Talk about a kick in the pants.

On Friday, Foot Locker (FL) - Get Report , the largest U.S. sneaker retailer, told Nike (NKE) - Get Report and Under Armour (UA) - Get Report that their high-end sneakers just aren't selling.

The knee-jerk reaction hit hard and fast: Foot Locker shares dropped by as much as 28%, and Nike was down 4.5% and Under Armour 4.1% in midday trading. The athletic shoe retailer also forecast continued sales declines for the rest of 2017.

Both Nike and Under Armour have had trouble selling their premium sneakers in the past year or so, with Under Armour admitting that its Curry 3 shoes had missed the mark, Barron's Next reported. In an August 18 press release, Richard Johnson, Foot Locker's CEO, pointed to "a limited availability of innovative new products in the market" and "a changed retail landscape," where consumers prefer to shop online rather than walk into a shoe. "Sales of some recent top styles fell well short of our expectations and impacted this quarter's results," he said, to explain why Foot Locker posted the worst same-store sales since 2010.

The results follow disappointing numbers from others in the industry, including Hibbett Sports Inc. (HIBB) - Get Report , Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS) - Get Report and Cabela's Inc. (CAB) ,a sign that the sporting-goods field may be headed for "several years of pain," Quo Vadis Capital analyst John Zolidis told Bloomberg Markets.

More of What's Trending on TheStreet:

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.