The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 273 — So we really gotta talk about this Kanye thing, huh? 🤦🏾♂️
What a shame.
Goooooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning. I appreciate you.
Hope you had a fantastic weekend. Anybody watch Dame Lillard drop 71 last night? What a game, man.
Let’s jump in.
Adidas needs to step in on these Kanye rumors
UPDATE( Feb. 28, 2023): An Adidas spokesperson returned my request for comment. I was told that the brand’s February 9 financial update is the latest update it had on its business with Yeezy and that it has “no updates to share.”
You’ve probably seen rumors swirling online about Kanye West returning to Adidas following the brand's big revelation that cutting West might burn a $1.29 billion hole in its revenue for 2023.
Let’s pump the breaks: There’s absolutely nothing out there at this moment that indicates this is true aside from the unsourced rumors everyone has seen.
Each rumor says something a little different.
There are silly tweets out there from randoms saying Ye is being “re-engaged” into the brand. I guess if you make a graphic, it has to be official. Right?
There are also cook groups out there writing, uh, news articles (?) with alt-right propagandists as their lone source.
And then you’ve also got publications like Hypebeast saying that “reports” say West and Adidas have already reached an agreement without any actual reports being cited.
Clearly, the sneaker industry at large could really use a good Journalism 101 class. I’d be willing to teach it, y’all. Just hit me up instead of publishing garbage next time.
Let’s be honest. Adidas doing that doesn’t make any sense — even if you’ve got shareholders breathing down your neck. Did we forget that Kanye West was the guy who really tanked this thing in the first place? He did everything in his power to disparage Adidas and get out of his deal.
He mocked outgoing CEO Kasper Rørsted with a newspaper claiming he died.
He also reportedly harassed Yeezy staffers with bullying tactics and used “mind games” to control them. He’s the same dude who showed employees and executives porn to harass them.
And, by the way, let’s not forget the antisemitic sentiments and anti-Black propaganda that got us here in the first place.
Some folks out there think it’s a good idea to bring that guy back and give him more power? Please. That's ridiculous.
But…I will say, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. That’s not to say that Adidas might actually be doing this, but it has remained suspiciously quiet the entire time these rumors have circulated. The brand hasn’t bothered to squash this at all.
Behind the scenes: I’ve reached out to Adidas for comment on whether these rumors are true and if the company has even entertained the possibility of working with West again. We’ll see what the answer is. I'll follow up if I hear anything.
But until then, these rumors will continue to float around. That's such a shame because, by allowing this, Adidas is alienating so many consumers.
I’d just encourage you all to be a bit cautious and careful about them in your future discussions.
NIL Deals are reshaping the sneaker world
A few years back I talked about how the Name, Image and Likeness marketplace for student-athletes could reshape the way brands do apparel deals.
I thought we could see Nike athletes going to Adidas schools and vice versa. It’d become the wild, wild west.
I also thought it’d allow brands to (legally) get a jump on the high school athlete without under-the-table payments.
What’s happening: We're seeing all of that happen now and happen fast.
Just last week, high school basketball star Kiyomi McMiller signed Jordan Brand’s first High School NIL deal. She hasn’t even picked a college yet.
Some athletes are sponsored by brands that don’t sponsor their schools. For example, LSU Women’s Basketball star and rapper Flau’Jae Johnson is sponsored by Puma while going to a Nike school.
We’ve also got independent brands like Moolah Kicks — a women’s hoops shoe brand — that have signed dozens of athletes to NIL deals.
Between the lines: We still typically see most athletes signing apparel deals with the brands that sponsor their schools.
But the fact that some students are willing to mix things up creates more competition in the marketplace. And more competition is better for the student-athlete as they look for the best ways to capitalize on this new opportunity.
In the long run, things are going to continue to get crazy as the NIL marketplace grows and student-athletes learn how to navigate it better.
And then, by the time the next LeBron James comes around, we might have a student with a signature shoe for one brand while playing ball at a school sponsored by another. And that’s the chaos I’m here for.
Excess inventory problems are impacting factories now
The butterfly effect from the supply chain crisis continues to impact the footwear industry on a global scale. Now, it’s hitting the factories.
Details: Pou Chen Corp — the biggest footwear manufacturer in the world — is cutting about 6,000 jobs from its Ho Chi Minh City plant in Vietnam this year as a result of weak demand, Reuters reports.
The company is making 3,000 cuts immediately and then allowing 3,000 other contracts to expire later this year.
The factory currently has just over 50,000 workers in total.
Why it matters: This is one of the furthest-reaching waves from the effects of the supply chain crisis left us with.
Inventory was in excess behind a wave of late shipments. That left product in excess. As a result of that excess, demand was lowered. As a result of lowered demand, manufacturers are cutting jobs.
For consumers: You’re not going to really notice a difference in the availability of products. This isn’t something you have to worry about. Layoffs just suck — no matter what part of the world they come in.
KITH’s new Miami spot looks rich AF
Kith just opened a new location in Miami that is tied in with the brand’s latest Gel-Lyte III drop. Pictures dropped on social channels and, man, the new spot looks swanky.
Yes, I said swanky.
Yeah, man. I do wish it looked like more of a sneaker and streetwear spot, but that’s not really Kith’s vibe anymore. So it’s hard to complain about it looking like a cooler version of Saks Fifth — or at least, what I imagine that would look like.
I’ll definitely be stopping by the next time I’m in Miami.
What’s droppin, bruh?
AMBUSH x Nike Air Force 1 Low — Tuesday, February 28
Nike Vomero 5 Black/Sesame — Wednesday, March 1
Adidas Orketro 2.0 “copy” — Wednesday, March 1
A Ma Maniere x Air Jordan 12 (SNKRS drop) — Thursday, March 2
Air Max 1 “Safari” — Friday, March 3
Air Jordan 5 “UNC” — Saturday, March 4
Thank you so much for rocking with me. I appreciate you. Hope you have a fantastic week ahead of you!
Let’s chat again on Friday. Til next time. Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