Ask a former NIKE Basketball employee...

[cwk1]

"The Air Jordan XI was the first shoe released in that series, that did not feature a swoosh on the outside of the shoe, this is historically factual."

You cleared what up? 

That your "historical fact" was incorrect? 

That 1986 occurred ten years before 1996? 

That there's a difference between a word and a symbol?

Enlighten us further, professor. 
 

 

[knightlovesqueen]

This thread used to be awesome.

now its just arguing

 

[cwk1]

Okay, understood.  And I'll be glad to continue enlightening.  Any specific questions?

 

[comacoma33]

Nough already. AKA has brought a lot of good stuff to this thread. Thank you AKA.

Lets get back to the topic at hand.

 

[buffsauce34]

AKA, I caught your post in the 'Olympic Pack' retro thread and I even asked one kid there why he thought an 8.5/10 overall quality score (in his opinion) for a brand new product was acceptable. I know you're disappointed with the BB4 but have you seen the Huarache 2K4 in that pack? The variants that dropped in 2004 were of a higher quality than the junk 2K4s being reproduced by NSW today.
I asked Rock before who was responsible for the blatantly obvious decreases in quality between samples and GRs. Whether it's Nike looking at the samples and gutting them or whether the Pou Chen group shows Nike one product (the sample) and produces another (the low quality GR). Either way, Nike/JB need to step in and do something as the consumer is paying top dollar for a brand that is supposedly 'premium'.

just curious,

a question to whoever wants to answer,

what have you recently purchased from nike that you considered above an 8.5/10 quality rating (based solely on materials used)?

only kicks i can think of is either nike basketball products (bron/kobe) and a few limited releases (doernbecher, motorsport vi)

id argue, and im sure most would agree, that 90+ percent of the kicks the release are subpar in quality. and yes im sure most if not all of us still buy. shame on us lol

 

[milla002]

This thread is great, other than the insults, etc. My buddy just wore his Oly BB4's to hoop in and he loved them. I wish Nike would work on a better way to get kicks out so everyone who wants them can get them. It's frustrating trying to get the latest and hope you can snatch them up online. I'm too damn old and tired to wait in lines for hours just for a "chance" to get some of my favorites. I wonder if there is a way to maintain the Hype and get the kicks to folks who actually want to wear them....... Oh well, one can only hope.

 

[sdotc38109]

This is what they do, whenever there are threads that are not completely pro Nike, they attack, looking for anything that may derail a thread, as all they want to do is to keep a positive spin on Nike instead of dealing with the real. They like to dumb down threads, only talking about the shoes. This is the excuse that they use in order to keep things in line. When this is done, they whine and complain to mods that someone is flaming. It's a passive aggressive act, one that is downright pathetic.
I am certain the Nike has interns that float here, along with other current employees, those who want to keep the temperature in their favor.

I think it comes from when people state incorrect/false information as correct/factual information and other people stating what they have heard from a third party while the thread starter is acuallty stating his personal experience.

 

[vood99]

OP, sorry for hijacking your thread. It seemed like the only one with signs of intelligence.

 

[vood99]

just curious,
a question to whoever wants to answer,
what have you recently purchased from nike that you considered above an 8.5/10 quality rating (based solely on materials used)?

only kicks i can think of is either nike basketball products (bron/kobe) and a few limited releases (doernbecher, motorsport vi)

id argue, and im sure most would agree, that 90+ percent of the kicks the release are subpar in quality. and yes im sure most if not all of us still buy. shame on us lol

Thanks for reposting my original question. When I posed the question of why it's OK to accept 8.5/10 quality scores for new sneakers in the retro 'Olympic Pack' thread I was unable to solicit any responses. The same guys accepting Nike/JB's 8.5/10 sneaker quality would be having a hissy fit if their new Accent or Elantra came with scratched, hard plastics or a sagging headliner.

