LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry are entering the final stages of their careers. They have dominated the sport and its shoe market with their popular sneaker lines for many years (excluding Jordan, of course). But their relevance is fading. The results say it: none of them made it past the first round of the playoffs. However, no one has yet stepped forward to replace them.
The finals, conference and for the 2024 NBA title, feature teams with young stars who have not won a title, often a prerequisite for taking off commercially. Jayson Tatum, 26, has brought Boston to this point. The Celtics will face the Dallas Mavericks and 25-year-old Luka Doncic, fresh off a win over Minnesota, and 22-year-old Anthony Edwards, who has had a breakout season.
Footwear brands have gotten caught up in the euphoria and need to find new endorsers in the hopes of finding the next megawatt star in their hands or simply maintaining a slice of an evolving sneaker market. In all, there are nearly 30 designer shoes available on store shelves, nearly three times as many as a decade ago. The market analysis done by Tim Loh and Kim Bhasin of Bloomberg News explains the moment that the various companies are going through.
Skechers built an $8 billion business in sales last year on casual, comfortable footwear. But in October, the company debuted performance basketball shoes and signed players including New York Knicks power forward Julius Randle to promote them. Then, in April, Skechers invested even more in basketball by signing Joel Embiid, the 2023 MVP, in a deal that could include his shoe.
New Balance is best known for running shoes, but now it has released four models of a basketball shoe designed by Kawhi Leonard, the Los Angeles Clippers star who has two career NBA rings. The company invested these resources because of the “cultural impact and overall brand halo that basketball provides,” Trent Casper, New Balance’s general manager of basketball and lifestyle concepts, said in an interview.
Reebok, which once had signature shoes for Dominique Wilkins and Shawn Kemp, hired Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal as president of basketball in October. O’Neal then enlisted basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson as his vice president. Asia advances: in January Nikola Jokic, three-time MVP in the last four seasons, signed an agreement with 361 Degrees, a Chinese sportswear brand. NBA players also have signature shoe deals with China-based Anta, Rigorer, Li-Ning and Peak.
The Nike case. The sporting goods giant once had a market share of more than 90% of basketball shoes in North America, but has been under pressure for years. Now other parts of its business, such as running, have also lost ground to rivals, leading to disappointing results, job cuts and a falling stock.
The increased market share in 2024 of brands such as On (On Holding) and Hoka (Deckers Outdoor), as well as established players such as New Balance, suggests that the importance of Jordan’s sales could become a handicap for Nike. Its chief financial officer Matt Friend announced that the company’s “classic” footwear offerings will be scaled back, to focus instead on upcoming launches and new product development.
New products, new testimonials. But he has already bet on Ja Morant and Zion Williamson. That pair proved to be a risky choice. Morant, 24, was suspended last year for showing off guns on social media. Williamson, 23 years old, one of the best prospects ever in the 2019 draft, has seen his career slowed down by injuries and the messy life he has led in recent years.
Will Doncic and Tatum, who have signature shoes with the Jordan brand, save the skins of Nike executives? Or maybe it will be Victor Wembanyama, the French centre-back who is likely to be the next stratospheric star? He signed with Nike and then won NBA Rookie of the Year this season after being the first pick in the draft. There is some doubt: there have not been many centers with the best-selling sneakers, guards and point guards are more appreciated.
Adidas is currently experiencing the best situation. Last year he introduced an Anthony Edwards signature shoe for his fourth season. He led the Timberwolves to their best performance in two decades, earning comparisons to Jordan with his monstrous dunks and deft play. The shoe repeatedly sold out when a new color was introduced, Adidas said in its 2023 annual report, so much so that sales in its basketball category increased by a double-digit percentage. But the season is very long, and not over yet: we still have to see if the Paris Olympics will launch new stars into the sneaker firmament.
2024-06-10 13:29:02
#sports #shoe #market #headed #upheaval
