CAUTION: Investments in the stock market can and do lose money; they can also provide significant dividend income and rewarding increases in share value. The companies I list here manufacture athletic shoes, a product whose sales are relatively unpredictable and subject to the whims of consumer demand. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. This data is historical... using historical information is akin to running backwards (it can be a good exercise but be very careful about running into the unexpected). Potential investors should examine all available data about a given stock, including but not limited to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, before investing.
For those who have asked, I Just Did It: bought about $1000 of adidas Group (made enough to buy almost any pair of sneakers they sell) and about $1000 of Nike (made enough to buy five pairs of Chucks). On the other hand, but if you want to buy stock to make money: also consider Boeing, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, or EADS NV.
After scanning the EDGAR database of the Securities and Exchange Commission, I found ten athletic shoe companies (as indicated by their Standard Industrial Codes) represented in the stock market. In 1994, five companies made money and five companies lost money for their investors.

Nike was the 1994 winner, giving its stockholders a 60%
price appreciation.

VANS
(now part of clothing maker VF Corporation) came in a strong second, leaping up
50.1% during the year.

Reebok
(now part of adidas)
was a distant third, with a 27.4% showing.

FILA
(no longer traded) went up 27% during calendar year 1994.

Converse
(now part of Nike) was new to the sneaker stock market this
year. They eked out a small price gain during the few weeks they were on the market in 1994.
Continue onward to view
1995's results...
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Last Updated: 18 April 2012 11:32
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Charlie's Sneaker Pages
copyright 1995-2012 by Charles L. Perrin.
READERS PLEASE NOTE: Names of athletic shoe manufacturers, shoe styles, and
technologies may be trademarked by the manufacturers. Charlie's Sneaker Pages uses these names solely to describe the shoes with the same familiar
nomenclature used by the manufacturer and recognized by the reader.