my humble opinion. Everyone is so enamored by the finale. We forget Nike wasn’t always the juggernaut it is now. At the beginning of all this, Nike was really going after Asic post Phil Knight’s defining moment of wanting an affordable running shoe. They [Nike] accidentally got into the culture via Jordan [Michael] and rode the wave.
Jordan was the quintessential shooting guard. He wasn’t the most physically imposing guard we’ve seen. What set him apart was his killer instinct. Jordan came right at the point where marketing was coming to life. It was the good times for TV too. Look at LeBron. He became the athlete of the social media era when it was coming to life.
Nike forgot culturally how they got to where they are – and it’s this very flaw that soured the relationship with Kanye. You work with creatives, but don’t give them creative control. The one group of people you don’t want to piss off is the creative directors. They have the least quantifiable work. Everyone in marketing knows that. Don’t affect the feelings and emotions that in turn affect their work. Why would you want to disrupt that?
Adidas is a German company and from everything, we know about Germans they’re a pragmatic bunch. They saw how the Nike Empire was built by inculcating themselves into the culture in the 80s and 90s and Adidas is now looking to do the same. It’s going to be very interesting in the next couple of years to see how it all plays out. Look how Adidas has played somewhat the role of the Medici Family and given Yeezus not only the platform but also the resources of the brand and capital support for his apparel. Nike wouldn’t even give him a release date for his shoes.
Nike truly cares about fitness wear. We think buying $200 pair of shoes one or twice a month brings in revenue, and you can sell that because that 5-10% niche of your customers which are “the cools.” Here’s the dichotomy though: if you lose that niche and we all jump to Adidas, what do you think will happen?
It’s actually the people buying athletic apparel that is bringing in the money, and it’s this