Big Stories Of The Week: Foot Locker's Sneaker Hub
And a few other important things you missed in sneakers this week.
Welcome to another week of the sneaker stories you probably didn’t see in your feed this week. If you’re enjoying this series, please let me know!
While my aim for these weekly recap-style newsletters is to shine a light on stories that don’t get much coverage, the past couple of weeks have been filled with BIG stories that I feel are important to mention.
Wemby’s Nike Logo Unveil - Mike D. Sykes II called this logo unveiling the most important for Nike since LeBron James and I tend to agree. The cynic in me wants to point out that Nike has already used the alien theme and wouldn't put it past Nike and King James fabricating this whole “alien” theme from the very beginning, but I do really like the logo, the story, and think there is a ton of potential for Victor Wembanyama. You know what they say about big men and sneakers, though…
Caitlin Clark’s $28 Million Nike Deal - This shouldn’t need much explanation, but in my opinion, this will be the most important sneaker contract of the next few years. Demi Lawrence put together some great insights on the deal and its implications. Personally, I don’t trust that Nike has the ability to get out of their own way right now, but that’s a topic for a future newsletter.
Skechers Is Absolutely Crushing It - It might seem like an important brand to the sneakerhead community but when a brand takes as much market share as Skechers has recently, I think it’s a sign of a bigger trend…
Sneaker brands aren’t getting consumers excited anymore.Depending on whether you are a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty type of sneakerhead, that could be a sign of opportunity or a reason to “retire from sneakers.” I’ll let you guess what type of sneakerhead I am.
Foot Locker Is Leading By Example - This week Foot Locker unveiled a new retail concept aimed at providing more for customers and giving “Stripers” more tools and information. It seems pretty straightforward to me that these are needed for a better retail experience but it takes a lot for big businesses to make these changes. Still, aside from adding a coffee shop or a treats counter in every store, I appreciate the effort here especially when JD Sports is trying to buy its way into the US market.
A quick reminder…these big conglomerates profiting off of sneaker culture and simultaneously trying to suppress it will always take more than they give to the game. That’s not to say they don’t provide opportunities or do good things, it’s just important to remember that sneakers start with YOU, with your community, with your local shop, and with the connections you make by wearing them.
As I say on the podcast…tell someone you like their kicks today. You never know how far a simple compliment can take you and we all know how good it feels to be on the receiving end of some appreciation!
-Nick
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