Athletic continues to be the strongest trend in its stores, and it believes that its program of installing Nike shops has clearly differentiated it from other family footwear retailers, Shoe Carnival told the B. Riley investor conference. It also said it is testing Puma stores, which seems like a really good fit given its heavy concentration in inner city markets and its predominantly female customer base. Other key initiatives at the chain include raising the percentage of high margin accessories sales to 7% of the total from just 4-4.5% now, and continuing to build its children’s business, now 18% of ... Log in to view full article.