🚀 go-pugleaf

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...
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> 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."
>
>
>