The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 151 — The Flyease debacle
We all saw this coming, didn't we?
Good morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with us today!
New episode of Special Delivery coming today at 12 noon ET! Don’t miss it. And check out our YouTube channel for more unboxing goodies.
Alright, let’s dive in.
Accessibility > Exclusivity
(Photo by Nelson Ndongala on Unsplash)
One would think that hype wouldn’t be a big deal with Nike’s handsfree FlyEase Go sneaker since it’s a shoe that actually serves a purpose for people.
One would be wrong. That’s pretty clear just a few months after its release.
This joint was marketed as a shoe that would be a gamechanger for people with disabilities. And it should be! I wrote about why here. The problem is they can’t get it.
The initial drop in February was limited. Months later, lots of folks who need the shoe still can’t get it.
Meanwhile, resale prices have moved upward of 160% on StockX. Yikes.
More pairs are coming later this year, per Nike’s Sarah Reinertsen who is one of the shoe’s designers, but that won’t be soon enough.
"We know that this is a shoe that everybody wants, but has a huge impact as well…So we're scaling and we just also ask for everybody's patience as we continue to pick up our pace."
That’s encouraging. But the thing is this shouldn’t have been a limited release in the first place.
The appeal of this shoe was always the component for folks with disabilities. It was never the look. It was never the hype. It was always about who it could help. And instead of capitalizing on that, this was treated like the latest Dunk drop. That’s beyond disappointing.
Everyone is blaming resellers here. Rightfully so. Choosing to resell these at hiked-up rates is pretty messed up. But that doesn’t happen if there are simply more shoes. The source of the problem is Nike’s strategy. Resellers are only the consequence.
The answer to this problem is simple. Just drop more shoes. Release more of these things. This isn’t a story if that happens.
Hopefully, it happens soon.
Nike’s dominance by the numbers
(Photo by rex tavanh on Unsplash)
Nike’s grip on the entire sneaker ecosystem is unfathomably tight at this point. There isn’t really a section they don’t dominate. This new piece from Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen puts that into perspective.
Kurt’s piece explores the potential of the Mamba brand Kobe Bryant’s estate is creating. Let’s just say it’ll be an uphill battle.
Sportico used data from the NPD group to show the market share between brands and, uh, Nike absolutely dominates the footwear market.
By the numbers. Sheesh:
Nike controls a whopping 79% of the market share in performance footwear and 55% in retro footwear.
Add in Jordan Brand as its subsidiary and those numbers jump to 86% in performance and 95% (!!!!!!) in retros.
That’s just insane. And, truth be told, it’s probably not the greatest for footwear.
Nike is good. Their products are mostly quality. That’s why they lead in this way. But what if…they weren’t? What happens if their standards ever drop? Where does the consumer turn?
I don’t know the answer to that. And, thankfully, we don’t really have to worry about it right now. But it certainly is something to think about.
Sky Digg x J Cole
Puma is really tapping in with the WNBA right now and you absolutely love to see it.
Last week, they announced the Breanna Stewart deal. This week, Skylar Diggins emerged as the athletic face of J Cole’s Dreamer 2.
This red colorway will be released on Friday celebrating Cole’s accomplishment of playing pro ball in the Basketball Africa League.
Diggins was the shoe’s model. And what a shoot it was.
This is just an incredible image. At it’s core, it’s just a Black woman doing her typical superhero thing.
Diggins is doing her baby’s hair while getting her ankles taped and getting ready to go deliver some buckets. Phenomenal.
Puma continues to knock it out of the park with marketing. Sky Digg and the Dreamer are a perfect combo. Now when is her signature shoe coming?
Sacai gotta chill, man
Listen. I don’t expect Sacai to ever find a perfect follow up for the LDV Waffle. If they do? Great. If they don’t? That’s fine, too. That shoe is an all-timer!
But what I will absolutely not accept is garbage. And these? These are garbage.
These joints look like some fake Sacai joints they’d push at the Feezy kiosk in the mall. Please, never again.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW WHAT IT ISSSSSS!!!!!
The homie Matt kicked us off popping in for the first time with the Huaraches!
The homie Phil popped in on behalf of his wife Jaci and, fam, she’s so incredibly fly.
The homie Con popped in with these absolutely incredible Space Hippies and this is just an amazing shoe.
My guy Mitch came through clean as hell in the Yeezy Powerphase joints. These are so good, man.
The homie Typer popped out in the Red Flint 13’s with some OG Mavs shorts. Idc if they don’t match. I’m rocking.
The homie Will Rich popped out in the Pollen Rise Overbreaks and this might just be my favorite silhouette of 2021.
My guy Vasillios really did the damn THING with the Carolina Blue 4’s. Whew!
The homie Greer came through crazy in the Flu Games. Not just the kicks — the WHOLE fit.
My guy Big Crawf came through with the Shadow 2.0s and THEY CANNOT KEEP MY GUY DOWN.
Speaking of the Shadows, here they go again with the homie Brett. My God this shoe is beautiful.
My guy Vivid Dope came in with an absolute HEATER in the Flint 7’s AND The Museum socks. These are *chefs kiss*.
My guy Cesar sent us all packing with the “What The” P-Rod’s. GOOD GOD this is a classic SB, man.
I’M RUNNING OUT OF GOOD THINGS TO SAY ABOUT Y’ALL.
Thank you so much for rocking with your boy! Appreciate your time today, fam. Have an amazing weekend.
Peace. Love. Be easy. Be kind.
Til next time.
-Sykes 💯
Nike’s quality has been declining! The Carmine thing was last month, right?
Puma is slowly climbing up. A applaud their collabs.