Good morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear! Thanks so much for rocking with me on this spectacular Monday. You’ve got a great week ahead.
Hope y’all got everything you want under that Christmas tree later this week. Them PS5’s was rough, fam. Even if you didn’t cop one, it’s the thought that counts. Spread love this week.
Alrighty. Let’s do it.
The KYW Finals
(Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash)
We’ve made it. The Finals. We are here. One last week to decide our sneaker of the year. Here’s a look at the results from the Final Four.
We’ve got the Kobe 5 Mamba Week collection vs. the Chunky Dunky. They were 1 and 2 in the bracket for a reason. First, though, let’s look back at the run from the TurDunken and the Dark Mochas. Because that was incredible. What a run.
Recency bias was definitely a thing. The Dark Mochas and TurDunkens were fresh in people’s minds. They were both Q4 entries, while both the JoeFreshGoods 992 and the StrangeLove dropped in February.
There was also access part of it. People could actually cop these shoes. They were hyped, yes. But they weren’t so exclusive that they were unattainable.
They were also easy to wear. Particularly the Mocha. Everyone who explained their vote for the AJ1 told me how versatile the shoe was and how much it reminded them of the Travis 1. It certainly rode those coattails well.
They had a fantastic run. That run is over, though. On to the Finals we go. Enter the Kobe 5 pack and the Chunky Dunky’s. Y’all know the drill.
Here’s a quick look at the bracket. You can get your votes in right here.
This feels right. These two shoes made headlines this year — not just because they were so good or so unique. But because they were so each coveted and both of these shoes impacted the space in some specific way. In some respects, they were personal for people.
The Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Dunky was the niche drop that grew into something bigger. It was a really weird and unique collab for the Dunk that felt like the closest thing to the mid-2000’s. It brought that old vibe back that made SB lovers fall in love with the silhouette in the first place.
For the Kobe 5 collection, people in and outside of the culture wanted to cop literally anything from Mamba Week drop. Not only were these kicks fire, but they were something to remember Kobe Bryant with after his tragic passing. Nike screwed that all the way up.
So, yeah. Tough choice, I know. Here’s a little help. Going into this, I have five questions I’m asking myself.
Who was this shoe for? What impact did it have? How much did I like it? Did it change anything and, if so, what? How will I remember this shoe in five years?
This is a tough matchup, but it’s the right one. Good luck picking between these two.
Jordan Brand’s big investment
(Photo by Klim Musalimov on Unsplash)
The WNBA is criminally overlooked when it comes to being a resource for new consumers. There are a bunch of opportunities there to tap into a passionate fanbase. Somebody just has to do it.
That somebody might be Jordan Brand. They’re investing heavily in the W. The company just signed on a bunch of new athletes and some legit WNBA stars were included.
They now have the largest women’s roster in brand history, per Bleacher Report’s Ari Chambers.
That’s a huge deal. There’s so much opportunity that opens up from this. Of course, the most obvious one is that there’s real room now to launch a Jordan Brand WNBA signature shoe. But that’s not the only thing that can come from this.
These are star players and they’re all so young. There’s a high long-term ceiling here. Dearica Hamby is the oldest at 27. Te’a Cooper, Crystal Dangerfield and Satou Sabally are all 23 or younger. There’s so much potential and so much room to build with each of them.
The other thing is they’ve got a big enough roster to build out more women’s products on the performance side and the lifestyle side. Could we see a women’s specific hoop shoe like Under Armour’s Hovr Breathru? Or an update on the Women’s OG? I think it’s all possible.
Time will tell how Jordan Brand handles this. They’ve got a number of directions they can go in here.
Regardless, though, it’s just refreshing to see this actually happening. Hopefully, they take them all to their fullest potential.
Nike might never open another store again
I’m only halfway kidding. Their digital presence is just that good right now. Their online sales are thriving from their direct to consumer initiative.
The company’s direct sales were up by 30% for Q1, per Matt Powell of the NPD Group. And, on top of that, their digital sales were up by 80%.
They’d been piecing together this DTC strategy for years and it’s working, clearly. Pandemic or no pandemic, they were more prepared for this shift and the numbers are showing that. This is what’s going to fuel Nike for years to come.
Yes, they are going to still need that brick and mortar presence. Multi-billion dollar corporations don’t maintain that multi-billion dollar status by being one dimensional. But we’ll probably start seeing less and less of Nike’s products distributed to different retailers — particularly smaller operations.
Something to remember: We’re fueling this shift as consumers and it’s not just with our dollars. Look at how much free promo we give Nike every weekend.
It’s not your money. It’s your attention and time, too. Remember that the next time you take an L, fam. And react accordingly.
This is TOO real
Everybody remembers the joy of getting their first pair of J’s. It warms my heart to see this homie unboxing his first for Christmas.
This is from last year, but it’s still dope as hell. And his story is definitely worth sharing this time of year. Shouts to this Dad and his son. Hope they’re having a good holiday season.
What’s droppin, bruh
Nike Sacai VaporWaffle — Monday, December 21
Adidas Forum Hi 84 — Tuesday, December 22
ASICS UB-1 Gel Kayano 14 — Tuesday, December 22
Pharrell Adidas NMD Hu — Wednesday, December 23
Nike Kobe 6 “Grinch” (!!!!!!!!) — Thursday, December 24
That’s a wrap for Monday, family! Thank y’all so much for rocking with me, once again. You’re the best.
Next time you hear from me, it’ll be Christmas! Have a fantastic holiday, if you’re celebrating, and a fantastic week until then. Champion coming soon! Don’t forget to vote.
Happy holidays, family! Peace and love to you! Be easy. Be well. Be kind.
Signing off.
—Sykes 💯
Happy Holidays! Thank you for starting this, I really enjoy the content.
damb those Nike Sacai VaporWaffles are wonderful. Great colors!