🚀 go-pugleaf

If only they would stampede the student bookstore...

--
<%= Clinton Gallagher
         http://www.metromilwaukee.com/clintongallagher/


"Longstreet" <Boelke@thefreesite.com> wrote in message
news:3aa455b9$0$65271$38c90ffe@news1.twtelecom.net...
> I noticed an earlier post discussing the shoe situation at Grand Avenue
> Mall. This article is from
> a California paper.
>
> Boelke
>
>
> "skulduggery" <skulduggery_member@newsranger.com> wrote in message
> news:w4Yo6.1944$45.2478@www.newsranger.com...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Shoe stampede shuts Florin Mall -- Crowds swarm store for $140 Nike
> sneakers
> > By Matthew Barrows, Erika Chavez and Gwendolyn Crump
> > Bee Staff Writers
> > (Published March 4, 2001)
> >
> > Customers clamoring for new Air Jordan basketball shoes caused a near
riot
> at
> > Florin Mall on Saturday, prompting a response from 60 sheriff's deputies
> dressed
> > in riot gear who swooped in to evacuate the mall.
> > No one was arrested in the incident, and police reported only minor
> injuries.
> >
> > The disturbance broke out at the Sheikh shoe store in Florin Mall where
a
> crowd
> > of mostly teens and young adults had been camped outside since 3 a.m. to
> buy
> > limited edition Air Jordan XI Retro sneakers made by Nike and priced at
> $140 a
> > pair.
> >
> > By the time the mall opened its doors at 10 a.m., the crowd had swelled
to
> about
> > 200 people, all eager to slide their feet into the pricey shoes that
bear
> the
> > name of former NBA great Michael Jordan.
> >
> > The problem: Only 80 pairs of the light gray, patent leather sneakers
were
> > shipped to the mall, and they were evenly divided among four shoe
stores.
> >
> > Foot Locker sold out of adult-size shoes in 10 minutes at $125 a pair.
The
> > throng moved on to Sheikh, where people "went from happy to hostile very
> > quickly," according to Lt. John McGinness of the Sacramento County
> Sheriff's
> > Department.
> >
> > "People were emotionally charged," McGinness said. "They wanted to get
> their
> > shoes. It's a hot item."
> >
> > While the store was letting people in a few at a time, some members of
the
> crowd
> > began to push and shove, eventually dislodging one of the locked glass
> doors,
> > McGinness said.
> >
> > The crowd plunged inside, where witnesses said men jumped over the
counter
> and
> > confronted a cashier in an effort to get the shoes. McGinness said one
> employee
> > was injured when she was jumped by members of the crowd while carrying
> > merchandise into the mall.
> >
> > "I've never seen anything this crazy before," said Bryan Howard, 17, one
> of
> > those to walk away unscathed -- and with Air Jordans in hand.
> >
> > "It's not worth it," he said. "I'm happy I got them, but they shouldn't
be
> > limited. Everyone should be able to have a pair. My little nephew almost
> got run
> > over, and some guys went diving over the counter and hurt the girl at
the
> cash
> > register. That was uncalled for."
> >
> > Overwhelmed security guards called in sheriff's deputies, who formed
> skirmish
> > lines to dispatch the crowd. The mall shut down for just over an hour,
but
> > reopened by 11:15 a.m., prompting another mad rush inside.
> >
> > A heavy security and police presence this time kept the crowd under
> control. A
> > handful of young people still pushed up against the glass, waiting their
> turn,
> > many clutching crisp $100 bills.
> >
> > Florin Mall General Manager John Hanron said the mall has about 10 such
> shoe
> > releases each year.
> >
> > "We usually get some early people that are enthusiastic, but never like
> this,"
> > Hanron said.
> >
> > While employees at other area shoe stores said they had never seen
> anything
> > approaching a riot, they said furor over shipments of new sneakers --
> especially
> > Nike brands -- was nothing new.
> >
> > "We had a lot of arguing and pushing and shoving this morning, but
nothing
> out
> > of the ordinary," said Cody Ferrante, assistant manager at the Arden
Fair
> Foot
> > Locker. "People were cutting in line. Some people were arguing with
us --
> it was
> > no big deal."
> >
> > Arden Fair security officer Darren Oliver said security is beefed up and
> > Sacramento police officers are called in whenever hot new Nike brands go
> an
> > sale.
> >
> > "We don't just open the (store) doors and let everyone rush in," Oliver
> said.
> > "We let five people in at a time. Once five people go out, the next five
> are let
> > in."
> >
> > At Sunrise Mall, customers began waiting in the parking lot at midnight,
> said
> > Doug Rhode, manager at the Foot Locker there.
> >
> > "Nobody tried them on, or looked in the box," Rhode said. "They just
> wanted
> > them."
> >
> > At nearby Sporting Feet, manager James Swift made a quick profit when he
> sold
> > his own Retro Air Jordan sneakers to a customer for $180. He said
several
> > customers asked if they could buy his size 10 1/2 shoes. So Swift put
the
> names
> > of five customers in a hat, and one of his co-workers drew a name.
> >
> > "I kind of have a little regret," Swift said about selling his shoes.
> >
> > He explained that the shoes are popular -- almost a collector's item --
> because
> > Jordan is not playing any more. "They keep the demand up," Swift said,
"by
> > keeping the supply down."
> >
> > The Air Jordan frenzy is not just a Sacramento phenomenon.
> >
> > Similar stampedes have occurred recently in Oakland and Cincinnati. And
> two
> > months ago in New York, a Brooklyn Foot Locker manager allegedly set
fire
> to his
> > store to cover up the fact that 446 pairs of new Nike Air Jordan
sneakers
> were
> > missing from his inventory. The $125 shoes were not scheduled to be
> released
> > until later that month, but the manager had been peddling them from a
shop
> three
> > doors down the street, authorities said.
> >
> > The Retro style Air Jordans that caused such a frenzy Saturday are
selling
> for
> > more than $200 on eBay; chat rooms on the Internet are devoted to when
and
> where
> > the latest styles will arrive.
> >
> > Abraham Madkour, editor in chief of the Sports Business Daily, a
> Charlotte,
> > N.C.-based publication that monitors sports merchandising, said he was
not
> > surprised by Saturday's excitement.
> >
> > He added that Nike recently agreed to hold its limited releases on the
> weekends
> > after community leaders complained that weekday releases were causing
> children
> > to skip school.
> >
> > Phone calls to Nike officials were not returned Saturday.
> >
> > Though the Florin Mall crowd was composed mostly of teenagers, they
didn't
> > flinch at the thought of paying $150, with tax, for a pair of sneakers.
> >
> > "I woke up at 6 a.m. and got here at 8," said LaToya Wright, 17, as she
> sat on
> > the curb, waiting anxiously for the mall to reopen its doors. "Everyone
> ran in
> > and people were cutting in line and shoving. People were just going
crazy
> when
> > they said they were sold out."
> >
> > Why such a mad rush for a pair of shoes?
> >
> > "They're just tight," Wright said. "They've got patent leather in front,
> and
> > everybody wants them."
> >
> > But not everyone shares Wright's enthusiasm.
> >
> > "It's crazy to pay $150 for a shoe when there are people starving in
other
> > countries," said Dave Hashwa, owner of the Oxford Street men's clothing
> store in
> > Florin Mall.
> >
> > "The mall was closed, and we all lost a lot of business," he said. "We
had
> to
> > suffer because of some stupid shoe."
> >
> >
> >
>
>