"Devaluation of the Nike Air Jordan Line"...

[sosmoove]

I do think the economy is a vital part for the reason. But for ME, between the ******** quality and higher prices, the sh*t just doesn't make sense to me even as someone who has been wearing Jordan's my whole life. Its not worth my money for what I am buying. Period.

 

[fresh2323]

dam.....

 

[fresh2323]

dam.....

 

[bence23]

its all saturation. Ive been saying this for years. And kids are still into J's plenty, I see a lot of younger crowd rockin fusions and the J's that I have no clue what they're called (basically non sig Js and non retros).

 

[ninjahood]

Originally Posted by 310HxA

zapatohead408 wrote:

---

people don't buy all these horrible fusions and stuff because its not original (as in the shoe that michael wore himself)
The signature line usually sells great, unless they put a horrible new CW on it like the piston 6's.

If the sig has an OG colorway It is GUARRANTEED to sell (except for the XV)
people love the signature line and OG cw because Michael actually wore them

Not really. White/Red XII's are still sitting in most places

da XII's never sold that fast even in its inaugural release.... compound da fact that da space jams sucked da air out da room when they dropped.

 

[borobballman]

Good Points, Great Read.

 

[borobballman]

Good Points, Great Read.

 

[ninjahood]

i feel they should just stop making team jordans, hybrids...cut it to da original 23...make em superior quality, and price em like some louis vuittons....

 

[gzagenius]

Originally Posted by ninjahood

i feel they should just stop making team jordans, hybrids...cut it to da original 23...make em superior quality, and price em like some louis vuittons....

i wouldnt mind them retroing Team ones or pro quicks

 

[curtisboy]

Originally Posted by JordanHead21

This is all coming from a guy who buys spizikes?

 
^ thats how jordan brand DEVALUATED

 

[iondajayz]

The fact is, people are going to buy the shoes because they like the look of them. Its not about the mystique of Mike himself anymore, because he's not playing. The shoes still look great and still represent Mike's life at the time, but that time has passed. Therefore it doesn't need to be what it was.


That's pretty much what I see in JB's logic.

 

[ssgefiestoakagerger]

"Too readily available"

... I love this term !

 

[green rhino123]

i don't think they should have ever made retro+s
it opened up a can of worms in the form of bad ideas

all the effort should have concentrated on retroing true-to-form
classic og colorways

many reasons why

save your rainbow colorways and frankenstein bastardizations
for some other Nike

 

[taivan]

Originally Posted by ninjahood

i feel they should just stop making team jordans, hybrids...cut it to da original 23...make em superior quality, and price em like some louis vuittons....

aaah no. daz too much. price is already too high 175 for pair of jz? cmon! oh and also  they're making more money from team jordans and hybrids than sig line so why would they stop. 

 

[scones]

I'm not sure the author of the original blog/article is aware that :

Jordans have been going on sale since they came out in 1985 ! It has nothing to do with the recent grouses we are having with Jordan brand. For example, the AJ 1 sold so poorly that at the end of the 80s they were still on clearance in outlets. shoe stores sold them so cheaply (I still have an OG AJ 1 box that shows the price marked down from $65, a few times, until $15) that skaters used to buy them on the cheap, then use it to skate them. In the 90s, you could walk into the store and get Js that were released 2-3 editions back, still in good sizes, and drastically marked down. I recall walking into the store in 1993 to look at the VIIIs, and there were the VIs and VIIs still widely available, yellowed from long display. In 1996 you could walk into an outlet store and you would be greeted with the following : AJ 2 reissues high and low at $19.99 markdown, AJ 10 team colors (all team colors except Chicago Bulls) marked down to $30. In 2000, Eastbay/Footlocker returned a whole shipload of AJ 17s unsold, to Nike. They sold so poorly!

 

[jking0821]

Originally Posted by taivan

Originally Posted by ninjahood

i feel they should just stop making team jordans, hybrids...cut it to da original 23...make em superior quality, and price em like some louis vuittons....

aaah no. daz too much. price is already too high 175 for pair of jz? cmon! oh and also  they're making more money from team jordans and hybrids than sig line so why would they stop. 

I think that might be pushing it kinda far but i do agree.  I would rather buy 2-3 retro's a year of superior quality for a higher price.  But I'm not paying 900 for any shoe....ever.  But i would pay 300 for one pair of shoes if they were excellent quality.  But for that to be the case JB would have to only release 3-4 retro's a year and even if they are retro + colorway's as long as they are good looking and good quality i would probably buy.

I think it would be good for them to do a more casual idea (similar to BIN 23 but with real colorways).  I would pay the 300 for a Jordan 3 made of fine italian leather.  Most retro jordan's are purchased for casual use anyway.  So why not release 1 or 2 colorways of a premium retro and charge 300-350 for them.  I think that was the idea behind BIN 23 but BIN 23 either is geared toward an older crowd or they just completely missed with the colorways.

