Are cheap training shoes stealing NIKE's thunder?

A basketball player has welcomed a drop in training shoe prices. The whole business of designer brands and cheap copies gave the Two Weathermen something to discuss; they tied their laces.

Weatherman  1 : Stephon Marbury has pushed through a new brand of shoes which cost less than £10. He hopes it will reduce theft when shoes are expensive.

Weatherman  2 :  Yes things can turn ugly as thieves try to steal expensive sneakers.

WM1 : They’re expensive because the manufacturers pay celebrities and athletes to endorse them. I tried it at Clarks. I said “how about a discount because I will wear them when presenting the weather?” The young woman thought I was trying it on.

WM 2 : We’d be sacked anyway if we tried. “It will be very wet today, thank goodness I am wearing DUNLOP wellingtons.” Anyway, young women don’t watch weather forecasts; she didn’t know who you are.

WM1 : But in the U.S.,  all the young kids know their celebrities and wearing what they wear is cool. The more expensive they are, the more desirable.

WM2 : Except no-one can afford them.

WM1 : The manufacturers claim development is expensive when done alongside an athlete and patents are too. But they need patents or else cheap copies turn up. If they spend millions of dollars designing a running shoe that runs faster, they need to push the retail price up a bit.

WM2 : It isn’t the shoes running fast, it’s the feet inside them. I forgive the copyists – we all copy all the time. Eat at the same restaurants, buy the same wines, and shop at the same shops...

WM1 :  And copying is a form of flattery.

 WM2 : That’s a good defence in a patent court. “We copied their design because it’s better for the feet than anything else yet thought up, and we wanted to make the world a healthier place.”

WM1 : We do it with body language too. If we are attracted to someone we apparently copy the way they move and smile.

WM2 : I like my children, but I am not copying their table manners. They’re not copying mine either.

WM1 : And you couldn’t use copying as a chat up line. “I’m wearing Kanye West ADIDAS shoes, can I buy you  a coffee?”  She would reply, “but you are not Kanye West are you?”

WM2 : Who is Kanye West? She would need to know who he is; I don’t.

WM1 : And if she preferred DUNLOP wellingtons, you are snookered.

WM2 : But Stephon Marbury is breaking the mould?

WM1 : Yes, it’s a kind of inverted snobbery. He’s blowing a raspberry at ADIDAS and NIKE and claims his products are just as good, but one tenth of the price.

WM2 : Don’t we feel drier in DUNLOP wellington boots or think we can run faster in NIKE training shoes?

WM1 : He’s about to test that.  If he’s right, then volume sales could ensue.

WM2 : A philanthropic sportsman, how refreshing.

WM1 : Sport needs some good news. There’s so much talk of back-handers and drug taking...his timing may be perfect.

WM2 : Is he making wellingtons too? If he made some that could run fast in the rain, they might sell.

WM1 : Yes he should do. Outside of sport, the only time we ever run is when we are caught out in the rain. But then we’d need to know it was going to rain, or else we wouldn’t be wearing them. We would need crystal balls too.

WM2 : Or weathermen.