L.A. Gear Hit $819 Million. Then It Went After Nike

L.A. Gear Hit $819 Million. Then It Went After Nike Subscribe to Parallel Fates for new business duels every week: two companies, one storm, different endings. Prefer to listen? Parallel Fates is also a podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OdbdvY... 00:00 The $819 Million Peak 01:00 A Roller Rink in Los Angeles 03:01 Nike's Own Storm 03:48 Just Do It 04:44 The Scoreboard, 1989 05:16 The Fork: Men's Basketball 05:48 The Pop Star Deal 06:53 The Market Turns 08:38 Chasing One Billion Dollars 09:21 The Catapult and the Technology Chase 10:19 Default, a Rescue Fund and an Exit 11:14 The Lawsuit, Light Up Shoes and Walmart 12:57 The Last Years and Bankruptcy 13:45 What Nike Did Next 15:03 The Final Scoreboard 15:34 The Founder's Second Act L.A. Gear vs Nike: how a sneaker company from Los Angeles grew from about $11 million in sales in 1985 to about $819 million in 1990, third in the American market behind only Nike and Reebok, and then lost most of its business. This Parallel Fates documentary follows both companies through the same storm: the end of the aerobics boom, a shift in fashion and a crowded sneaker market. L.A. Gear built its business on fashion sneakers for girls and young women. Then it moved into men's basketball shoes, a market led by Nike and Reebok, and signed a pop star for a line of its own. Nike had already lost ground to Reebok and the aerobics craze, and answered with a campaign built on three words and a much bigger advertising budget. You will see how each company chose, what the numbers show and what happened next: price cuts and discount stores, a chase for new technology, an investment fund that stepped in, a deal with a discount retailer and a bankruptcy filing in 1998. You will also see the unexpected second act of the founder. Most figures come from company histories, news reports from the period and company filings. Where sources differ, or a claim rests on a single account, the video says so. The company is written as LA Gear in some sources and L.A. Gear in others; both names refer to the same brand. More duels: Nike vs Reebok:    • Reebok Beat Nike in the 80s. Then It Got S...   Nintendo vs Sega:    • How Sega Beat Nintendo, Then Quit Making C...   Parallel Fates. Two companies. One storm. Different endings. #LAGear #Nike #BusinessHistory