The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 342 — Don't blame Nike
Should Nike really be at fault for JD Sports' bad quarter?
Gooooood morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me on this glorious Easter Monday. I hope you had a fantastic weekend (and I hope you have a day off today!)
In my cart 🛒: Remember that burgundy kick I told y’all I’m on? It strikes again. I’m obsessed with the Kiko Kostadinov take on the Asics GT-2160. I love these. If I touch the city this week I’m probably buying them.
On my radar 👀: The Georgia Clay AE1 is coming soon. Anthony Edwards destroyed a man in these. I might cop off principle alone.
Let’s jump in.
Nike is not responsible for your downfall
The sneaker industry runs on Nike. It’s been that way for as long as I can remember. That company is the leader in this space. Whatever it does shapes the industry moving forward.
So it makes sense that JD Sports CEO Régis Schultz is tying a 3.1 percent dip in sales for the company this quarter to a lack of enthusiasm for Nike’s products.
What he said:
“Nike has been so successful but they stopped a little bit bringing in new stuff. At the same time, Adidas is doing very well, New Balance is doing very well. … If you don’t bring in new stuff, new product, new innovation, new color, I think the demand is suffering.”
To Schultz’s point, he’s right about Nike. The lack of newness and innovation has become a problem. The company and its investors know.
With that said: Blaming sales troubles on Nike’s decline feels weak to me. This wouldn’t make me confident if I were an investor in JD.
As a wholesale retailer, the success of JD Sports is tied to the bigger sports brands in the industry with Nike being the chief among them.
The numbers: More specifically with Nike, roughly 50 percent of JD’s offerings are Nike products, Bloomberg reports.
Be smart: That deep dependence on Nike is a long-term problem. Especially considering the headache the brand has given wholesalers over the last decade.
From 2015 to 2018, Yeezy took over the market and performed just as well on the market as some of Nike and Jordan Brand’s best products.
After that, in 2020, Nike decided to go all-in on its direct-to-consumer offense and eliminate the middlemen like JD and its counterparts.
Now Nike is struggling to regain the strong foothold it once had and wholesalers are struggling right along with it. That’s on them.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying retailers like JD, Foot Locker and others should’ve just cut down on Nike completely. That’s silly and, frankly, irresponsible. Nike is still Nike at the end of the day. But you’d think at one point or another over nearly the last decade, these companies would’ve come up with a pivot or two or three when its business with Nike faces headwinds here and there.
The big picture: This isn’t just a JD problem. We’ve been talking about it with Foot Locker for years. It’s an industry-wide thing. Everybody goes as Nike goes. But during a time when there are so many options, that shouldn’t be the case anymore.
As Schultz said, New Balance is doing well. Adidas is resurging. Crocs is cooking. Puma’s got some good stuff.
Let’s get some more options on those shelves, folks.
Another JJJJound controversy
Folks were up in arms about the JJJJound Samba release this week, but probably not for the reason you’d think.
The backdrop: The creative studio dropped a couple of pairs of Sambas in collaboration with Adidas for $250 a pop.
There wasn’t much special about them as far as aesthetics. The colorways were normal — black and white. The materials were elevated, per usual with the brand.
They retailed for $250, of course, but when you add in tax and shipping? Some were paying nearly $300 for pairs of Sambas.
See, to me? That’s the wild part. That’s the part that would have me heated. It’s what I’ve always hated about JJJJound.
But… That’s not what upset people last week. Instead, it was the fact that the JJJJound Sambas weren’t 100 percent made in Germany as advertised.
A Redditor posted details on the shoes ahead of the product’s launch and discovered that most of the upper was made in Vietnam.
If you look at the site, it is advertised that these shoes and the surrounding apparel were made in Germany. It’s even on one of the shoe’s tags.
No one cares about this sort of thing regularly. Y’all. It’s a Samba. It’s one of the most plain Adidas shoes you can have. You can cop a similar pair for, what, $100? Who cares where it’s made?
But in the case with JJJJound here, folks were upset they were coaxed into paying a premium for goods that weren’t made the brand said they were.
Here’s the thing: This isn’t out of the norm for sneakers. Just look at New Balance.
For years, New Balance advertised its product as one that was completely made in its U.S. factories. That’s part of the company’s appeal.
But, as it turns out, over 30% of the materials on its MiUSA shoes are actually made in the USA. The company was sued for it.
On one hand, I can’t blame consumers for being upset about this. They were told the product they purchased was something it wasn’t. That matters. It brings brand integrity into question for both Adidas and JJJJound.
On the other hand? Y’all paid $250 for Sambas. You get what you get, man. I’m sorry.
Please, don’t let the LeBron 22 look like this
LeBron James’ 22nd signature shoe is a long way away from releasing but we’ve already got an unofficial look at it thanks to leakers out there. A “Monopoly” colorway surfaced on the internet last week. Sneaker Files had them first.
A look:
The timing: This leak is weird. This sort of thing doesn’t happen with Bron’s shoes unless Bron does it himself. Sometimes, James shows the shoe off himself in the summer before the release. But we never usually get a look at a LeBron signature model this early.
My take: Honestly, I don’t have one at this point. These aren’t official images. I don’t want to say these are good or bad. I will say this is a bit of a departure from the off-court aesthetics focus we’ve seen with Nike’s last few joints.
The Ja 1, Book 1 and Sabrina 1 seemed to place value in being more casually wearable than most of Nike’s signature shoes in the last decade.
This Bron joint looks like more of a performance-based shoe. We’ll see if it is when we finally get it.
I refuse to believe these are real
You’ve probably seen Adidas selling pairs of “Box” shoes on the CONFIRMED App. For those of you haven’t seen them, they’re exactly what they sound like. They’re shoes…that are boxes.
It’s ridiculous.
Ain’t no way: Bruh. This has GOT to be an April Fool’s joke. It’s too obvious, man.
These popped up last week ahead of April Fools Day. There’s no release date. The price is available “upon request.” Nope. Nah. Nuh uh. Sorry.
I will say, though, this is a great gag. As much as I don’t believe in these, I can’t lie — I’m enjoying the joke. And yes, I’m calling it a joke.
Can’t wait to tell y’all I told you so.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Adidas Harden Vol. 8 “All white party” — Monday, April 1
Fear of God Athletics x Adidas “Los Angeles Runner” — Wednesday, April 3
Nike Air Max 95 “Atlanta” — Thursday, April 4
NOCTA x Nike Hot Step 2 — Thursday, April 4
Adidas AE 1 “Georgia Clay” — Thursday, April 4
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading! And thank you for all of your questions for Friday’s mailbox! That was good stuff. I appreciate y’all.
Let’s chat again on Friday. Until then, folks. Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