I think I’m late.
Like late late.
I’m shocked it took me this long to get a handle on things…but now that I think I do, it all feels so obvious.
Maybe I’m in a bubble because I haven’t paid much attention to the hype train in ~15 years, but now that it’s here and looks to be filling up faster than in the past, I’m starting to wonder…
For the past several years Nike has been giving us those coveted retros that we’ve thought entirely elusive. They’ve been answering our call: ‘GIVE US MORE’. And here we find ourselves…knee deep in ‘more’.
Is this Nikes way of pulling away from us 50 year old nerds? Is this Nikes way of saying ‘here - y’all can have everything you ever wanted let us move on!’ ? Is this Nikes way of saying… ‘we no longer want this aging demographic to rule our P&L…let’s make some space for a new demographic.’ ?
It’s no secret that us sneaker nerds make up a laughably small percentage of Nikes actual bottom line…yet somehow sneaker nerds have managed to build their own ECONOMIES out of Nikes ‘small percentage’: reselling, fakes, customizations, conventions, middleman apps and websites - all of which have been taking loads of cash directly out of Nikes pockets.
What better way to bring normalcy (ie: Nike makes ALL the money) back into the space than by eliminating their sacred cow?
I’m not sure if I’m stretching just a bit too far here, but something tells me that pretty soon, our memories will be all we have left…