The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 203 — Just Buy It
Why Peloton makes a lot of sense for Nike and other sportswear companies
Goooood morning, family! Thank you so much for rocking with me on this beautiful Friday morning. Y’all are the best.
Good luck on the Unions today! We’ll see if I cop those joints. I’m sure you’ll see me on the timeline complaining one way or another.
Anyway, let’s jump in.
Peloton’s next ride
Peloton is in trouble. The company is struggling as it sharply continues to fall from its 2020 high when the pandemic was in its height and everyone’s workouts moved inside.
In just a calendar year, the company’s shares are down by 80% and investors are worried about the tank.
Because of that, unfortunately, the company has chosen to cut nearly 30% of its workforce which is absolutely insane.
What’s happening: Change may be coming soon. Companies are lining up to acquire the indoor cycling darling. One of them, of course, is Nike, per Fortune.
You’re probably asking why Nike? What could they possibly want with Peloton? And there’s a really big reason why that makes sense here.
One of the things that stuck for Nike over the last few years through the pandemic has been Nike’s Training Club program.
This is a virtual program that literally trains you. It sends you workouts, meal plans, and allows you to be virtually coached all from Nike’s app.
Peloton, as an asset, could fall snuggly into the NTC program. And it opens up the lane for a number of partnerships down the line with different celebrities, fitness coaches and the like.
The big problem here for Peloton isn’t that people aren’t buying the expensive bikes — that wasn’t their main revenue source, as pointed out here. It was really the subscriptions from their classes that were their bread and butter.
So what’s the problem: People weren’t subscribing to and using their programs as much as they used, say, Apple Fitness or NTC or Google Fit. These are programs built into their everyday native devices. Asking people to shift their behaviors when convenience is cheaper and right in the palm of their hands is tough. It never works out.
That’s why Nike makes sense. It’s also why Adidas would make sense. Or any sportswear and fitness company would make sense, really. They’ve got platforms. They’ve got an audience. Peloton could become a piece of that.
It’s certainly not where anyone thought they’d be in 2020, but here we are. This is the reality. Now they must adjust accordingly.
What’s in the box, Nike?!?
We all got so caught up in the fervor last week of Nike suing StockX for their NFT program that we didn’t catch the perfect example of why they were doing it.
Wait, what? Nike dropped their very first NFT with RTFKT last week. And it’s a box.
Nike and RTFKT dropped their MNLTH NFT last week. MNLTH is short for Monolith.
What is it? Well, honestly, none of us quite know. It’s just a mystery box. Its description on OpenSea also calls it “sentient” which is very interesting.
Some were available for purchase for 5.6 Ethereum which is just under $17,000…which, yeah. Nuts.
This could be anything. It could be a token you redeem for a rare pair or it could be access to some virtual Nike event or it could even just be a box. I have no idea.
Be smart: But this is exactly why Nike railed so hard against StockX in their complaint last week.
It wasn’t to just get its imagery off of StockX’s virtual product. It was mostly to make clear that Nike had nothing to do with that product.
It’s very clear that Nike has projects of their own that are coming forward. They will be big and they will come fast. They just acquired RTFKT in December and have already launched a product like this. There’s bound to be more in store, too.
So, yeah. Don’t expect them to let up off the gas when it comes to this StockX thing. They’ve got some separating to do.
Air Force 1’s or a mortgage — your choice
The bidding on Nike x Louis Vuitton’s Air Force 1’s has closed and, yes, they are exactly as expensive as you thought they were going to be.
What it look like: You ain’t finding a lot under $100,000 out here. The first one you see is at $352,800.
That’s the cost of a mortgage for a home. Or the price to pay off your (MY) student loans. But these are pairs of Air Force 1’s, though. With Louis Vuitton logos plastered all over them. Sheesh.
What does this mean: I said it before and I’ll say it again. This wasn’t meant for us. This isn’t the sneaker game.
These shoes are simply a flex. They’re eye candy. These prices absolutely prove that to us.
These weren’t purchased for resale. The prices are way too high. Whoever bought these joints is just going to sit them in a glass case somewhere.
It’s hard to fathom ever spending this much money on a pair of sneakers and I love sneakers. More power to these folks though. Ain’t my money.
They really bringing Kobe’s space bricks back?
I know I said I wanted Adidas to retro Kobe’s before, but I definitely didn’t mean these Kobe’s.
They’re bringing back the Flying Spaceship 1’s Kobe 1’s and I seriously cannot believe this. Y’all know the joints I’m talking about. These joints.
Not a single pair of LeBrons are touching these space boots. I have no idea what the vibe in the room was when they dropped these, but man. These are some clunky kicks. Somehow, they’re better than the Kobe II’s though.
I’m not going to lie — if these were in a different colorway, I might consider them! I remember they retroed a Cherry Blossom pair back in 2014 when John Wall was with the Wizards. I wanted them.
These ain’t those. And that’s a loooooot of yellow. We’ll see how the people react.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL ALREADY KNOW THE VIBESSSSSSSSS
First the homie Jaden popped out doubling up on us with the He Got Games and some Adidas slides. The duality.
Then the homie Storm popped out in these fly Grant FILAs. These joints are hitting man.
The homie Matt popped out with these clean Forums. These joints are sweet.
Then my guy Cord came through with the wheat SB Dunks and DOG I’m jealous. So jealous.
The homie Dandin came through stunting with an OG, per usual. He’s rocking the Penny 2’s.
Then Ben popped out with the Gundam Dunks and MAN these are special.
Then the homie Mitch came through with these incredible Rose 990v4’s. He’s killing it with the NB’s lately.
My guy Chim popped out in the Serena Off-White Air Max 97’s. These joints are legendary, man.
And then the homie Joe sent us home with the Water Be The Guide joints while sitting in front of some water. SHEEEEEEEEESH.
SMOKED THAT.
Thank you, once again, for rocking with yerboi. Appreciate y’all, man. You are the light in my life unlike the Washington Wizards.
Let’s chat again on Monday. Got some pretty cool news coming. Stay tuned! Until then, fam. Peace. Love. Be easy. Be safe. Be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
The Peloton situation is fascinating. I guess that whatever their plan for post-lockdown growth was "we're gonna figure it out then" and that sucks for the folks who got dropped.
I see the connection for Nike, Adidas, etc. to acquire them but I'm not sure that their brand name would really help them expand beyond their current footprint. If anything, Peloton should pivot hard to the software subscription, make the high-quality app experience the focus and let people do their workouts on a tablet with any stationary bike.