The company sells men's, women's, children's, and athletic footwear through its retail stores.

Small, probably a woman's shoe, it had a zigzag pattern typically found on athletic footwear.

Last year, athletic footwear, apparel and equipment had total retail sales of $39.3 billion.

At heart, though, the merger is about the United States market, which accounts for more than half the sales of athletic footwear in the world.

It is expected to have many applications in the athletic footwear, medical, microelectronics and other industries.

New technology has changed the look of athletic footwear dramatically in the last decade.

Further refinements on the original design led to several significant innovations in athletic footwear.

Altogether, retail space for athletic footwear dropped 15 percent last year and is expected to continue to shrink, analysts said.

Nike remains the king of the hill in athletic footwear, but its kingdom is under assault.

Nike, the world's largest manufacturer of athletic footwear, has never made skates.