The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 225 — Everybody is canceled 🚫
Went from sweet dreams to nightmares with Joe FreshGoods
Gooooood morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate y’all.
Welcome to all the new folks! Lots of you are coming over from The Hustle after a kind word from the homie, Rob Litterst. Appreciate y’all. And you’re right on time, too. Still climbing to 5,000 subscribers over here. Once we hit 5k, I’m buying a lucky subscriber a pair up to $300. Let’s keep climbing together!
With that out the way, let’s jump in.
Can Instagram be a reliable drop vehicle?
As I sit here and type this, I truly don’t know exactly what to think about Joe FreshGood’s “Inside Clothes” 90/60 release. There are more questions than answers for us all at this point.
Things went from awful to great to much worse but not completely bad(?) all within 3 days.
A quick timeline:
Monday’s shock drop happens and everyone carts the shoes, but everyone also faces checkout errors. JFG cancels the drop and we move forward.
Everyone complains for two days until we get another shock drop on Wednesday and it feels like almost everyone cops the kicks. There’s a slight restock after the initial drop, too. Lots of Ws. EASY Ws.
Thursday night the cancellations came raining down from the sneaker heavens. My order was included in that.
This went from potentially being one of the easiest drops of 2022 to being an absolute nightmare. There are lots of hurt feelings out there from people who wanted these kicks. Make no mistake about it — this is pretty bad. This wasn’t just a few cancellations. There were lots.
But set those hurt feelings aside real quick and look at this with clear eyes. These cancelations ruined the drop, but it still probably isn’t as bad as we think.
There were still folks out there who got their orders in and didn’t get canceled with relative ease.
Botting wasn’t a huge issue and directions were able to be communicated to the masses clearly from Joe. This has been a more transparent release than most and that’s good.
So here’s the question: Is Instagram the best vehicle for releases? The platform was clearly the issue. Twice.
The first time the platform wasn’t ready to be flooded the way it was. The app’s store broke because of it.
The second time they oversold their stock and took orders that they didn’t have. When that happens, it’s normally because of a hiccup in the checkout system.
This was mismanaged at every turn. And for what Meta’s Head of Product Layla Amjadi called the “biggest drop in IG shopping history,” that’s extremely disappointing. Certainly not the impact you want to leave on folks with many of them shopping on the app for the first time.
Again, clear eyes: I maintain that Instagram, as a platform, still makes sense for drops like this one. It’s cheaper than using Shopify sites with expensive bot protection. That route makes sense for a sneaker boutique with weekly drops — not a guy dropping singular projects like Joe FreshGoods.
BTW…We did a Special Delivery short on this that you should check out.
But at the same time, there are some clear issues here that need to be resolved as we move forward into the future with this.
I think they will. Meta sees the money in this. They’ve always been reactionary as a company so it isn’t shocking that they’re a step behind. But they’ll see this, figure out what went wrong and fix it so they’ll be able to hold more drops like this one moving forward.
Unfortunately for many of us, though, we were guinea pigs here. As they say, the game is the game.
Well, that was fast
It only took two years, but Patrick Frisk is already out as the CEO of Under Armour. Under Armour announced the move on Wednesday.
The timeline:
Frisk joined the company as president and chief operating officer in 2017.
In 2020, Frisk stepped up as CEO after founder Kevin Plank decided to step down amid several crises.
Now, less than 3 years later, Frisk is stepping down from the CEO and Board of Directors.
Who steps up: Colin Browne, the current COO of the company, will slide into Frisk’s role effective on June 1. Frisk will remain around as an advisor for a smooth transition, but this is essentially him saying “yo, fam. Call me if you need me. But please don’t call me.” He’s out of there.
The timing: Not only is this a very short tenure for Frisk, but his departure comes amid so much turmoil for the company.
Frisk was the company’s head through an SEC investigation, free-falling stock numbers, and a massive lawsuit from UCLA.
That lawsuit is still going, by the way. And it’s not looking great for UA after a judge overruled their objection to UCLA’s complaint.
The big picture: Under Armour is an absolute mess right now. It’s unclear what direction they’re going in. They’ve had 3 CEOs in the last five years and it feels like they’re just burning money between SEC investigations and lawsuits.
Don’t get it twisted. This is a massive company. They’re not going anywhere anytime soon. But, in the meantime, they’ve got a lot of climbing up to do.
Louis Vuitton honoring Virgil Abloh’s Air Force 1’s is pretty incredible
If you’re still looking for proof of just how mainstream sneaker culture has gotten these days, look no further than what Louis Vuitton is doing with Virgil Abloh’s LV Air Force 1s.
What’s happening: The sneakers are set to release in a few weeks during June. Before the release, though, the fashion house is putting together an exhibit in Brooklyn for Abloh’s final project.
The exhibit will feature all 47 pairs of sneakers and be open to the public from May 20 to 31.
They’ll feature details on the design and inspiration for the sneakers, which will be pretty cool to learn more about.
This is amazing: As mainstream as sneaker culture is these days, I can’t say I ever envisioned a day where Louis Vuitton would be putting on an exhibit featuring the Air Force 1 — maybe the most quintessential sneaker in our culture’s history.
That’s a wild thing to think about. It also is part of my critique of this shoe.
For so long, companies like Louis Vuitton and Gucci rejected this culture that they’re now itching to be part of. And they’re profiting off of it.
These Forces will sell for around $2,000. The mid-tops will go for roughly $2,500. That’s a whole lot of money.
The big picture: As irritating as that can be, it’s still worth appreciating that the culture has made it this far and continues to grow.
That’s the power of Virgil Abloh. Rest in peace.
An Action Bronson New Balance sneaker?!? 👨🍳
Action Bronson and New Balance seem like such a no-brainer combination. I’m glad we’re getting it.
The Baklava Gawd posted a picture of a New Balance box with “BAKLAVA” written on it. Gotta stay on brand, of course.
No idea what this is but I’d bet there’s some sort of Teddy Santis connection here. Remember, Bronson was in the Aimé Leon Dore 992 campaign as a model. Could definitely see them coming back here with another 990 or something.
F***, that’s delicious. Excuse my language. Kids are reading, I know. Sorry, mom.
#TheKicksWeWear
YOU KNOW THE VIBES LET’S GOOOOOOOO
First the homie Conor came through in the Air Max Dawn and these joints are clean as hell.
Then my guy Jon popped out in the Swipa Air Max 1s and, yo, I ain’t gon lie. I forgot all about these joints.
Air Max 90 King Tej popped out in, what else? Air Max 90s. Sick.
The homie Will showed us his wife’s 990v5s that she somehow got for FIVE DOLLARS. FIVE. DASSIT.
The homie Dee came through in these slick Wave Runners and a dope fit.
The homie Kali Rhe came out in these GORGEOUS AJ1s and, man, that pink is so clean.
My guy Dandin popped out in these Air Max 1 custom joints. MAN, he did a fantastic job.
Then my guy Cord came through in the UNLV Dunks with, yet again, an amazing fit.
But then the homie Rocky sent us home with the UNION 2s. WOW. That’s all I can say, y’all.
SMOKED IT. Per usual.
Thank you so much for rocking with me today, family. I appreciate y’all, man.
Some housekeeping: I’ll be out on Friday, June 3. It’s my fiancé’s birthday. Y’all know the vibes. I’ll be back that Monday, though.
Let’s chat again next week, family. Til then. Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