FirstCuts: The Future of Starbury’s Kicks

Much like the ill-fated Skybus airline, it seems there’s a reason people don’t sell everything for what it costs to eat at T.G.I.Fridays. Starbury’s sneakers were slashed from $14.98 to $8.98 last season right about the time he ended his second consecutive season with foot and ankle related issues. (I’m sure they’re totally unrelated.)

The New York Post reports Marbury’s two-year deal with Steve and Barry’s was expiring and re-upping with them didn’t make much sense for various reasons like a lack of a Web site and a reach that was not wide enough for the Knicks’ embattled point guard.

Darren Rovell openly questions how Starbury is allowed to do this and how he’s even going to turn around a line of sneakers to be sold. Rovell also said it appears Marbury owns the rights to the name Starbury, it he was less sure about the logo being used on the sneakers.

There’s no denying these shoes moved for Steve and Barry’s, and they certainly created foot traffic in the stores and positive attention. But where did it get them? Bankruptcy. And now, claiming the lack of web presence is a big deal, Starbury is trying to land with Amazon. They’ve obviously got a great web presence, but no retail stores, right?

This whole thing is ill-fated to say the least. I’ve always applauded the idea of a cheap alternative, but the shoes are lacking in a performance sense.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.