On August 14th, Skechers USA, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKX) made public its offer to acquire Heelys, Inc. (NASDAQ: HLYS) at a price of $5.25 per share. At the time I wrote that the offer seemed low, and Heelys' management seems to agree, issuing a press release stating that "The Board believes the $5.25 offering price does not reflect the value of Heelys and that entering into discussions with Skechers based on their unsolicited proposal is premature at this time."

Today Skechers shot back with its own press release, with chairman and CEO Robert Greenberg stating that "We are particularly disappointed that, after repeated contacts over several months, Heelys will not agree even to discussions or provide us with an opportunity to conduct due diligence. . . We are very interested in continuing our dialogue and, as discussed in Skechers' letter of August 13, we may also be prepared to refine our proposal if additional value can be identified during the due diligence."

So why won't Heelys at least engage in discussions, given that Skechers is indicating that it might raise its bid? This looks like a replay of the Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) - Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) takeover battle on a much smaller scale, with Heelys' brass not inclined to talk about a deal, even if it is in the best interests of shareholders.

If Skechers gets bored with the slow pace of negotiations and walks away, Heelys will have some splainin' to do. Given that the company went public at over $30 per share and now sits at $5.25, it's pretty clear that the management team doesn't know enough about shareholder value to reject a takeover offer without further discussions.

This post is one in a series on prominent company nicknames. See all 25, and share your thoughts and memories about Needless Markup below in the comments.

Neiman Marcus may be the most successful upscale retail department chain that selected shoppers love to hold a grudge against.

The chain caters to primarily female, upper-income and upper-middle shoppers, and features designer lines that rival boutique (and beyond) price levels.

Further, while some of the products are decidedly exclusive, some are not or appear to not be, according to shoppers, but the prices of these items remain in the stratosphere, and it is for this reason that the store was tagged with the nickname "Needless Markup."

Here's a classic example. About a year ago Marie Lang, sister of yours truly, was searching for a leather shoulder bag. She found a medium brown, designer bag she liked for $1,200 at Neiman Marcus. However, being a discerning/critical comparison shopper, Marie of course took a few days to scout the competition.

The result? She found a comparable shoulder bag at Bloomingdale's for $595. Had she been willing to take a slightly smaller bag, she could have secured one for $395.

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW), famous for its work boots, posted its 24th straight quarter of record profits. Revenue for 2Q2008 totaled $267.4 million, up 6.8%. EPS increased 17.9% to $0.79. More importantly, sales revenues increased in all global regions. The company's order backlog increased, indicating demand for its products outstrips supply. Inventory levels decreased 7% due to company efforts to control expenses and improve operational efficiencies. Accounts receivables increased 13%, so more money is moving through the pipeline. The company repurchased 200,000 shares of stock. Operating margins were squeezed a bit given the recent run up in raw material costs.

CEO Blake Krueger forecasts a growth rate in the 7.6-11.8% range, truly impressive when so many other retailers are struggling. This growth rate would translate into revenues in the $1.23-$1.26 billion range and EPS in the $1.83-$1.90 range. Inexplicably, the stock dropped 11.5% to $23.50 on the earnings release, despite the fact that 2Q EPS beat estimates by $0.02. The stock began to climb back a bit yesterday to close at $23.33, down from its 52-week high of $31.21, but it is dropping again this morning.

Timberland Co. (NYSE: TBL), manufacturer of outdoor apparel and footwear, reported a 33% drop in revenue back in February, due mainly to a decline in its sales of boots and children's footwear. Seacoastonline.com reported, excluding restructuring costs, the company stated that it earned 52 cents per share in its fourth quarter. That earnings report came in one cent higher than the results expected by analysts polled by Thomson Financial. The company is currently in the process of dual share buy-back plans, initially involving over 12 million shares of it's Class A Common Stock.

While the company has experienced tough times in the marketing of outdoor shoes and boots, the manufacturer reported an increase of approximately 3% in its sales of accessories and apparel, which includes its strong SmartWool socks line. While the company has weathered a drop in domestic same-store sales of more than 9%, Seacoastonline.com reported that sales for the company declined only 5.5% globally in the fourth quarter. Careful watch on the economy might expose this stock as a nice quick pick in the event of a retail turnaround. Timberland is working to revitalize sales by applying additional new focus on footwear aimed at the food service, health care and hospitality industries.

Timberland is currently trading at approximately 50% off its 52-week high of $27.76 per share.

Gary Sattler is a freelance blogger and does not knowingly hold positions in the companies he blogs about.

With this year's summer Olympics just around the corner, athletic outfitter Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) unveiled its new Olympic products yesterday.

While Nike has never really embraced the concept of being a sponsor for the Olympics, it prides itself on being an outfitter for the competing athletes. This year there will be thousands of Olympic hopefuls from over a hundred companies that will be sporting the famous "Nike Swoosh" on themselves for millions of watchers to see.