I personally haven't bought any 'retro' product since Jan 2011 and I'm getting rid of all retro product manufactured after '08. Quality is part of the issue along with the fact that I just don't have the time to wear any of my kicks.

 

[sdotc38109]

Nike taking down Agassi's name from buildings, then refusing to support his charity during retirement, fact.
Jordan owning his name, fact.
Jordan threatening to leave Nike for Adidas, fact.
The Jordan XI being the first shoe in the line without any Nike branding, fact.
Lance Armstrong initially being told no about LiveStrong by Nike, fact.
Former Nike employees leaving Nike feeling disillusioned, not getting credit for things that they've instituted, fact.
Nike now making overpriced, cheaply made product, fact.
CWK, nor even Rock Deep may be able to say what it is that I can, and that is because they may still have friends that work on and around the Nike campus, which is not an obstacle for me. You may call my info third party, but then again, you don't know who I am either.

Jordan owning his own name is factual.

Jordan threatening to leave nike for adidas, never seen any credited proof not to say it didnt happen. Facts can be proven., the truth can't.

I would like state again that Jordan XI is NOT the first shoe that didnt put any nike branding on the outside or upper of the shoe.. The first shoe was the Jordan VII which only had nike branding on the insole and box just as the Jordan XI did.

Nike not with Lance Armstrong livestrong movement at first maybe fact.....IDK I havent seen any credited proof however beside the fact lance still promotes and stand behinds it ..........so what do you think the public is suppose to do?and just because a company says NO does that make them bad/negative?

Former employees leaving and feeling disillusioned , not getting credit for things that they've instituted can be said about nearly every Million/Billion dollar company out there that you and me spend money with daily and how many people do you base this fact upon since your not in the industry?

I do agree with you that Nike is now making overpriced, cheaply made product, but that is a subjective topic...the next man might think its the best quality and a reasonable price and a company can only thrive with a consumer.

"You may call my info third party, but then again, you don't know who I am either." Yeah you may or may not be that person im just taking your words into context.

"Now, I am not in the sneaker industry, but I know quite a few who were, and then presently are. Sure, what they've told me may be sour grapes, but when doing some fact checking, all has panned out exactly as I was told, especially the Agassi story, which is common knowledge in the industry."-AKALONGSTROKE

You seem like a cool dude im just saying if your going state things as factual at least has some credited information to support your words not what your heard through the grape vine and stating it as factual.

 

[sdotc38109]

"..that said, are you attempting to get me to reveal who I may be, or who may be my sources?"

LMAO are you serious? I careless, the only reason i initially entertained this because the Jordan XI comment being the first shoe with zero Nike branding on it you made a week ago which was not true.

What you have stated above I already knew. He stated that in the Nike Inc. Special about 5 years ago. I was talking about the accredited info while he was with nike and threaten to leave for Adidas. The article above only proves that he initially preferred Adidas over Nike and he originally wanted to sign with them but they didn't come close to what Nike offered.

Majority of the things that you consider as facts also can easily be labeled as "hear say" because there is no creditably behind it yet.

"Point is, I know that some people do not want me saying the stuff that I am saying here, and I understand! It pierces the bubble, the facade that is Nike inc."

Not to be defensive but I honestly could careless because every multi -million/billion dollar company is going have some type of B.S. behind them and if they did go around trying to satisfy everyone 9 times out of 10 they wouldn't be the at the successful status they are now..... I just dislike when people state "hear say" as factual.

 

[bucknuteagle]

AKA I usually agree with you and your posts in here have been interesting, but most of what you're saying is hearsay. It's not like you're quoting anyone or providing sources, and since this is the internet most of us (none of us?) don't know you. You're obviously at least relatively knowledgeable (and therefore not a troll) because Rock and CWK have corroborated a lot of what you've said and we know that they've worked at and with Nike in various capacities. If you wouldn't mind providing a brief history of your time in or connections to the sneaker/athletic wear industry like Rock and CWK did that would be great.

