The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 353 — Supreme for sale? 👀
Supreme might be on the move, folks. Again.
Gooooood morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate you.
Three day weekend, y’all! Can’t wait. This is needed. I was stuck on a train earlier this week for 8 hours. It was rough. It’s OK, though! I treated myself to a pair of Wales Bonner Sambas because of it, so, in my mind, I still won.
Let’s jump in.
Supreme might be on the move again
VF Corp will have to shed some weight to get out of the hole it’s been stuck in. Supreme could be one of the brands it drops.
The news: VF Corp. is working with Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for Supreme, according to reporting from WWD’s Evan Clark. Why? “The brand got too big to continue to be cool,” an investment banker anonymously quoted in the WWD story said. And, yeah, that sounds about right. That’s why this is so believable.
Be smart: VF Corp has fallen on hard times with its bevy of brands since the pandemic.
In February earlier this year, the company said it was looking to clear about $4 billion of its $6 billion debt.
I speculated that VF Corp would sell off a few of its brands to make that happen. Supreme was one of the brands given its current “uncool” state. It’s a less appealing asset than four or five years ago.
The state of play: Revenue is down by 13 percent overall and 23 percent in the Americas, where its brands do the most business. The company’s shares are at their lowest point since 2009.
The company is in evaluation mode. According to CEO Bracken Darrell, VF recently completed a strategic overview and is putting together a recovery strategy to improve its bleak numbers.
On VF Corp’s Q4 earnings call, Darrell was asked about potentially selling off properties. He didn’t mention Supreme, but did say VF Corp has “optionality there with multiple directions to go.”
It could be Supreme. It could be something else. But something is happening and it doesn’t seem like it’ll just be VF’s “Packs” properties that have been on the chopping block for a while now.
Let’s be real: A Supreme sale would be good for all parties involved.
For VF, it could serve as a bit of a reset. Think of it as a get-out-of-jail-for-Supreme card. It’d chop down a chunk of its debt and be able to divert its focus to its more impactful brands.
For Supreme, it’d move from under the giant corporate thumb of VF Corp. It’s time there has been turbulent, to say the least, between VF’s supply chain collapse and the Tremaine Emory drama.
The question is: Where would Supreme go? I think there are a few options out there. Part of its appeal is that it could work relatively well under so many brands.
On one hand, couldn’t you see Supreme being purchased by a brand like LVMH? Its name still carries that hype beast prestige. LVMH has been searching for that for years (look at the Virgil and Pharrell hires).
On the other, I could also see a licensing brand like Authentic Brands diving in on this, too. Supreme is already a collab-heavy brand. Sure, ABG might run the property into the ground and make it a little more soulless than it already is. But hey! We crossed that line a long time ago.
And that’s the thing: That’s the big problem with Supreme. The brand is bigger now, sure. It’s global in a way that it wasn’t before. But it’s not Supreme anymore — it’s just an asset. It’s a label you slap on a shirt, skateboard, shoe or whatever. The only people who still believe in it are those who are far too nostalgic about what it used to be.
Without that value it used to have — without the cool factor — how much is Supreme truly worth? I guess it’s possible we’re about to find out.
Kool Kiy is cooked
Welp. Nike’s legal team has yet another win under its belt.
The news: Nike has reportedly settled in court with Kool Kiy after a yearlong legal battle over trademark infringement on the Jordan 1, according to court documents revealed by Sneaker Phetish.
The details: Although that’s not technically a “win” by name, Nike is getting everything it wants from this settlement.
According to the court-approved agreement between Kiy and Nike, Kiy officially acknowledges that Nike’s trademarks on the Jordan 1 are valid.
Kiy has also agreed not to manufacture, promote, distribute or import shoes that infringe on those trademarks (aka no more Kool Kiy AJ1 bootlegs).
Kiy is also being ordered to pay Nike $1 million as part of the agreement.
This is essentially the same deal Omi reached with Nike with the biggest difference being the amount the two companies will have to pay the swoosh.
When you see a one-sided settlement like this, it usually means the side getting the most out of it had a solid path to victory in court. Nike probably could’ve squeezed more juice out of this one, but Kool Kiy decided to stop things here before they got worse.
