The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 239 — 💅 Footlocker is getting a makeover
And the timing couldn't be more important
Goooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate you.
Hope you had a fantastic weekend! No, I didn’t get to go to Sneakercon DC this year. Jasmine and I hosted a wedding reception cookout instead. It was pure chaos. Good times tho.
Anyway. Let’s get to it.
Foot Locker’s future has a new face
Some big changes are coming for one of the footwear industry’s biggest retailers. Footlocker will soon have a new CEO, per Footwear News’ Shoshy Ciment.
The news: Dick Johnson is stepping down from the role on September 1 after 8 years.
The details:
Mary Dillon, the former executive chair and CEO of the cosmetics giant Ulta Beauty is coming aboard to replace him.
Johnson will serve on the company’s executive board until January 2023.
Why this matters: Dillon steps into this situation in a precarious place — Foot Locker is still one of the industry leaders but Nike’s DTC push still looms over its head.
Her job will be to shield Foot Locker from Nike’s DTC headwinds while also making the company a more appealing partner for DTC brands like Nike to commit to.
When you look at Dillon’s resume, you see she’s well-qualified to do just that.
The numbers: Dillon transformed Ulta into a beauty and cosmetics powerhouse.
In 2013 when she started the job, there were just under 700 stores across the US making just under $3 billion in sales. Today, there are 1,300 doing $8.6 billion, per Bloomberg.
The culture: But it wasn’t just with the numbers where she made a difference. She found a way to successfully navigate DTC headwinds in the beauty industry.
She created Ulta’s “Sparked” program for digitally native brands giving them space on shelves in store, per Retail Dive.
With that, Ulta revamped its customer experience in-store to try and turn the store into a destination to try these online brands.
It created customer events and beefed up its loyalty program to draw people in.
Let’s be real: This isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison between beauty and sneakers. But the concepts are there. And it’s clear Dillon has the right mindset. So over the next few years expect to see some very new (and potentially very good for us) changes to Foot Locker.
That’d be good. The industry needs that.
Adidas’ lawsuit (probably) worked
In June, Adidas sued Nike for copyright infringement on two fronts.
It claimed Nike’s precious SNKRS app along with various other training apps violated Adidas’ patents — particularly with Adidas CONFIRMED.
It also claimed Nike’s self-lacing Adapt technology infringed on a patent for the Adidas_1 shoe.
Two months later, it seems this move may be paying off for the three stripes.
What happened: Nike and Adidas both mutually agreed to settle on this case along with another case Nike brought to Adidas’ doorstep in December of 2021.
Nike sued Adidas in December after claiming several of the three stripes’ shoe designs infringe on Nike’s Flyknit technology patents.
Along with that, the company asked the US International Trade Commission to investigate Adidas based on its claims.
Now all of that is going away.
Be smart: The terms of the settlement haven’t been made public and, obviously, we’ll likely never know what the two sides agreed to. But it’s hard to see that timeline and think Adidas’ June lawsuit had nothing to do with Nike’s willingness to settle.
Adidas had a leg up in its June suit.
It launched the Adidas_1 in 2005 years before Adapt technology existed. Adidas CONFIRMED also launched in 2015 months before the SNKRS app did.
Had Adidas effectively proven its infringement claim, Nike was at risk of losing properties in SNKRS and Adapt that are extremely valuable to its future.
The Adidas suit always felt like a leverage play. Now, it feels like the play worked. For now, anyway.
BUT…Nike is Nike. The company always comes back for more later. Expect it to do the same here. This probably isn’t done.
The obligatory Kanye West post
You probably noticed last week that Yeezy Gap is finally available in retail stores. The only reason you probably know that, though, is because it’s being sold as an unorganized mess.
What’s happening: West’s ideal retail setup for his new Gap gear is apparently just piling it all up in construction bags and pushing it out on the floor.
This is what I’m talking about.
Why is this a thing?: Apparently, West thinks there’s some sort of joy that comes in the discovery of his clothes through this process.
The thought is people will dig through these piles, find pieces perfect for them and have a thrilled look on their faces.
He was inspired by a trip to the Dominican Republic in which clothes were placed in bins for people to go through.
The take: There isn’t really one to have. There’s not much to say here about this. It feels like just another ridiculous stunt from West to garner some attention for his line with GAP. He wants us to talk about it. And here we are doing it.
So, I guess, in that way? This is genius.
SPECIAL DELIVERY: It hurt to destroy MSCHF’s Gobstomper but it was fun
It goes against every fiber of my being to actively try and destroy a sneaker, but MSCHF’s Gobstomper was asking for it.
This is the first MSCHF shoe I’ve ever had hands on in real life (mostly because no one sued to cancel this one).
My impressions:
Lots of quality materials with this one. The suede felt great to the touch and MSCHF layered it well.
As you’ll see in the video, it was hard to get through. We literally broke it while trying.
This didn’t really give me skater shoe vibes because of the platform, but it still has a great aesthetic.
Here’s our attempt at destruction.
That was fun. Now, to bleach those Paisley Dunks.
What’s droppin, bruh?
Air Max 97 “Atlantic Blue” — Tuesday, August 23
Salehe Bembury x Crocs Pollex “Cobbler” — Tuesday, August 23
froSkate x Nike SB Dunk High “All Love” — Wednesday, August 24
New Balance 990v2 MiUSA “Navy Blue” — Thursday, August 25
JJJJound x Asics Gel-Kayano 14 — Friday, August 26
Thank you so much for rocking with me today. I really appreciate the time. Y’all are the absolute best.
Let’s do it again on Friday. Til next time. Peace and love. Be easy. Be safe. Be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