“Sneaker Cents” - This article was in Time Magazine a few weeks ago. It looks at why shoes, and other things, cost so much, but at the same time can be so cheap. Read the article and come back to answer the questions below.

Last Friday we learned about and discussed the two factors of corporate/product success. What are these factors (use your notes from last week if necessary)? What does this mean to you?

Open and read the document “Sneaker Cents" listed above under “Reading” (it would be best to open the document in another window) and answer the following questions:

1. 1.Why do people buy LeBron's? Why would people buy Big Ben's or Starbury's? What reasons might people give for buying the expensive ones or the cheap ones instead of the other?
   

2. 2.What impact do the professional athletes have on the product's marketability? Why? If star power is what sells, then why is there such a difference in price?
   

3. 3.Why can Starbury's sell so cheaply? Where do they save money, according to the article?
   

4. 4.What effect should these cheaper brands have on name brands like Nike, Reebok/Addidas, and others? What does Nike say about it?
   

Answer these questions by opening and placing them in a text document (Textedit) or in a word processing document (Pages).