Brian Sozzi Talks About Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

Brian Sozzi of Wall Street Strategies was just on CNBC discussing the shoe sector along with America's Research Group CEO Britt Beemer. Sozzi was bullish on the sector, while Beemer was notably bearish.

Sozzi said that in order to make investment decisions int in the shoe sector, you have "think about what's working this year. Differentiation is selling." He mentioned named liked Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK), Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO), and The Finish Line, Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) as companies that have benfited and are likely to continue benefiting.

He said that these names have outperformed since April, when the market topped. The retail analyst believes that consumers are more likely to spend $150 on shoes, esp. Nike (NYSE: NKE), which just reported a strong quarter. Consumers are more likely to spend this kind of money then spending $300 to update their wardrobe with jeans and t-shirts.

If you look at the past two quarters, Sozzi notes that the shoe companies have significantly outperformed retail He does not believe it is all back to school. He especially liked Deckers, which is growing floor space, and has a new mens line out. He also likes Finish Line, which outperform Genesco during the quarter.

Beemer, however, was bearish on shoes. He noted that his firm interviewed customers, and the results found that 27% of consumers would spend less then they did a year ago, as opposed to 18% last year. He said that consumers are focusing on the ultra long term now.