Footwear and Systems and Methods For Merchandising Footware

Abstract

In one embodiment, a footwear product line is provided comprising at least nine models of footwear, with at least three different sizes and at least three levels of firmness. Each of the footwear comprises a sole portion, an upper portion attached to the sole portion and configured for retaining the footwear on a wearer's foot, and a support portion located within the sole portion, wherein said models of footwear within the product line differ only in size and the cushioning properties of the support portion. In one embodiment, a footwear product line is provided comprising at least two different models of footwear, with at least two levels of firmness.

1 . A footwear product line comprising at least nine models of footwear product, with at least three different sizes and at least three levels of firmness, each of said footwear product comprising a sole portion, an upper portion attached to the sole portion and configured for retaining the footwear product on a wearer's foot, and a support portion located within the sole portion, wherein:
 the models of footwear products within the product line differ only in size and level of firmness of the support portion;   each model of footwear products within the product line is classified into one of the three levels of firmness based on the firmness of the support portion and one of the three sizes;   each footwear product is labeled with visual indicia that corresponds to the level of firmness of the support portion; and   the at least three levels of firmness comprise soft, medium and firm corresponding to a Shore 0 scale such that a footwear product classified as soft comprises a support portion having a firmness of about 0 to 6 on the scale, a footwear product classified as medium comprises a support portion having a firmness of about 6 to 10 on the scale, and footwear product classified as firm comprises a support portion having a firmness greater than 10 on the scale.   
     
     
         2 . The footwear product line of  claim 1  wherein the support portions differ in firmness among the three levels of firmness and wherein the support portions comprise polyurethane foam. 
     
     
         3 . The footwear product line of  claim 2  wherein the polyurethane foam is open-cell polyurethane foam. 
     
     
         4 . The footwear product line of  claim 2  wherein the polyurethane foam is close-cell polyurethane foam. 
     
     
         5 . The footwear product line of  claim 1  wherein the visible indicia comprises a tag indicating the level of firmness. 
     
     
         6 . The footwear product line of  claim 1  wherein the visible indicia comprises a unique color related to each level of firmness.