The big picture: None of this should be surprising considering the legal moves Nike has been making since 2020.
One major success of the Donahoe era has been protecting the brand’s trademarks.
Kool Kiy, Omi, Bape, John Geiger, Warren Lotas. If your shoe has looked relatively close to Nike’s, the brand has come for you and come out on top.
However, there was that one case with Adidas. That case was settled but details on the settlement weren’t made public.
Nike has made clear that it’s here to protect its designs and is setting legal precedent for the future in the process.
My take: Usually, I hate it when big brands do this. Smaller creators taking something and making it their own has always been part of sneaker culture. On the worst end of all this is Nike coming after “I Hate SNKRS” for using the word SNKRS on its product.
That truly sucks. It’s a big brand coming after a smaller company for using a word associated with its product in an artistic and creative way.
Yes, but: That’s far different from what Kiy, Omi and a few others out there have done. They jacked designs, replaced logos and sold consumers products that weren’t up to snuff in quality. There’s nothing artistic or creative about that — it’s simply a hustle.
I’m sorry but I can’t find it in me to be mad about this one.
More Yeezy is on the way. When will it stop?
Just when it seemed like Adidas was finally done with Yeezy, there’s a bit more coming.
What’s happening: Adidas is selling another round of Yeezy sneakers in the next few weeks, Sole Retriever reports. The drop will reportedly happen sometime in early June.
If this drop comes, it’d be the first release since the drop in March. It’s the third drop overall since the brand separated from Kanye West.
This drop will reportedly include original Yeezy models, including the Wave Runner 700s, 350 Turtle Dove and 350 Pirate Black colorways.
Zoom out: That’s an intentional move from Adidas. The brand saved its most coveted Yeezy pieces for last — those colorways shouldn’t sit like previous models have recently.
I don’t know what Yeezy inventory Adidas will have left after this, but the brand is approaching the end of its Yeezy rope.
Bjørn Gulden said the brand has about $215 million left in Yeezy inventory to sell through the remainder of fiscal 2024.
Gulden said he doesn’t expect the company to turn a profit from the remaining inventory.
It sounds like this could be the last Yeezy hurrah for Adidas. If it is, it’s about time. It’s time for everyone to move on here.
The most confusing drop of 2024 goes to…
There are plenty of bot protection strategies out there for brands to use when they’re selling hyped sneakers, but the “make this pair of sneakers a bajillion dollars” one has got to be one of the wildest.
That’s how the J Balvin “Rio” AJ3 drop went down.
The details:
On his site, the Balvin 3s were listed marked up at $25,000 — a full 100 times the $250 retail price.
The only way to drop the price was to enter two codes that applied the regular retail price to the kicks.
If both codes weren’t applied at checkout, the user returned to the queue and failed to cop the shoes.
I’ve got mixed feelings on this, man.
On one hand: This is an interesting way to battle botters. If it wasn’t so confusing, I think I’d like it.
On the other: This is way too much for me to do for a pair of shoes. I don’t care that much. Sorry, J Balvin.
Shoutout to those of you who copped, though! I’m sure you’ll love these.
READ MORE: A comprehensive recap of the drop here via Uncle Chrissy
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!!!! LET’S GET IT!
First, the homie Adam popped out in the Lil Desert 610s. LOVE this shoe. Still one of my most worn joints.
The homie Cayan came through in the Industrial Blue AJ4s. Ima get a pair of these someday.
The homie Adam popped out in the Awake x Jordan Air Ships. These are so cold, man. Sheesh.
The homie Diamond came through with an absolute classic. The Barkleys! Man. Love these.
My guy Sam came through with the CHUNKY DUNKYS. Wow. Son. Come on. My guy ain’t playing fair.
Speaking of unfair, the homie J Block sent us home with ALL THIS CACTUS JACK HEAT. Wow. This guy, man.
SMOKED it. Y’all are so dope, man. I can’t keep up.
Thank you so much for rocking with me today. As always, appreciate y’all for giving me a bit of your time.
KYW will still drop on Monday for Memorial Day. Let’s chat then. Until next time, folks! Peace and love. Have a great holiday weekend. Be easy, be safe, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