That
check mark aka Nike is a sneaker giant that seems to get bigger and
bigger with each passing year. With a roster full of the NBA's
biggest names its hard not to be the biggest brand in basketball
today. Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James
Harden and Stephen Curry all are apart of Nike's basketball brand
which means a lot because those guys I just mentioned are a bunch of
peoples favorite players. Nike has a monopoly in the Basketball
sneaker market with a 58% share of the Jordan brand and 91% of sales
in the basketball sneaker market.
I
want you to think about everywhere you go in your own personal daily
lives now sit back and think about how many times a day you see
someone on the street with Nike or Jordan basketball shoes on. Its a lot right?
Well a lot goes into that and it starts with the roster of players
they have. Nike along with the Jordan brand has sneaker contracts to
pretty much everybody in basketball Carmelo, Lebron, Kobe, Chris Paul
you name it they got it. Now the roster they own looks like an
all-star game program and the fact that Nike owns half of Jordan
makes it incredibly hard for anybody to compete with them in the
market. They make great sneakers (for the most part), great players
endorse their product so whats not to love. Jordan brand can drop the
same sneaker 4 times and jack up the price 40$ and people will still
buy them. Like I said I love a lot of their sneakers but I’m a
person who loves variety and people need to realize that the power is
in the consumers hands.
This
past season the Jordan 28's came out and many Jordan sneaker heads
began to say things like “Jordan's are falling off” or “Jordan
hasn't made a good basketball sneaker since he left the league” but
those same people will go out and buy 300$ and camp out for them.
Personally the sneaker game like the competitiveness I see players in
the NBA lack these days has fallen off. Everybody wants to join
someone rather than be apart of something they themselves can build
while blazing their own trail. Once people realize that the product
of Jordan brand will not improve until they stop buying the same
retro sneakers that have been re released on multiple occasions then
nothing will change.
From
a marketing standpoint Nike has always been ahead of its time from
the “Bo Knows” campaign to the “We Are All Witness” campaign for
Lebron. This year is no different they have so many things they can
do from a marketing stand point such as Lebron's continued greatness,
Kobe's return,Kyrie Irving's “Uncle Drew” commercials among many
other things. I once heard someone say “ Company's like Nike as
far as advertising goes don't offer much when it comes to marketing
basketball-the game, its all just fluff and a way for them to get you
to worship the next great player”. I heard that and it hit home
with me Nike is a great brand but they don't sell the game of
basketball as much as they are a false reality and for you to bow
down to the Basketball's biggest names.
So
we have established the Nike has its hands firmly on the sneaker
community and the market at large so what can other company’s such
as Reebok, Adidas and Under Armour do? I think its a combination of
what they are currently doing and haven't done yet. For example Under
Armour is up and coming they have a solid roster of nice young
players such as Kemba Walker, Brandon Jennings and Deandre Jordan,
they need to build upon that solid roster of players and for what
they don't have in terms of star players make up for in quality
basketball performance shoes. The thing I like about Under Armour
from a Marketing standpoint is that they aren't selling you a dream
but rather selling you commitment. The “Are You From Here”
campaign featuring some of the brands athletes I thought was awesome
because it felt authentic as the players spoke about their humble
beginnings in the commercial.
More so then what they do in any kind of
commercial is what they do on basketball courts nationwide building
relationships with fans through things like the Elite 24 basketball
game which features the best high school basketball players in
country. They take the guys who endorse the product and send them on
tours playing basketball games in the same communities they grew up
in while giving back. “We just trying to show our face in
communities man, we hood guys”. As the brand continues to build
upon its young roster so will 0.4% stronghold in the sneaker market.
Adidas
is a lot like Nike as far as resources and marketing goes but they
haven't had the on court player success which is why the brand has
fell back in terms of percentage in the market they are at only about
5% sales in the market. The recent release of the “Quick Ain't
Fair” shoe was a success because the commercial featuring John
wall, Jrue Holiday and Damain Lillard and Rapper A$ap Rocky garnered
them lots of attention and really left an impression on people. I
have a pair of the shoes I use for basketball and its defiantly one
of the best basketball sneakers from a performance stand point I have
had ever. For Adidas its all about improving the roster to compete
with Nike.
Another
factor is if Derrick Rose can successfully come back from his injury
and re establish himself as the best player in the NBA if that
happens and he can lead the Bulls to a championship then the
opportunities for increases revenue in a market like Chicago are
endless for Adidas. Last season despite playing any games for the
Bulls Rose made 25 Million$ for Adidas with no on court presence so
imagine how much that will increase if he comes back and has a season
like he did in 2011.
Reebok
is surviving and thriving right now based strictly on retro releases
such as the signature Allen Iverson “Questions” and Shaquille
O'Neal's “Shaq Attacks” among others. They have no players on
their roster to market because earlier in the year they would no
longer be focusing their efforts on basketball performance sneakers
and focus on retros. The last person who had a Reebok performance
basketball shoe was John Wall and his sales only collected 5 Million$
which is equivalent to Dwight Howard. The brand has such a tremendous
history that it can survive strictly off of retro releases but don't
expect them to compete with Nike.
Another
thing you have to factor in is Lebron James and the Success of his
Lebron 10. Along with his on court success he past it at retailers
selling 300 Million $ worth of shoes this past season which led the
league. If you are into ratio's that’s 6-1 for the next closet
shoe. The sales of this years signature shoe was 50% increase from
2011 and its the most overpriced basketball shoe in the world usually
averaging about 270$ per pair. As long as he is winning championships
expect Nikes stronghold on the market to strengthen.
So
the opposing company’s have a long way to go in terms of competing
with Nike/ Jordan Brand but one thing that could seriously help those
company’s like Under Armour or Adidas would be landing the next big
thing as far as sneakers go in basketball which would be Andrew
Wiggins. He is Canadian,there is a serious buzz to his name and
people love watching him play . So not only do people love watching
him play but and he has crossover appeal to him. Sonny Vaccaro who is
in the sneaker industry says that Wiggins may have 3 company's
bidding on him to endorse product as well as commanding Lebron James
money. Landing a guy like him could elevate under Armour and Adidas.
Lots
of things in Nikes favor but all giants must fall at some point and
it may be awhile before Nike ever does but lets remember that Nike
didn't always have a stronghold on the basketball sneaker market.
Lets also remind ourselves of great and innovative sneakers were when
there was no monopoly.
