.5 billion in a cash and stock deal.

Heritage athletic brand Etonic will be back at retail next year. The Licensed Brands division of Nashville-based Genesco, which also operates the Journeys retail chain, has secured an exclusive three-year agreement for the 145-year-old brand with Etonic Holdings Inc.

The Swoosh is putting more capital into its distribution network to scale a digital-first supply chain, and leaning more heavily on advanced analytics, automation and technology to make it happen.

Pajar Canada, a fifth-generation family shoe business based in Montreal since 1963, has struck a lifestyle footwear deal for the Prince brand with its parent, Authentic Brands Group.

Brazilian lifestyle footwear maker Alpargatas, owner of the Havaianas brand, is making a strategic investment in Rothy’s Inc., a digital-first, sustainable footwear brand based in San Francisco.

Senior executives of the British footwear company Dr. Martens, which commenced an IPO on the London Exchange in January with a valuation approaching $4.89 billion, confirmed last week that product price hikes are on the horizon due to higher transportation and raw material costs.

Despite supply chain disruptions and the continued impacts of COVID, imports at the nation’s major retail container ports increased in 2021, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released this week by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Lululemon remains on track to bring its own branded footwear to the market in 2022, though LULU senior executives offered few details about the brand’s planned entry into footwear during the company’s Q3 earnings call last week.

Puma and Helly Hansen have released a new collab of performance apparel and footwear for the winter, including a range of jackets, tights and footwear. Footwear includes the Puma Voyage Nitro Helly Hansen, a trail running shoe with grippy rubber and a lockdown fit, and...

Veteran footwear designer Rommel Vega, who has worked for the likes of Merrell, Keen, Columbia, Puma, DC, and Converse, is the visionary behind Portland, OR-based HOLO. The brand, which merges sustainable materials, accessible price points and modern outdoor-inspired designs into its products...

Privately held Deichmann SE, based in Essen, Germany, founded in 1913 and reportedly the largest footwear retail operator in the European Union, made more noise in the U.S. market last week. Already the parent of Rack Room Shoes, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2022, and its...

Besides new point-of-sale hardware and software, Genesco-owned chain Journeys will add tablets to all locations to enhance the omni-channel experience for its customers. The tablets will allow for easier access to the banner’s full merchandise assortment networkwide...

Designer Brands-owned retailer DSW says increased penetration of its Top 50 brands has carried more weight with its customers and enabled it to have more regular and less promotional selling. DSW generated significant growth in kids and athleisure products in the July-August timeframe...

In a move heard round the run industry, Fleet Feet announced last month that it is acquiring JackRabbit. The transaction, expected to close in early December, will end CriticalPoint Capital’s nearly four-year investment in athletic/run specialty retail with JackRabbit and...

The fifth edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey, conducted online in October by APICCAPS (Portuguese Footwear, Components and Leather Goods Manufacturers’ Association), found that only 6.3 percent of North American respondents mentioned sustainability concerns...

The nation’s largest full-line sporting goods chain Dick’s Sporting Goods did not offer specific numbers but confirmed last week that it will continue investing in premium, full-service footwear decks in its stores. In Q3, the retailer’s footwear comparable sales rose 12.2 percent year-over-year...