Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:54 AM PST

November 16, 2010, 10:19 AM EST

By Lauren Coleman-Lochner

(Updates share price in eighth paragraph.)

Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Collective Brands Inc. is planning to take its Stride Rite children's shoe brand to the world's most populous market, opening stores in mainland China next year, its chief executive officer said.

The company, based in Topeka, Kansas, is teaming up with Li & Fung Retailing and will also open stores in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore starting in December, Matthew Rubel said yesterday in a telephone interview. Li & Fung will develop stores, e-commerce and wholesale business for Collective in Asia. Closely held Li & Fung Retailing isn't related to the publicly traded company of similar name.

Collective, which operates the Payless ShoeSource chain, is pegging growth on international expansion, opening stores in Russia and the Philippines this year and expanding in the Middle East. The retailer is entering China with a "prestige" brand to meet demand from a growing middle class and because lower- priced goods are made and widely available there, Rubel said.

"They have the one-child policy," he said. "Think about how many adults there are to spend on that one child."

Rubel declined to say how many stores are planned. Li & Fung Retailing, which will run them, will be "aggressive" about identifying potential sites, he said.

International sales accounted for 13 percent of Collective's revenue last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company expects that to grow to more than 20 percent by 2013, a spokeswoman said.

Collective began international franchising of Payless stores about 18 months ago and predicts that it will have about 700 locations within five years, including at least 300 in Indonesia, where it announced an agreement with a unit of publicly held retailer PT Mitra Adiperkasa last month.

Collective Brands rose 31 cents, or 2 percent, to $15.84 at 10:06 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Its brands include Saucony and Keds.

--Editors: Margot Slade, Romaine Bostick

To contact the reporter on this story: Lauren Coleman-Lochner in New York at llochner@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Robin Ajello at rajello@bloomberg.net

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Kids get $50K, pig gets kiss from principal - msnbc.com

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 10:13 AM PST

The big smooch was last week. The big check comes soon. ?He was sort of bristly, and squealed, and the kids went crazy,? Patriot Elementary School Principal GaryDuncan said Monday. And he is no worse for wear for puckering up to Pork Chop the piglet. Who wouldn?t feel good about kissing a porcine pet because a school was awarded $50,000 to help students connect with their parents deployed in Afghanistan? Duncan had promised the students he?d do just that if the school won the national ?Our School Needs? contest sponsored by Bing, the Microsoft search engine. There were more than 700 entries, and Patriot was one of 15 finalists. A Georgia school won the grand prize, but Patriot won first place in the elementary school division for its entry, ?Making Military Memories.? The public chose the winners througn online voting. So at a school assembly Friday, Duncan made good his promise. Patriot, located on Fort Carson, will use the money to buy 30 laptops, 30 digital cameras and 30 flip video recorders and other equipment. Patriot applied just a few days before voting ended when Donna Sabala, the school librarian, heard about the contest. She wrote a heartfelt request for technology so that students could record video clips on a private YouTube account so their deployed parents can vicariously participate in their school life and special events. About 99 percent of the school?s 580 students belong to military families, and at any one time about 50 to 60 percent have parents who are deployed. More than 50 percent are economically disadvantaged, and don?t have the resources to stay in frequent contact with their family members. Sabala will teach teachers how to use the equipment and in turn they will instruct their students. The $100,000 grand prize winner was Greenfield Hebrew Academy in Atlanta, Ga., which needs a new roof. Besides Patriot, the other $50,000 winners are: Marie Curie Middle School, Bayside, New York, for dance shoes, stage curtains, lighting, band instruments and other art supplies; Oakland International High School, in Oakland, Ca., for music, technology and multimedia equipment for the student body which is 100 percent refugees and immigrants receiving formal education for the first time; James M. Singleton Charter School in New Orleans, for music and arts enrichment programs, including instruments to start a marching band, pay a part-time band director and rent a safe place to practice. Sabala says of the win, ?It?s unbelievable. The best gift of all was the support we got from the community inside and outside the school building, and that feels good, even without adding in the money.? By the way, Pork Chop, who dressed in a Patriot T-shirt for Friday?s assembly, resides with parent Myra Stallworth, and her daughters, Harleigh, who attends Patriot, and Skylar, a Carson Middle School student. And no, Sabala did not get to kiss the pig. ?Holding Pork Chop was good enough,? she laughs.... Click here to continue to the story

Crack cocaine found in girl's shoe at Dorchester school - msnbc.com

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 07:43 AM PST

BOSTON -- A significant amount of crack cocaine packaged for distribution was found in a girl's shoe in Dorchester on Monday.

Demare Gary, 19, was busted outside his friend's daughter's preschool after sources say he took responsibility for the crack found in her shoe.

"It's really sad, I think so. It's really sad," said one man.

"One of the kids could have put it in their mouth and swallowed it. It could have hurt them, possibly kill them," said Kim Jones, a preschooler's aunt.

The girl reportedly complained about her foot hurting, and when a teacher at the Walnut Grove Preschool took the child's shoe off, she found a significant amount of crack cocaine - packaged and ready for distribution.

"If you're doing it or not, they shouldn't even have custody of those kids. That's not right. It's not right," said Jones.

Detectives spoke to Gary, a friend of the child's mother, and escorted him through the parking lot. Later, they arrested him.

The child mother's was escorted to a police cruiser as well. Police did not identify the woman, but said that at this point, the mother is not being arrested.

Parents arriving at the preschool to pick up their kids are outraged.

"I think all of them should go to jail because I've been through all this kind of stuff years ago, and it's sad. As a parent, we do our job, let the police do theirs," said Patricia McCoy, a preschooler's great aunt.

A police source said the girl is just fine. She was transported to the hospital as a precaution.

Gary has been charged with possession of drugs with intent to distribute and child endangerment. He will be arraigned Tuesday morning.

Kids Shoes

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

“Collective Brands to Open Stride Rite Kids Shoe Stores in China - BusinessWeek” plus 2 more

“Collective Brands to Open Stride Rite Kids Shoe Stores in China - BusinessWeek” plus 2 more

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