Retro Jordans (a Nike brand) have been around since 1994, with the release of multiples models including the original Jordan 1 and the fan-favorite Jordan 3. Since then, hundreds of different colorways of Retro Jordans have released, both in mass and limited quantities. And Retros are big business, representing an estimated 40% of the brand's revenues.
Recently we have seen a lot more brands releasing retro basketball shoes like the Reebok Shaqnosis, Fila 96, and Adidas T-Mac 1. These brands seem to be feeding off of the current spike in the retro basketball shoe market and putting together as many pairs as possible to keep up with the demand. As a result, the companies have seen temporary spikes in sales numbers and revenue. On the other hand, Nike has been able to sustain its Retros' allure for almost 2 decades.
So what's the difference between Nike's retro longevity and and these other brands? Market understanding.
Nike has understood for years that you can't over-saturate the market with retro shoes; you must instead continue to create a buzz around the brand--thus, limited quantity releases. In the current market, Nike releases an average of a little more than 1 retro per week, which is a much higher rate than the rest of the brands. So, what makes the difference?
When Reebok introduced the recent retro of the Shaqnosis, Twitter came alive with buzz. Shaq's return to Reebok gave sneaker lovers another shot to purchase these (what were) highly collectible shoes. Originally thought to be a fairly limited release, people were looking for Shaqnosis, scouring obscure website to try to find a pair. But then Reebok seemed to get greedy. They continued to produce more and more of the OG colorway. And since then we've seen what seems like countless more colorways produced in mass quantities.
Another example is the SVSM (St. Vincent St. Mary's) T-Mac 1s. Those were originally thought to be a quickstrike-type release, but then we saw them in every store. Now, how many T-Mac 1s do you see sitting on shelves in Adidas outlet stores? (The answer is a lot.)
Nike continues to create buzz though. Yes, Nike saturates the market with a lot of Retros that release throughout the year. However, they also understand how the market works. Nike doesn't get blinded by the quick cash, but it looks to the future. It has the discipline to not release every colorway of retro in mass quantities, and by having that understanding, it continues to build hype and market value. The more people talk about Nike, either praising them because they got their shoe or slandering them because they missed out, the more Nike profits.
Reebok is trying to capitalize by grabbing all the quick cash it can, but that doesn't bode well for these non-Nike companies throwing out tons of retros. They're going to kill their own market. At some point these companies are going to put out more shoes than the customers can (or want) to buy. Once that happens, if they've built a foundation upon this current cash-grab, their financial stability won't crash very long after the market does.
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