The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 295 — The Kobe System is BYKE 🐍

Kobes are coming back, but how?

Goooood morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. Appreciate ya.

REMINDER: The newsletter will be out until Monday, July 17 after this newsletter. Heading to Las Vegas for my anniversary. Maybe catch a little Summer League ball, too. Anyone else going down? Let me know!

I’m also working on building out a newsletter referral system and hoping to include some really cool and interactive stuff for you all! I’m really excited about it. Stay tuned!

Let’s jump into things.

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Kobes are coming back. But what does that mean?

Nike’s Q4 earnings call on Friday was an interesting one. They dropped some pretty interesting financial news, which we’ll get to in a second. But the headline everyone is talking about is this: Kobes are coming back.

The news: Nike CEO John Donahoe said the brand is “relaunching” Kobe Bryant’s signature line this year. Or, to be more direct with it, Nike is relaunching the “Kobe brand.” Those are Donahoe’s words exactly.

Step back: This is the news that people have been waiting to hear for 3 years now.

• Ever since Kobe Bryant tragically died a little over 3 years ago, it’s been hard for folks to buy his sneakers.

• Not only are consumers being price gouged on the secondary marketplace when it comes to Bryant’s sneakers, but releases from Nike have also been few and far between. And the stock has also been scarce.

• On top of that, once the deal between Nike and the Bryant estate fell apart, it was hard to tell if we’d actually ever get these sneakers again.

But here we are: Obviously, the two sides worked a deal out and are now working together moving forward. This new announcement from Donahoe is a direct result of that. All of this is set to come ahead of Mamba Day on August 24.

But my question is what does this actually mean? What is the Kobe Brand? What does a relaunch even look like? Here’s what we might be looking at.

• We know that we’ll see restocks of models that we’ve been seeing like the Kobe 4s, Kobe 6s and the like. Some are already scheduled. They’ll probably remain exclusive.

• I also think it’s possible we see new models that don’t exist yet. Something like the Kobe AD line built specifically around Kobe and Gigi Bryant.

• Maybe there’s also room for Kobe brand athletes, too? That feels like a stretch, considering how expensive that can get. But that’s what I’m reminded of when I hear “Kobe Brand.” It’s the same way I think of Jordan Brand.

Those are just my assumptions, though. While it’s all within a realm of possibility, we don’t know. The details are sparse. And, honestly speaking, I think that’s so weird considering how long people have been waiting for some news like this.

Especially considering the fact that it came on an earnings call. Usually, business strategies are more detailed when investors are involved.

Tinfoil hat vibes: This is just me being a cynic, but I think there’s a pretty hilarious reason for that. There was some pretty disheartening news for investors on the call.

• Nike’s North America sales have slowed and its inventory numbers still aren’t great.

• The brand also missed its earnings goal for the first time in three years.

I’m not saying that Nike dropped this Kobe news to serve as a distraction from that. But I’m not not saying that, either.

Regardless, folks might actually get a chance to buy the Kobe shoes they’ve been looking for for years. It’s about damn time.

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Don’t call it a comeback

Jordan Brand is looking to retake its former glory that was once stolen by Kanye West.

Where we are: Jordan Brand is on its way to becoming the “second largest footwear brand in North America” again, according to Nike CEO John Donahoe.

• Jordan Brand’s revenue climbed up by 35 percent from $5.1 billion to $6.5 billion year over year.

• That number made Jordan Brand Nike’s fastest-growing property.

The background: If you remember, nearly 6 years ago the sneaker world was completely in shock after Adidas North America surpassed Jordan Brand in market share. That was in 2017 at the absolute peak of Yeezy.

Let’s be honest: That last point is why this news isn’t that shocking.

• It’s less about how well Jordan Brand is doing and more about how Adidas has struggled since the end of 2022.

• The loss of Yeezy is a huge deal for Adidas. Yeezy basically was Adidas North America and it’s struggled to maintain its grip on this market without Kanye West in hand. That’s not changing. He’s not coming back.

Jordan Brand got the Jordan 38 upcoming along with new sneakers from, both, Zion Williamson and Luka Doncic. If the brand continues to perform well, it’ll probably have that second spot on lock by the next earnings call.

Your move, Adidas.

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Built for women…finally?

Adidas is launching a new inline women’s basketball shoe called the Exhibit Select, which is pretty exciting.

Details: This sneaker follows the Adidas Exhibit line, which has been showcased over the last few years by Candace Parker.

This shoe is supposed to be a bit different than previous models, though.

• According to Adidas, the Exhibit Select was designed “specifically” for women on court.

• The company said it gathered data and insights from, both, female athletes and everyday women who play ball. They used those insights to chart this shoe out and build it.

This sounds good. Generally, it’s great that Adidas is building out more offerings for women on the basketball court. Expansion is a good thing in this case.

Yes, but: My only question is if they’re doing this with this sneaker now, then what in the world were they doing before? Like, how in the world were we building women’s sneakers for women without getting these sorts of insights?

• Look, I’ve never built a sneaker. So I’m not sure how that process goes — particularly when it comes to building for different genders. But I have to think somewhere along the line, gathering these insights had to be part of the process before? Right? RIGHT???

Maybe this is just me being nitpicky, but the marketing angle here just feels a little weird. Maybe they were doing this before. But, if they were, why is it so special with this pair? I ask that earnestly.

What matters most: Is that there is, again, yet another offering for women, specifically, in the performance basketball market. And that market continues to expand behind work from, not only the big brands like Adidas, but independently owned brands like Moolah Kicks and the like.

We need a lot more of that going forward. It looks like we’ll get it.

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A vibe, by Kawhi Leonard

I know I’ve roasted these New Balance 2002r Mocs before. And I stand by those words. I would never wear these.

With that being said, Kawhi Leonard somehow pulls them off here?

Maybe it’s because it’s his birthday. Maybe it’s because he’s on a boat. I have no idea. But this whole…setting? It just works. That’s a vibe, Kawhi.

Happy birthday to the Android.

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What’s droppin, bruh?

• Jordan Luka 2 “Luk.AI” — Wednesday, July 5

• Nike Foamposite “Metallic Red” — Thursday, July 6

• Nike V2k Run — Thursday, July 6

• Sean Wotherspoon x Adidas Orketro “Off white” — Friday, July 7

• Tulie Yaito x Adidas Forum 84 Hi — Saturday, July 8

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Thank y’all so much for rocking with me, man. I really appreciate y’all. It’s not lost on me that you give me a bit of your time for two days out of the week. I know I sound like a broken record, but that means a lot.

KYW will be back in a couple weeks. I’ll mess y’all. Until then, peace and love. Be easy. Be safe. Be kind. And we out.

-Sykes 💯