Nike will definitely leave its own footprint all over this summer's Olympic games. For the first time ever, BMX will be an Olympic medal sport, and the new Nike gear for the sport is being heralded by Nike's global director for action sports, John Martin, as the "illest BMX product ever." I honestly thought the word "illest" vanished from the vocabulary around the same time as Run-DMC; guess I was wrong. But I will definitely look forward to seeing the "illest" BMX gear ever, Nike definitely got my attention on that one!

The choppy/consolidating (or perhaps worse) market conditions sometimes give the impression that growth plays do not exist, but that is not the case, and one growth company worth reviewing is Skechers.

Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX) designs and markets contemporary footwear for men, women and children under seven individual brands, including the Skechers, Michelle K, and Somethin' Else names.

In general, analysts expect adequate same store sales gains in FY 2008 for Skechers' 150 company-owned stores, and via department store distribution. Analysts also expect new product introductions to proceed cautiously, as the footwear sector braces for continued discretionary spending reductions by U.S. consumers, due to the sluggish U.S. economy.

Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), that once high-flying rubberized sandal-shoe maker, has been dogged by rumors that it is selling products to discount retail giant Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST).

Looking to set the record straight, Crocs issued a press release:

We have not sold Crocs-branded products to Costco nor have we authorized any of our customers to sell our products to Costco; however, we have discovered instances where we believe our products were being sold indirectly to Costco and we promptly terminated those relationships upon learning of that behavior. We are continuing to take aggressive measures to prevent this from happening.

Well that settles it, right? End of story? Hardly. Think about it: Crocs' retailers aren't selling stuff to Costco on the cheap because it's been flying off the shelves. If they could sell it at retail prices, you have to think they'd do that.

So Crocs isn't selling stuff to Costco: but the presence of its products in those stores is indicative of a glut of product at the retail level. And that's hardly bullish. Why would those retailers reorder when they can't sell what they got without Costco?

Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) was one of the best-performing stocks of 2007 until it hit the wall after releasing its September 30th quarterly results. The stock began 2007 at $20.68, ran up to a high of $75 and now sits at $45. The December, March and June quarterly results were spectacular, exceeding both top line and bottom line expectations. The company and analysts raised expectations for forward quarters and the hedge funds that were short the shares thinking the company is just "a fad", got annihilated.

The September quarter results were by all measure excellent as Crocs reported revenues of $256 million, up 130% from the previous year and earnings were up 144% to 66 cents per share. The consensus estimates were for earnings in the 63 cent to 64 cent range and revenue was expected at $253-$258 million. With revenue not "crushing" expectations, the stock was crushed, down from $75 to $32.

In spite of the stock coming down dramatically, many portfolio managers that missed the first run up from $21 to $75 had an excellent opportunity to begin buying the shares. Many have. The stock has rebuilt its value to the $45 level and is still inexpensive versus any traditional valuation methodology. Street expectations for earnings this year is $1.98 and $2.70 for 2008, a solid 35% growth. Revenue will come in this year at $830-$840 million and expectations for 2008 are set for $1.150 billion, again up 35-40%.

Back in August, I wrote about all the beaten-down shoe stocks currently on the market: companies like Rocky Brands (NASDAQ: RCKY), Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL), Phoenix Footwear Group (AMEX: PXG), and Shoe Pavilion (NASDAQ: SHOE).

Basically, selling shoes without a strong brand name is a tough business. Companies like Phoenix and Rocky are seeing their margins crushed by competitive forces, and retailers like Finish Line, Shoe Pavilion, and Genesco (NYSE: GCO), owner of stores like Journeys, are having a hard time making any money.

Innovation is they key to success in the industry, and there have been a few stories recently about companies looking to do just that. Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) have teamed up to launch House of Hoops, which aims to be a "destination" for basketball consumers.

At its Nike stores as well, the leading basketball footwear company is realizing that, to differentiate itself and expand margins, it will have to provide customers with more than just a nice shoe: they need a unique shopping experience.

Discount shoe retailer Payless ShoeSource is now Collective Brands (NYSE: PSS), and recently acquired children's shoemaker Stride-Rite. Perhaps the split focus of trying to be both a discount and a full-price shoe store is what is causing profits to plummet. Collective Brands recently reported 2Q 2007 results. Profits dropped by 23% to just under $25 million, or diluted EPS of $0.38. Total sales were down 1%, not enough to worry, and same store sales were down 1.4%, again not enough to worry, yet. CEO Matthew Rubel blamed the downturn on weak sandal sales. Weak sandal sales in the summer? As good an excuse as any I suppose. But the fact remains the company is selling fewer shoes and making less money on those it does sell. 2Q numbers would have been even worse had the company not received $2.3 million from a lawsuit settled in its favor, and insurance payouts of $1.6 million to cover hurricane damage in 2006.

Collective Brands spent $1.8 million in 2Q 2007 on integration planning for the acquisition of Stride-Rite Shoes, an acquisition management states will have no impact, positive or negative, on earnings in 2008. Why not? What's the hold up that it will take until sometime in 2009 to figure out whether Stride-Rite was a good acquisition? $725 million of the acquisition was financed by a loan. For that kind of money in a company of this size, shareholders have a right to see what kind of bang they may or may not be getting for their investment buck.

