LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Finish Line Inc and shoe company Nike Inc have teamed up in a new back-to- school marketing campaign designed to sell Nike+ running shoes and boost the soft U.S. retail market for athletic shoes.

Nike+, which launched a year ago in partnership with Apple Inc , allows data such as distance, calories and speed to be transmitted from the wearer's feet to an iPod using a wireless system and a sensor in the shoes' insole.

Finish Line, along with rival Foot Locker , has suffered from weak sales over the past year, but Nike has said it has been largely unaffected by the softness in the U.S. athletic shoe market.

Nike has said upcoming marketing campaigns would be partnerships designed to help its retailers -- which represent some 80 percent of Nike's total sales -- and fuel growth.

The marketing push, which includes in-store displays, television and Internet spots and free iTunes downloads for trying on shoes, is one of the largest Finish Line has ever done with Nike, the retailer said.
© Copyright 2007 Reuters.

Photo:
Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon (front) poses with a group of athletes who were on hand to introduce the new 'Nike + iPod Sports Kit' at Niketown, in New York July 13, 2006. Finish Line and Nike have teamed up in a new back-to- school marketing campaign designed to sell Nike+ running shoes and boost the soft U.S. retail market for athletic shoes. Nike+, which launched a year ago in partnership with Apple, allows data such as distance, calories and speed to be transmitted from the wearer's feet to an iPod using a wireless system and a sensor in the shoes' insole. REUTERS/Nike/Ray Stubblebine/Handout