The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 339 — Bye bye, Barcelona 👋
Nike's in jeopardy of losing one of its biggest clients in the sports world.
Goooood morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear! Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning. I appreciate you!
On the way 🚚: I had to break on the green Kith 1906r. I went the resale route and copped for $180 on StockX (so, really, like $220). I feel good about it. Pics soon.
On the radar 👀: The Under Armour Apparition has caught my eye lately. I’m leaning heavily into grabbing a pair. Simple, but awesome. Good job, UA.
Thanks so much for your feedback in the survey I put together! Appreciate y’all. I want to make this newsletter perfect for you and that goes a long way in helping me.
Let’s jump in!
F.C. Barcelona might be done with Nike
Nike’s grip on the sports world just doesn’t feel as strong as it used to these days.
What’s happening: World famous F.C. Barcelona is reportedly seriously considering leaving Nike after working with the brand for nearly thirty years, Business of Fashion’s Daniel Yaw-Miller writes.
Barcelona thinks it should be doubling its profit on its uniform sponsorship deal with Nike. As things stand, the club makes $114 annually from the deal. In a February interview, team President Joan Laporta described Nike’s operation as “deteriorating” and said the company breached its contract with the club.
Where things stand: Barca has been weighing its options. Team President Joan Laporta has laid out three options.
The first two are obvious: Stay with Nike and renegotiate or find another deal with another brand.
There are already deals on the table. New Balance reportedly had an interest in working with Barcelona, but Puma seems to be the front-runner and reportedly has a $240 million deal on the table already.
Barca could also still re-negotiate with Nike. The deal doesn’t expire until 2028, so there’s plenty of time.
The third is far more ambitious: The team would take control over manufacturing and distributing its kits, Laporta said
This would be a massive undertaking for the team. Not only would it need to produce its own kits for its players to wear, but it’d have to create replicas for fans to buy as well.
Plus, it would need to seamlessly integrate that into its existing retail options both in its home arena and abroad.
That’s a lot to pull off, but if anyone could, it’s F.C. Barcelona. We’re talking about one of the richest clubs in the world with a $5.5 billion valuation, per Forbes. There’s also plenty of financial incentive to go that independent route, as Yaw-Miller writes here:
“Rather than receiving royalties from Nike, Barca would reap the lion’s share of profits on each jersey. Replicas cost about $11 to produce, according to sportswear and retail industry veteran Joe Middleton, and retail for up to 10 times that amount on Barcelona’s e-commerce site.”
But… We probably shouldn’t believe the hype on this one. To me, this feels like a negotiation tactic. Could Barcelona leave Nike? Absolutely. Nothing lasts forever. But I just can’t see the brand going it alone — even if it would make more money on the backend.
The additional operating expenses that would come up would likely eat into any profit the club makes.
Plus, it’s F.C. Barcelona, man. Brands are going to fight tooth and nail to get a deal done with this club. There’s already reportedly one on the table and, with everything Nike and Barca have done together, I’m sure the brand doesn’t want to lose the spot it has.
My prediction: Ultimately, I think this is a cash grab from Barcelona. It’ll demand more money from Nike and the brand will find a way to pony up. They’ve worked together for 26 years now. I don’t see either side just throwing that away here.
Say no to the Swifties, Adidas…for now
Adidas held its first earnings call of the year last week and, well, it went just the way the company told us it was going to go back in January. CEO Bjorn Gulden revealed the brand posted its first financial loss in more than 30 years of about $63 million.
But the most interesting part of the call was the discussion about a particular celebrity. No, not the one you’re thinking of.
What happened: Gulden mentioned the possibility of trying to sign Taylor Swift to an Adidas deal.
The CEO said reporters asked him before the call if the company would make a move on Swift if the opportunity arose.
His response: “I said I would love to—I don't know how I’d do it, but right now, she's also wearing our products from time to time, which might help.”
Translation: Gulden and Adidas are not saying no if the Swifties come calling.
This all stems from Swift being spotted out and about in some simple Adidas Superstars. Nothing too crazy. But it’s Taylor Swift — just wearing one thing one time has to mean she wants to do business with the brand. Right? RIGHT?
