Nike Inc. looks great to John Kernan, an analyst at Cowen and Company. “The brand is on fire,” he says, as the company prepares to release quarterly earnings.

Things look less rosy to David Rasool Robinson, a manager at Saint Alfred, Chicago’s top sneaker boutique.  He says his customers see quality-control problems creeping into some of the company’s offerings. 

So, Sneakerheads: outliers or leading-edge indicators?

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