The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 257 — 💰Buying in in a Bear
Nike isn't done with the Metaverse. But is this a good investment?
Goooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate you.
SneakerCon was fun! Managed to run into a few of you out there, too. That was very, very nice. It makes me want to create a DMV-centric sneaker convention. Maybe someday…Someday. Anyways.
Let’s dig in.
(dot)Swoosh is Nike’s latest Meta gamble
It’s easy for anyone to be skeptical of the Metaverse considering the massive deflation the Cryptocurrency market. But Nike is still digging in.
What’s new: The company just announced .Swoosh — its very own Metaverse platform, opening on November 18.
The details:
This is the company’s launch of its own Web3 community. Consumers will be able to virtually create everything from apparel, accessories and even footwear.
They’ll also receive access to special events (including some IRL events), pre-orders and exclusive .Swoosh content.
They’ll also be able to co-create their own content with their fellow members.
It’s essentially the same promise that almost any Meta community gives you. The ability to create — not just alone, but with your peers. It’s decentralized and democratized. Whatever it is you create is yours. It sounds great.
Here’s my thing: I just wonder how many people are actually going to do this. How many sneakerheads will actually find value in it?
That’s always been the thing with the Metaverse adoption in sneaker culture. We value these physical items so much. Will people really care that your own virtual signature shoe? To this point, it doesn’t really seem like they do.
It just makes me wonder if this is actually a tool worth investing in. Especially considering how the Crypto market seems to be tanking and Metaverse investments are just not anywhere close to paying off for these massive companies.
I’m sure you all have been following the FTX bankruptcy drama. The company just spontaneously combusted and is $8 billion in debt. That’s a billion with a capital B.
Meta has lost $9.4 billion (also with a B) and counting on their Metaverse investments to date this year.
The people just seem to be off of this. Not only do people not understand exactly what it is, but they also just don’t care. This awful news just strengthens that apathy.
Alas: Here Nike is, still making this big bet. For the swoosh, this is just a bear market. One that it’s jumping in on early to lay its foundation. Honestly, though? What else could it do.
It’s already invested heavily in this themselves with the purchase of RTFKT and the launch of Nikeland. Gots to see it through, muh boi.
If it tanks? OK. So what. Nike prints money. It’ll survive — though, layoffs might be brutal as we’re seeing with Meta.
The hope is, as they say, if you build it, they will come. We’ll find out soon enough. But, hey, man. Drop me off a pair of those Lost & Found J’s. I’ll sign up right now.
A troubling trend at the Swoosh
High turnover is never a good thing at any company, but it’s especially not good when that turnover is coming from leadership.
The skinny: Things are turning over quite frequently for Nike’s Chief of Diversity position. Jarvis Sam, the latest person to enter the role, is reportedly stepping down after 6 months.
The numbers: Employees were notified of his departure via e-mail, per the Business Insider. Sam is the third person to leave the role since 2020.
He took over the role from Felicia Mayo, who left the company earlier this year for a role at Block.
Mayo took over for Kellie Leonard, who entered the role after a scandal-filled 2018.
The cause of reported Mayo’s departure is unclear, but it’s definitely more than concerning at this point. For this to be the third departure from the role — and the 2nd in 6 months, no less — is not a great look.
Why it matters: Nike has placed an emphasis on building a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion but there’s no leadership around to lay a foundation.
Remember, the company rolled out this big roadmap for creating a more diverse workforce by 2025 with Phil Donahoe’s stamp of approval.
This will be their 4th leadership swap in two years. How can anything truly be established without a consistent vision in that time? That’s impossible.
Let’s wait and see: Hopefully, the next fit is the right fit. Nike can’t afford to waste time. It has a 2025 deadline that will be here before you know it.
By the way…If you have any insight on this situation or the culture within Nike that you’d like to share, feel free to reach out at mikedsykes@gmail.com.
Is the Lost & Found AJ1 drop stretched too thin?
Let me start this off by saying in no way, shape or form am I upset that the Lost & Found Air Jordan 1 is going to be widely available over the next 24 hours. I think that’s a great thing.
What’s happening: There are raffles galore at retailers, pretty much, everywhere from big corporations like Foot Locker and JD Sports to your favorite local spots.
You’ll find a ton of them on Sole Retriever here.
While that’s a good thing it also feels like it might be a recipe for disaster for a lot of folks.
Here’s the deal: This is supposed to be a general-release model that is widely available and accessible to everyone. And it will be. But there are going to be a number of retailers releasing a number of pairs all at one time. That is hard to navigate.
Think about it. You’ll have Foot Locker, Finish Line, Champs, SNKRS and a bunch of other spaces dropping at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Consumers will have to navigate that. Many of them will. A lot of them will fail, though. And those people are going to leave this drop disappointed.
Of course, that’s the nature of the beast. But it’s also why I wonder if this is stretched too thin? A central focus might help here — especially for these shoes. The inspiration behind them is the old AJ1s you’d find sitting in the back of a Mom & Pop store so why not sell them exclusively through local operations?
I know, I know. That rails against the whole DTC thing. But I do think that would’ve been fun.
Regardless, the shoes are here. I hope, if you want them, you get them. And, once they’re gone, I hope more come along and everyone can leave this drop happy.
The corny sneaker pics are BYKE
Nature is healing, as they say. This pic would’ve done numbers on Instagram around 2015. Are we bringing that old thing back? I think so…while also hoping not?
If he’d replaced that phone with a sneaker this pic would’ve been a certified classic. Maybe next time tho.
#TheKicksWeWear
LET’S GOOOOOOOOO!!!
The homie Preet kicked us off with the Georgetown Dunks that are still so damn good.
These Winterized AJ4s are fantastic and Adrian is going to stop flexing on me with these one of these days.
My dog Dandin came through with the OG OG OG Metallic AJ5s. Absolutely love to see it.
The homie Stretch Armstrong brought out the Jubliees and these joints are pristine. Still.
My dude Freezelle brought out the Silver Bullets and YUP they’re that good.
The homie Candace popped out in this fantastic Nike By You Air Max 1 and I’m stealing the hell out of this design.
My dog Rick Dubb closed us out with these KILLER JFG 993s. SO GOOD.
SMOKED IT.
Thank you so much for rocking with me, family. Y’all enjoy your weekend. Perfect time for Friendsgiving, amirite?
Let’s talk on Monday. Til then. Peace and love. Be easy. Be safe. Be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
Good read. My bias about DEI with these companies is that the Chief DEI Officers in many of these positions cannot solely make changes since there is already an existing status quo within these companies.
Bringing in new DEI officer each time may not solve the issue companies are trying to solve until there’s a change in the status quo.
The status quo needs to be challenged and when people challenged them, they are met with those who want to maintain the traditional ways of doing things.
Most companies within the range of Nike need new minds and young faces. Not saying the older ones should leave. But….
Pardon any typo or grammar. Using my phone.
I love the story telling with the Lost & Found BUT I hate the story since Nike’s shift to DTC is putting all these family owned business in danger.