Also this ongoing argument you've got going with Sdot on the last couple of pages has become completely inane and thread cluttering. The XI wasn't the first JB sneaker to have no Nike branding (excluding the insole), but the spirit of your argument (that being that JB has slowly but surely separated himself and his brand from Nike so that if he did choose to separate from the parent company it would be Nike that took the majority of the hit and not Jordan Brand (correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't gone back and reread the thread)) is correct.

And now back to the thread.

Question for anyone that might know. How much would a shoe like the Lebron IX Elites actually cost to produce? I remember an interview with Petrie and Chang about how there was a kevlar shortage (wars and such) and how even the kevlar laces cost 3x what the regular laces did to produce, but no one actually talks numbers.

 

[nikedealer]

Just FYI.... I speak on everything relevant to topic discussions and have never been afraid to bite my tongue... what I wont and dont do however is share information and include current employee names in shared info as that just isnt right... but I have stated names of people Ive worked with past and such that have been very helpful and have had some crap happen to them.

I think the problem everyone has with AKA is his past in other threads and folks are quick to jump on him.... whilst I actually for the first time enjoyed his banter and information.  Some opinions.. some pretty accurate facts.  Trust me.. I've argued with dude.. but if you bring solid points and good banter you cant deny him his voice.

I do agree as he tried to do... if someone disagrees.. bring it to surface.. make points and lets keep it going.  Its bad enough we lost some good pages in the transition of the new NT.. but lets not clutter it up with senseless back and forth.

We have inbox features for that.

 

[bryscooplaygrifhold]

I think it's pretty clear what the issue is with my being here, I've never taken a swig of the Kool Aid.
But back on topic, at least somewhat. I am certain that Nike regrets not signing Serena Williams early on in her career. Having crossover appeal with both the male and female demographic, being a controversial figure, a certain sex symbol status, I think that Nike, many other companies as well, were looking in the wrong direction while looking for the next Jordan.
It's wasn't Tiger Woods, it is Serena Williams.

Wow. I may not be all knowing or have any industry connects, and it may just be one person's opinion, but I can't even come close to agreeing with this. Hats off to her crushing Sharapova for the gold, and I will give her props as a tennis player, but the closest thing we've seen to MJ in the last 20 years is Kobe IMO, and he pretty much screwed up any chance of coming close by messing up in CO a few years back.

I would like to think KD could be Jordan-like at some point, but I think he's too nice with not enough "edge". I honestly think it will be very difficult for anyone to duplicate or out-do what MJ did. You could take CR7, Messi, Kobe, Lebron, Serena Williams, and Tiger Woods, and still probably come up short of what MJ did.

Am I drinking the kool-aid? sure..., whatever- guilty as charged, but to me MJ, as much of a "Richard" as everyone claims he can be, is the man from a marketing and merchandising standpoint over the past 25-30 years and even the foreseeable future. I don't see anyone really even coming close in terms of the brand along with NIKE and it's reach worldwide. Does that make it the best quality wise- almost certainly not, but that may be for another thread or argument.

Just my .02.

 

[lishman]

Read carefully, it says that I am NOT, it doesn't say that I never was...
..that said, are you attempting to get me to reveal who I may be, or who may be my sources?
When you speak of accredited, Rock Deep has already echoed much of what I've already stated, and he WORKED for Nike. 

I'm visiting some family and friends in Beaverton this week and I showed them this post. A few people that do work for Nike informed me that Rock Deep never did actually work for Nike. Not to say some of his info is not 100% accurate but they said he was never at any point a Nike employee. 

 

[vood99]

^^^
AKA, for a time they had a Serena Williams line (SW) along with her own sneaker. I think it was the Shox Glamour and another was the Mirabella (although the latter may not have had SW logos on it). I can't comment on the US but I know the line didn't fare too well in Canada. That said have any female tennis stars been as marketable as their male counterparts? Maybe some older Euro heads can comment on Stefi Graaf & Martina Navratilanova.

