LA Gear is a struggling athletic shoe manufacturer in the athletic shoe industry. The company is ranked number three after Nike and Reebok. LA Gear is well known among its female customers because of its fashionable shoe line. To gain ground on other shoe manufacturers, LA Gear will have to develop a line of men's shoes and capture some of the male buyers. This is not going to be an easy task since Nike and Reebok are spending huge amounts of money on their advertising campaigns, including using celebrity spokespeople. Los Angeles amenities not only need to capture male shoppers, but they also need to retain their female customer base, so a delicate balance is necessary. An extensive research and marketing campaign will be required to penetrate this market while maintaining loyal customers and brand recognition. Once the research is gathered, a full-scale marketing campaign will follow once the company's new direction is determined. An in-depth study will be launched to determine what male customers want in a sports shoe. These studies will take place online, by ground mail and by telephone. Once the information is collected, the different types of men's shoes will then be developed focusing on the most popular needs determined by the survey results, which will include a question on price. LA Gear will then compare customer needs to those of industry leaders and determine how leaders have met the needs of male customers and what opportunities LA Gear could use to “out-perform” the competition. LA Gear's footwear already focuses on comfort, style and fashion and will now include high performance. Once the direction of the new shoe line has been developed, the price of each shoe will need to be determined to see if a profit can still be made. . The price will be compared to other shoes in the same category to make them competitive in the purchasing market. LA Gear may even try to lower prices if they are still able to maintain a profit to entice consumers to try their new product and build loyalty. They have to be careful not to make them too cheap though, as they want the customer to feel that these are the shoes they need to perform better and that the expense would be well worth it...