To be fair, 2Q reporting period ended in early August, just before the big back-to-school shoe buying period. Inventory expenses was up 5.5% because the stores were stocking up in preparation for back-to-school purchases. Perhaps 3Q numbers will be more positive. Collective Brands bought back $4.6 million of its stock, 141,000 shares, in 2Q as part of a $32 million share repurchase program. This still has not helped the stock, which opened the year trading at $32.89, and now trades right around $23.20.

Shares of Heelys Inc. (NASDAQ: HLYS), makers of those god-awful and potentially dangerous wheeled sneakers, plunged more than 45% this morning after the company warned that its earnings would be nowhere close to what Wall Street analysts had expected.

The company expects profit of 28 cents to 30 cents and revenue of $55 million to $55.8 million. Analysts had expected profit of 38 cents on revenue of $68.4 million, according to Reuters.

I have one thing to say to all of the people who bought this stock when it traded at a ridiculous multiple: hah hah. You should have known better. Fads eventually end. Anyone who thought this stock wouldn't crash and burn was either naive or delusional

The only question I have now is whether Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) is next. My colleague Georges Yared is super bullish on this stock. I don't share his enthusiasm. Whenever I see a Crocs display lately, it always looks like it hasn't been touched for a while.

Remember, you investors can be bulls or bears. Pigs get slaughtered especially those wearing sneakers with wheels on them.

I had a notion once to start a guerrilla marketing company, offering to destroy competing brands by dressing the ugliest, most loathsome people I could find in that competing brand's product.

Now, I don't mean to suggest that Dean Cain (Superboy) or G.W. Bush (Superpresidenter guy) fall into that category, but Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) has to be a little concerned when the brand shows up on C-list actors and unpopular politicians.

This caused me to jot down a list of Crocs-killers -- people who, by adopting the footwear, could trash the brand. In no particular order --

• Kim Il Jong
• Larry King
• Ziggy
• Mike Tyson
• Osama bin Laden (only in U.S., however)
• Draco Malfoy
• Joan Rivers
• Al Gore
• Tom Barlow (if you knew me, you'd understand.)

There's a reason trendy nightclubs have doormen to weed out us dweebs. Perhaps Crocs should consider the same.

A piece in the Wall Street Journal [subscription required] discusses Nike's (NYSE: NKE) efforts to move in on Puma's business, and offer lower-cut, less flashy footwear, often at a fraction of what some of the company's top-selling basketball sneakers sell for.

Known as "low-profile" for their classic look and more reasonable pricing, sales of these sneakers grew 4.4% in 2006, exceeding sales of basketball shoes. The look first became popular in Europe, and has also caught on among fashion conscious metrosexuals and the skateboard crowd. While Nike's $150-dollar shoes might appeal to hardcore athletes (and posers, mostly posers), the low-profile look is gaining ground and is easier on the wallet.

I don't think Nike will have a lot of success in this market. While Nike is number one for sporting-related footwear, Puma has a "cooler" image among non-basketball fans. The Puma brand has fashion credibility and I don't think that Nike really does.

Nike says it's making progress on selling lower-priced, lower-cut shoes, but I don't think Puma has a lot to worry about in this area of the sneaker-wars. I'm much happier with $30 Puma's I can but at TJ Maxx (NYSE: TJX).

In what looks like an effort to diversify away from its low-price and low-quality (although that has been improving of late) flagship brand, Payless ShoeSource Inc. (NYSE: PPS) is acquiring Stride Rite Corp. (NYSE: SRR), the leading retailer of footwear for children. I have fond memories of going to Stride Rite with my parents when I was younger to pick out new shoes, and a lot of other people have similar memories. Payless will pay $800 million in cash for the company.

The company will change its name to Collective Branding after the deal is consummated because it was the most boring name it could think of that wasn't already taken.

Shares of Stride Rite are up more than 30%, while Payless shares soared more than 10%, making this one of those rare deals that looks good for the acquired company's shareholders and the owners of the acquiring company.

Payless has been a strong performer over the past few years, as CEO Matt Rubell has focused on upping the quality of the company's products. This acquisition seems like a great way to continue on that path, and the company's balance sheet looks strong enough to handle it.

Today, Cramer came on CNBC for the STOP TRADING segment and was briefly positive on Olin Corporation (NYSE: OLN) as a cheap chemical company and positive on Churchill Downs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHDN) ahead of the Kentucky Derby.

The main issue though is on Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX). Cramer is still sticking with Crocs as one that is now not a fad, and he thinks it is going higher.

He did not go as far as a $95.00 target that was given today but he is now saying the ugly shoes are "not a fad." That is markedly different than what he noted in February when he said you could still make money before the fad peaks and it tumbles. He noted somewhat jokingly that Liz Claiborne, Inc. (NYSE: LIZ) ought to go buy that company to re-energize its sagging brand. So that may be a key change in his longer-term views and sounds like he's going to be behind this one for longer than just "a trade" for his future shows and appearances.

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in any of the companies he covers.