 

[degenerate423]

In my eyes, it has diminished.  With so many releases every year, and the hundreds of colors that come out in each style, it sort of takes away from the mystique of the Jordan shoe.

Yeah, sadly everyone is up on this "sneaker collecting" tip.  So many people buying now and they fall in 3 categories.  Those who only want to look cool because everybody else has them.  Then you have those people (like myself) who grew up watching Mike and wanting to be like him.  Thinking you could jump from the free throw line wearing his shoes or doing the fadeway jumpshot, lol.  And then you have those who want to buy strictly to resell.

For me Jordan Brand doesn't exist w/o Nike.  I attach all signature Jordans to Nike.  The history of each shoe.  The ad campaigns.  The posters.  So if Jordan Brand ever left Nike, to me, it would take away a lot of the history that shoe has.  Even though the Nike logo has been taken off, it's just a matter of me knowing that Nike is still behind it.  Kind of hard to explain.

That's been going on for a while and I think the Jordan "mystique" faded away in the 90s.

Been lurking in this thread since it started on yuku, but I never had a good question, so I never posted.  Definitely like the insight everyone is giving.  Some of it, I've heard before, but most of it is new.  The goings on in Beaverton doesn't surprise me.  I wouldn't mind seeing Jordan jump ship if it meant quality would increase.  I've always associated Jordan with Nike, but they've wiped Nike branding from almost all of their products, so it's like cutting the cord now.  Sure, it would be weird at first, but once they release a sig shoe everyone will jump back on board.

AKA, if Adidas/Reebok had some designs like UA, I think I'd start checking for them more often.  I like the Crazy Light 2, but my foot didn't feel secure.  I understand they have to sacrifice somethings to make the shoe light, but a slightly heaver version that felt more sturdy all-around would get my money.  Right now, I play in my LeBron IVs.  They're really heavy, but I can't complain about ankle support or overall support.  My foot fits snug and I don't sacrifice enough speed to notice...

 

[secretzofwar]

The excessive obsession with lightness is ruining every company

 

[heshua]

The excessive obsession with lightness is ruining every company

I agree big time. Something has to give when making shoes too light whether its comfort or support or both.

 

[sourorbetter]

^THIS! All the hype of having a lighter weight and breathe ability has led to the use of synthetic cheap materials and less cushioning. When I look for any sneaker I'm expecting durable materials, and that can only be achieved through genuine materials. Its a disrespect to the consumer that these "Elite" basketball sneakers can't even last on the court (from what I've read in the Lebron and Kobe threads).

 

[vood99]

^^^

What's interesting is that all the companies are damn near running the same materials but with their own branding. It is highly plausible that the manufacturer(s) in China are selling them this synthetic junk for cents on the dollar and the onus is on the sneaker companies to put their marketing spiel on it.

You guys really need to see and feel the Jordan 2012 Light to truly know how cheap an entirely plastic shoe feels.

 

[comacoma33]

Via Modern-Notoriety.com, in it's "OG-esque form" ... LET THE HYPE BEGIN ...

http://www.modern-notoriety.com/2012/08/09/air-jordan-1-high-royal-2013/

 

[vood99]

^^^

What's to be said? The AJ I has been *****d out to the point that it is has now replaced the daily Dunk Hi/Lo. Look at the how much light is being reflected of the 'leather' - seems to be the same junk material that they run on 'Basic' AF1s.

 

[limitedretroog]

Let me ask you guys something, why is it that it's always Nike's shoes that cause a riot on release? Retros are retros, yeah, but what about their signature shoes? We don't see people going nuts over the D. Rose line nearly as much as Lebron's or Kobe's. Do you think Reebok or Adidas see people camping out for these shoes and go, "Man, why can't they do this over our shoes?"

 

[lishman]

Let me ask you guys something, why is it that it's always Nike's shoes that cause a riot on release? "

Supply and demand.