Here’s my thing: If Swift came knocking on Adidas’ door looking for a sneaker deal, I think the brand should kindly turn her away. I know, I know. It’s Taylor freaking Swift. Nobody says no to working with that woman. She is a star among stars.
But I don’t think the time is right for Adidas.
If we’ve learned anything about the company over these last few years, it's that its macro-influencer strategy is cooked.
Even when you set the Kanye West stuff aside, things are still a mess. The Beyoncé deal completely fell apart. The Bad Bunny thing isn’t as exciting as we thought. Is Pharrell even there anymore? What’s the deal?
Adidas has to get people excited about its brand again — not just the personalities it works with. That’s happening right now. But it’s also happening specifically around basketball with the AE 1, Dame 9 and more. Does Taylor Swift fit organically into that? I don’t think so.
Some might think Taylor Swift is too big to fail. But, hey, man. We all felt the same way about Beyoncé, too. Unfortunately, we see how that ended.
Bottom line: Working with Swift or any other celebrity right now, for that matter, feels like a reversion to a strategy that isn’t working anymore. It’s time to move forward.
Maybe one day Adidas can get back into its celeb bag again. Today is not that day.
Nike’s latest impact report is here
Nike’s impact report is here and the brand’s diversity, equity and inclusion numbers have reportedly surpassed its 2025 fiscal year goals, according to the company.
The backdrop: The brand laid out specific DEI goals in 2021 to diversify its workforce. It wanted women to represent at least 50 percent of its corporate jobs and 45 percent of its leadership positions. Plus, it set a goal for 35 percent of its workforce to come from minority populations.
The data: Nike can apparently check those boxes off the list.
Women hold 51 percent of the brand’s corporate jobs, which checks off one goal. However, women only occupy 44 percent of the brand’s leadership roles.
Racial and ethnic minorities make up 41 percent of Nike’s U.S. workforce jobs and 34 percent of its leadership positions, which also surpassed the brand’s goals in those categories.
All in all, these numbers paint a positive picture for Nike regarding DEI. That’s good to see. With that said, I’m taking them with a grain of salt.
The other side: These numbers don’t reflect the company’s current standing. All the data here comes from Nike’s 2023 fiscal year, which ended in May 2023.
Why that matters: That was before all the layoffs we’ve seen in recent months. Some of the jobs reflected in this report don’t even exist anymore. That means the numbers may be subject to lots of change—not only in the number of employees who work for the company but also in their backgrounds.
That’s the data I want to see. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until next year to get it.
The Curry Brand picks up a budding star
In a pretty sharp long-term play, Steph Curry’s namesake brand just inked an NIL deal with South Carolina freshman point guard Milaysia Fulwiley.
A look: The deal was announced on Friday and christened with this sweet promo.
Who she is: Fulwiley is a standout freshman on a stacked South Carolina Gamecocks team that looks poised to win another national championship. If that happens, there’s a strong chance her play will be a significant reason why. This is a good get with perfect timing.
Zoom out: As Curry’s own career winds down, the brand’s focus this season seems to be putting itself in a solid position to find a star to carry that torch. It signed De’Aaron Fox earlier this year. Now, it’s going all-in on Fulwiley.
Those are some good bets, Steph.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Rayssa Leal x Nike SB Dunk Low — Wednesday, March 20
Nike Dunk Low “Plum” — Thursday, March 21
Trophy Room x Air Jordan 1 Low “Rookie Card” — Thursday, March 21
Adidas x Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Superstar — Friday, March 22
Wood Wood x Asics GT-2160 — Friday, March 22
That’s a wrap for today, folks! Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate you. Have a fantastic week.
Let’s chat again on Friday. Until then, peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
About the Barca deal, Barca might be *worth* 5.5 billion but, Barca is fucking broke right now and are desperate to get more money coming in from whatever source they can. If Laporta is making noise about Nike not paying enough and Puma has an offer on the table, that's as clear as a put up or shut up as it gets.