The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 309 — Born x Raised is back 👀
The Born x Raised Nike SB Dunk is finally going to hit the streets. How is this going to go?
Goooood morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me. Glad you’re giving me a bit of your time this morning.
An update from my weekend: The at-home hibachi was excellent and we did get treated to the onion volcano as a group. Five stars. No notes. Highly recommend.
REMINDER: It’s the last Friday of the month! Y’all know what that means. It’s mailbag time. Hit me with some questions and comments. I’ve got some answers for you.
Let’s jump in.
Here we go with Born x Raised
Nike’s Born x Raised Dunks are finally dropping this week.
This was one of the most anticipated drops of the year before tragedy struck. Now? That's heightened tenfold.
The backdrop: Chris “Spanto” Printup — the founder of the Born x Raised brand — tragically died about a month before his brand’s SB Dunk was set to release.
Just like the Kobe Bryant situation, we had to watch brands uncomfortably navigate these tragic circumstances without looking awful in the process. I wrote about it for KYW.
Naturally, Nike postponed the release following Spanto’s death.
StockX also froze sales of the sneaker on its platform considering how many resellers were looking to profit in the aftermath.
Fast forward: We’re back at square one today with the release of the Born x Raised Nike SB Dunk reportedly set for next week on September 28. All the worries I had previously have just bubbled back up.
My concern here is the same concern I've had with Virgil Abloh’s death. And Kobe Bryant’s before him. It's always a slippery slope when corporations are permitted to profit off the deceased.
They are no longer here to speak for themselves — to say what feels right or wrong. Things can get extremely tricky under these circumstances. Especially considering the resale market's impact on all of this.
While my concern is valid, some signs point to this being handled well. At least initially by Born x Raised itself.
The sneaker will initially be released on Born x Raised’s own platform and not globally via Nike. Spanto’s team handling things is probably the best way to go about it.
Plus, there’s early access for folks who live in LA. This is a shoe about many of those folks. That’s who it was meant for. It’s nice to see them get access.
I also take a bit of comfort in knowing that this would've been what Printup wanted. Born x Raised had been gearing up for this for a while. He created these sneakers with the intention of sharing them with his community. Releasing these feels like doing right by him.
Yes, resellers will circle this thing like vultures. But that was always going to be the case. Hopefully, the impact there will be minimal.
Here’s to hoping actual fans in the community who plan on appreciating these get a real chance to do just that.
It’s earnings time
Nike is going to have its fiscal 2024 first-quarter earnings call later this week on Thursday. This is a big one.
It’s the first quarter of 2024 and the brand will certainly want to get off to a good start here.
Nike’s net income was down by 16 percent in Q4 of 2023 and it fell short of earnings expectations by just a cent, per CNBC.
Why this matters: Those numbers alone don’t matter to much to me — I could care less about what Wall Street thinks of Nike. But what does matter are the trends that triggered the brand's slight dip. Those are the things that have impacted consumers.
The biggest issue for Nike in the last year or so has been its excess inventory — merchandise it just hasn’t been able to sell.
Remember when the supply chain was in shambles? When the bottleneck eased up, Nike got a ton of merchandise to sell all at once. It hasn't been able to completely shake that glut.
By Q4 of 2023 in June, the brand’s inventory levels had dropped but were still 23 percent over its 2021 mark.
The big picture: That’s not good for the brand, but it’s good for us. Its meant restocks, sales and markdowns on quality stuff that we’d normally see selling pretty well at full price. That's why we've seen so many sales over the last year or so.
So now what: Nike wants to change that. That’s what I expect to hear more about this week.
We’ll see where the inventory levels are at now and know what that means for consumers moving forward.
We’ll also likely hear about Nike’s slowdown on its direct-to-consumer strategy. It’s going to start working with outside retailers (Macy's, DSW, etc.) again starting in October.
Other things to look for: Inventory isn’t going to be the only thing we hear about.
Nike will also probably discuss more Kobe Brand news as college basketball season comes up and the brand sponsors six schools.
We may also hear about its resurgence in China now that COVID-19 restrictions have been peeled back in the country.
Lots to look out for this week. Keep those eyes peeled.
Anthony Edwards’ signature shoe is solid
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was rumored to have a signature sneaker on the way after his first All-Star appearance and, clearly, the rumors were true.
Adidas quietly unveiled Edwards’ upcoming sneaker — the AE 1 — over the weekend in his hometown of Atlanta. They look like what would happen if the Jordan 11 and Yeezy QNTM had a baby. Not going to lie — I like ‘em.
My take: The thing I love about these is — like Devin Booker’s shoe — they have a bit of crossover appeal into lifestyle whereas most other signature sneakers don’t.
Maybe it’s just a thing with fashion transitioning into more baggy and loose styles, but this bulky look just kind of works.
We got on-foot looks here from both Lil Baby and Edwards himself. They look pretty fly.
My one note: The only thing I don’t like about these sneakers are the name. As the homie and legend Russ Bengston pointed out, the AE 1 is a camera. The name just…doesn’t work well here. The Ant-Man thing was RIGHT THERE.
If they could get some Spiderman co-sign from Marvel for Donovan Mitchell, I’m sure Adidas could’ve made that work.
Regardless, this is a solid sneaker. Especially for Edwards’ first one. As his stardom in the NBA continues to expand, I’m eager to see how these sneakers grow with it.
Word is bond in the sneaker group chat
As most of you know, I’m sure, the J Balvin Medilin Jordan 3 hit virtual shelves this weekend. We all took Ls, I’m sure. Well, most of us, anyway. Shoutout to the lucky few of us who didn’t.
Me? I was destined to take an L. Because I betrayed the trust of a friend by completely forgetting that I said I’d throw the lob on these.
Initially, I wasn’t pressed to get these. But as I kept seeing them and admiring them, I switched it up, y’all.
Can you blame me? I mean, just look at this thing, y’all.
But a promise is a promise, no matter how lovely the pair is. The homie hit me with a cease and desist.
The homie also pulled out receipts on me.
Look at me. Just fooling myself, thinking I wouldn’t eventually succumb to the hype and fall in love with this shoe. What a moron.
Unfortunately for both me and the homie, I didn’t hit. Neither of us got the W. Karma beat my ass on Saturday. I deserved it. If I’d hit, I would’ve still lobbed them. It would’ve hurt, but I would’ve done it.
Alas. Let my mistakes be a lesson to you all. Your word is bond. The sneaker gods are always listening.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Extra Butter x Adidas Rivalry Low “Islanders” — Monday, September 25
Nike Air Footscape Woven — Tuesday, September 26
Nike Air Max 1 “Familia” — Wednesday, September 27
Nike SB Dunk Low “Born x Raised” — Thursday, September 28
Whitaker Group x New Balance “Missing Pieces” 9060 — Thursday, September 28
Bodega x Asics “After Hours” Gel-NYC — Friday, September 29
Thank you so much fo reading this morning. I appreciate you all. You’re the absolute best. I hope you have a fantastic week ahead of you.
Let’s chat again on Friday. Until then, peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
We don’t have to wait on adidas. We can call them the Ant-Man 1s if we want.