The famous footwear that nearly clipped Bush is selling at a 4x rate since the infamous hurling. After a footwear war was settled between manufactures from Kabul to Cleveland over what type of shoe was thrown at Bush, the honor was given to Baydan Shoe Company's "Ducati Model 271."
Throwing a shoe at someone is a gross insult in Arab countries, and Mr. Bush is widely unpopular in much of the region. But as he enters his last weeks in office, he seems to have gained a small foothold of appreciation here.
A British distributor has asked to become the Baydan Shoe Company’s European sales representative, with a first order of 95,000 pairs, and an American company has placed an order for 18,000 pairs. Four distributors are competing to represent the company in Iraq, where Baydan sold 19,000 pairs of this model for about $40 each last year.
Orders for Baydan’s shoes, formerly known as Ducati Model 271 and since renamed “The Bush Shoe,” have poured in from around the world.
Down in the Baydan shoe company's workshop, about a dozen men are feverishly churning out pairs of model 271 in light brown leather for an order heading to Iraq.
Noting the spike in sales, Serkan Turk, Baydan's general manager, said, "Bush served some good purpose to the economy before he left."
