Ratings of Athletic Footwear Styling and Quality. The International Footwear Federation, a wellrespected
consumer group, rates the styling and quality of the footwear of all competitors and assigns a
styling-quality or S/Q rating of 0 to 10 stars to each company’s branded footwear offerings. Currently, the
athletic footwear lines of all competitors have a 5-star S/Q rating. The Federation's ratings of each
company's shoe styling and quality in each market segment are often the subject of newspaper and
magazine articles. Market research confirms that many consumers are well informed about the S/Q
ratings and consider them in deciding which brand to buy. For example, if two competing brands were
equally priced, most consumers would be inclined to buy the brand with the highest S/Q rating. It is
unclear whether spirited competition will lead to higher/lower S/Q ratings or to large/small differences in
S/Q ratings from company to company.