About L.A. Gear

L.A. Gear, Inc. (L.A. Gear or the Company) is a California corporation that was organized in 1979. L.A. Gear consists of a holding company that, through its principal subsidiary, L.A. Gear California, Inc., designs, develops and markets a broad range of quality athletic and lifestyle footwear for adults and children worldwide. PRODUCTS In 1996, the women's footwear collection sought to fill the gap between casual and strictly performance footwear at retail prices designed to make the brand attractive to both style and value conscious consumers. Product offerings were divided into three categories: L.A. Fitness included cross-training and walking shoes offering quality, comfort and attractive styling at affordable prices; L.A. Basics featured carryovers of longtime L.A. Gear favorites and fresh interpretations of time-honored classics for casual wear; L.A. Style provided interpretations of contemporary athletic/outdoor inspired fashion footwear featuring unique combinations of fabrics and textures to convey a sport/casual look. In the women's product line for Fall 1997, L.A. Gear will offer more athletically oriented footwear to women by introducing ABS+™, a line of athletic footwear that will reposition the L.A. Gear brand in the fitness and crosstraining categories. The ABS+™ co-label will feature functional, technically-enhanced athletic footwear, incorporating polyurethane covered rollers in the heel and forefoot that create an enhanced cushioning system. The sub-brand encompasses the ever-popular diode lights on the uppers and bottoms of kids shoes, offered in the Fall 1997 line as Lites-TM- by L.A. Gear, and NEONZ-TM-. SALES In fiscal 1996 Wal-Mart is the company’s major customer. INTERNATIONAL SALES Internationally, in fiscal 1996, L.A. Gear's products were sold through (i) its subsidiaries, which sell in The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Ireland, United Kingdom, Italy, France and Mexico, and (ii) independent distributors. COMPETITION L.A. Gear's primary competitors in domestic and international athletic and athletic-style markets are Nike, Reebok, Fila, adidas and Stride Rite.