How has the firm been able to sustain this competitive advantage in such a competitive marketplace Athletic footwear is a market where one often thinks of Nike as the dominant firm with clear competitive advantages over its rivals.

But if this were true, the other participants would be falling by the wayside. Instead, Nike’s rivals continue to do well in this market, although not on the level of Nike. In this exercise you will explore the nature of competitive advantage in the athletic footwear market and the way in which smaller competitors capture and retain one or more competitive advantages, both against a dominate rival (Nike in this instance) and against each other.

In Groups Find relevant competitive information about the following firms—

companies that are competing in the athletic apparel–footwear industry:

• K-Swiss, Inc. (KSWS)

• Adidas-Salomon AG OR (ADDDF.PK)

• Reebok International (RBK)

• Skechers USA, Inc. (SKX)