A California woman has filed a lawsuit against New Balance accusing the brand of deceiving customers with claims that their toning shoes create more sculpted legs. The complaint is seeking class-action status at the US District Court in Boston, with damages of over $5 million to the woman and others with the same claim. New Balance isn’t the only company being targeted as there is a case against Reebok. Sketchers also took a big hit with their stock falling from 20.00 to 19.40, a 3% drop, in a matter of minutes triggered by a big sell off. The stock neared it’s 52 week low.
There has been much speculation about the effectiveness of toning product, but the industry continued to see strong growth with sales figures expecting to exceed $1.5 billion in 2010.
Could the craze be over? Is the bubble about the burst? Whatever the case may be, this lawsuit does not help any brand trying to sell toning shoes.
Source: Boston Globe
