MarketWatch’s Andria Cheng Interviews Nike President Charlie Denson

Nike and Converse together under one roof.  At last!

Nike and Foot Locker announced plans for up to 50 House of Hoops stores back in May to be opened over a three year period:

Foot Locker and Nike, the supplier of half of Foot Locker’s shoes, are trying to spur sales of high-end basketball apparel at urban stores outside malls as customers buy more general-use sneakers instead of shoes for specific sports. Most of the basketball stores will be converted Foot Locker locations.

"These stores are too small to merchandise Foot Locker’s entire offering, and they need to be upgraded," said John Shanley, a New York-based analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group. "It’s a good way for Nike to keep competing brands out of the picture.

At about 2,100 square feet, the average U.S. Foot Locker store is about one-sixth the size of a typical Niketown store, which sells shoes and clothes at high-profile locations such as Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive.