The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 313 — What should Reebok do? 🤔
Shaq and AI are tasked with restoring Reebok hoops. So what's the move?
Goooood morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning. I appreciate you.
Poll update: We got 51 total votes on the SNKRS shock drop poll from Friday’s newsletter.
Only 29 percent of you said shock drops need to be fixed.
But only 10 percent said things were fine.
62 percent said they didn’t care because they felt they’d take an L either way.
Not a whole lot of confidence in Nike’s strategy here. Sheesh.
Let’s rock.
How Reebok should attack basketball
So Shaq and Allen Iverson are officially in the fold at Reebok. They’ve been tasked with reviving the brand’s defunct basketball line and re-entering it into the space.
The history: That’s a tall task. Reebok has been absent from the game for a while.
The brand’s last signature athlete was John Wall way back in 2010 when he made his debut with the ZigTech. He switched to Adidas in 2013.
By 2015 the brand was basically off the court. It was down to just four athletes in total (Ramon Sessions, Andre Miller, Gerald Green, Jason Terry).
Reebok basketball died. It’s been dead for nearly a decade now. Shaq and company will have to Frankenstein the hell out of this thing.
But how? That’s the big question. Rebuilding a basketball brand is hard. But it’s not impossible. Both New Balance and Puma can attest to this. Reebok can make it happen, too. I have some ideas on how.
Here are my thoughts:
First thing’s first: Find a signature. Reebok needs someone it can hitch its wagon to.
New Balance grabbed Kawhi Leonard fresh off a championship run. Reebok needs to find that.
We were just talking about Jaylen Brown as a sneaker-free agent. He’s the perfect player to strike a deal with.
He’s an All-Star. He’s vocal. He’s outgoing. He’s not afraid of the spotlight. Plus, he’s on a championship-contending team.
There are options in the WNBA, too.
Big names like Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson (who still needs a signature model!) are entrenched in their current brands. But I’d love it if Reebok made a run at, say, Aliyah Boston? Rhyne Howard? Someone young with lots of promise in the W.
Second: Go retro.There aren’t many brands who have a retro catalog that matches up with Reebok’s — especially in basketball. Only Nike has a better history.
Reebok should reshape its retro models for on court play.
Look, just hear me out. Nike is doing this with Kobe’s models now. Under Armour has done it with Steph Curry’s. Sure, those aren’t nearly as old. But a protro wave at Reebok would do numbers.
Could you imagine someone coming out in a retrofitted version of, say, the Reebok Ice Pick or the Avant Guard? What about the Optix? Sick stuff.
Plus, everybody wants the 90s back. That’s the golden age for hoop sneakers. Reebok would stand out if it just delivered what people have been asking for.
Third: Don’t rush toward a signature sneaker. Patience is the best strategy there.
What’s more important than nailing a signature shoe is having a back catalog of sneakers that work. That’s what New Balance and Puma have done so well.
Sure, Kawhi Leonard has his signature model now. But you don’t have that without the OMN1, the Two Wxy and Fresh Foam BB. Those matter. They give people good models at lower price points, which builds an audience.
Fourth: Use Shaq and AI as resources. This is a no-brainer. It’s why they were both hired in the first place.
These are two basketball legends who have so much cache and respect from the current-day NBA. Reebok has to capitalize on that.
They also should deliver full runs of retros for them both. The Shaq Attacks. The Answers. All of it.
Fifth: This is arguably the most important point. Do not — I repeat: DO NOT — try and go toe to toe with Nike.
Following Nike’s blueprint doesn’t work. It’s taken decades for the brand to become what it is. Nobody else can build that.
Big rosters with big names come with time. But the big thing Reebok has to do is focus on putting out a good basketball product. The rest comes with time.
The big picture: It’ll take more than just these five solid building blocks to create a new foundation for Reebok to stand on, but if we see signs of these things? We know Reebok is off to a great start.
fI have faith in you, Shaq. Steer the ship, big fella.
Nike is breaking records, but is it winning hearts?
The biggest success for the running division over at Nike has also revealed what is one of the company’s biggest conundrums in 2023. The swoosh has lost its grip on running.
What’s happening: Kelvin Kiptum just nearly did the impossible at the Chicago Marathon in the Alpha Fly 3.
Kiptum ran the marathon in two hours and 35 seconds, an official world record.
Running a marathon in under two hours is something only one person has done — Eliud Kipchoge back in 2019.
Kipchoge’s run didn’t count officially because he didn’t adhere to standard competition rules, but it was still impressive. What’d he run that in? The Alpha Fly Next%.
You see what I’m getting at here. Nike Running is absolutely crushing it when it comes to innovation and improving its professional runners at the highest level.
The problem: That’s not translating into sales. Nor is it grabbing the attention of casual runners who are now going for other options, The Oregonian’s Matthew Kish writes. It’s lost a lot of ground in the category as it has ceded shelf space to other brands.
Hoka, a California shoemaker owned by Deckers Outdoor Corp., reported $1.4 billion in sales last year, a 59% increase. The Swiss company On reported $1.3 billion in sales, a 69% increase. Brooks, citing NPD Group data, considers itself the No. 1 performance running brand in the U.S.
Nike’s still the industry Goliath, but it’s nowhere near as white hot.
Why this is big: Nike was built on the running category. This was originally its bread and butter. For its grip to not be as tight is a huge deal.
It’s yet another spot where its consumer direct acceleration has burned it.
While Nike has removed itself from stores, other brands have crept in and made space in categories where the swoosh used to dominate.
Nike is reversing course by working with brands like DSW, Urban Outfitters and more again. But it’s possible that it might be too late.
Ultimately, I think the space is better and more consumer friendly for us. Competition is a good thing. I just never thought we’d see the day when Nike wasn’t the undisputed king in running. But here we are.
We have a name, folks
Remember a few weeks back when Jordan executives were complaining about everyone calling the Travis Scott signature shoe the “Cut the Check?” Yeah, what a time, right?
As it turns out: The name the brand actually picked for the shoe is…not a whole lot better.
So what is it? Well, folks. We’ve got the Jumpman Jack. At least, that’s what the name is according to reporting from Sole Retriever. And we’re getting multiple versions of it, too.
Here’s more.
Sources at the brand tell us that the Cut the Check was merely a codename and that Travis Scott's new signature sneaker is now officially called Jumpman Jack. Three iterations are set to release in Holiday 2023 and Spring 2024: the Jordan Jumpman Jack SP, Jordan Jumpman Jack TR, and Jordan Jumpman Jack SP OPT 3.
Let’s be honest: Cut the Check wasn’t good. But, uh, this definitely ain’t better. Jumpman Jack sounds like the name of a pirate restaurant that serves pancakes. That’s very specific, but you get it.
A lot goes into naming a product behind the scenes. And, certainly, I’m sure the brand has tested this name over and over and over again. Nike wouldn’t move forward with it if it hadn’t. But, man. I think this is one of those instances where the brand should’ve just let the people cook.
That’s just me, though.
The Demon Slayer Crocs are…cool?
This section is partially me on a mission to find a pair of Crocs I actually like and partially something I’m putting here to make my wife do the Leonardo DiCaprio meme thing.
But these Demon Slayer Crocs? They’re actually all alright. They look weird and are bulky, these colors are pretty sick. I can especially get behind the Tanjiro pair.
As an anime nerd, I approve. These are way up the list in my Croc rankings.
Anyway, speaking of Demon Slayer, give me season five already you cowards.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Nike SB Dunk Low “Mystic Rosewood” — Tuesday, October 17
Patta x Nike x FC Barcelona Air Max Plus — Tuesday, October 17
Nike Dunk Low Vintage Panda — Wednesday, October 18
Stone Island x New Balance 991v2 — Wednesday, October 18
Nike Air Force 1 “Tinaj” — Friday, October 20
Carhartt x New Balance 990v6 — Friday, October 20
Thank you so much for rocking with me today, family. I appreciate you. I hope you have a fantastic week ahead of you filled with a whoooole lot of positives.
Let’s chat again on Friday. Until then, folks. Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes💯