 

[bundy9]

Originally Posted by scones


I'm not sure the author of the original blog/article is aware that :

Jordans have been going on sale since they came out in 1985 ! It has nothing to do with the recent grouses we are having with Jordan brand. For example, the AJ 1 sold so poorly that at the end of the 80s they were still on clearance in outlets. shoe stores sold them so cheaply (I still have an OG AJ 1 box that shows the price marked down from $65, a few times, until $15) that skaters used to buy them on the cheap, then use it to skate them. In the 90s, you could walk into the store and get Js that were released 2-3 editions back, still in good sizes, and drastically marked down. I recall walking into the store in 1993 to look at the VIIIs, and there were the VIs and VIIs still widely available, yellowed from long display. In 1996 you could walk into an outlet store and you would be greeted with the following : AJ 2 reissues high and low at $19.99 markdown, AJ 10 team colors (all team colors except Chicago Bulls) marked down to $30. In 2000, Eastbay/Footlocker returned a whole shipload of AJ 17s unsold, to Nike. They sold so poorly!

Good point and I guess maybe that proves that things actually havent really changed much apart from the fact that there are more team shoes on the market. But remember at those times except the 1993+1996 examples you brought up Mike and Nike were essentially still trying to prove themselves and push a product which was not Converse or Adidas which were the biggers in the market at the time. MJ had still done great stuff on court but everyone would still be more inclined to wear what the "proven" vets Magic and Bird wore, especially after all the flack the AJ1s took for being ugly "clown shoes."

The difference today is that  most Jordans gained their heavy lustre during the 90's being the golden age of kicks and when MJ ruled the bball world. At that point he had no "Team Jordan" apart from Eddie Jones and Vin Baker and guys like (Ray Allen and Reggie getting their occassional PEs) and the concentration was on the guy who was to become the G.O.A.T., everything from him at that point would logically fly off the shelves...(just as we're seeing with the popularity of the Kobe and Lebron lines now (maybe not completely flying off shelves but the popularity is there!) Now with MJ gone and having a team to try and be his extension on the court, much more has to be produced...and for the sake of keeping up with commercialism and profits, which has been no bigger than it is right now..all the gimmicks are being pulled out and the oversaturation is just coming to light.

The target market was just to please MJ fans back then, now they have to please MJ fans, young trend-hungry teens and serve a JB athletic team. Unfortunately again it's probably just part of a business/marketing cycle but still very truthfully a curse, maybe just as much as it's a gift to JB...but again people let's not be quick to forget that Jordan is the best and most successful signature bball shoe ever and whatever happens with the brand and whatever steps taken will be unchartered territory. They can't relive and replicate the 90's forever (quite unfortunately) so it's just how it goes from now...get used to it...  

 

[andown goes frasier]

Jordans always went on sale & can be had for cheap, only a few pairs of certain models were instant sellouts & that depends on where u live too. It's only a few pairs of hyped releases these pass years that sellout & most if not all are limited releases.

there's just too many kicks all around to chose from, Nike drops tons of retros, jb drops tons of kicks who can afford to buy every pair of kicks that drops every weekend? Back in the day there were months to save up & hype to build between releases. As a teen nowadays y spend 175 on 1 pair of jordans when u can get some polo kicks, vans,chucks & still have money leftover & still b "cool" . Having jordans now isn't as much as a status symbol like they once were.

 

[airuphere23]

Originally Posted by THE FAME

Writer talked about everything except the REAL reason....
QUALITY!

So your average consumer goes into a store and picks up a Jordan Brand sneaker on display and says "the hell with these...look at the quality on these things"?

You should be well aware of the fact that young kids and teenagers pick up clothes and shoes all the time with lower end quality just as long as they like what they bought. The recent Air Jordan signature models for instance do not have bad quality....does that mean they sell now because the quality isn't bad?

I just went into a Marshall's today and saw a few pairs of AJ 2009's on clearance for $59.99. Jordans are not in because there is a vast over-abundance of Jumpman related sneakers on the market mixed in with the fact that they are usually overpriced. There are also shoe lines from Kobe and Lebron to steer away alot of these younger consumers from a Jordan Brand sneaker. I thought this writer was very on point with his critique.

 

[rod301]

Good Post Tho.

 

[dankenstien88]

Recession + over produced, recycled designs = shoes on sale

 

[agent0024]

Originally Posted by eddo1005

good read.

x2

 

[Magic33]

It's sort of like his career. It's a new generation, they see Lebron and Kobe. With each passing year, the memory of Jordan playing basketball becomes more and more distant. There are no memories of the shots over Ehlo and Russell or him winning the dunk contests. It's ESPN classic material. That's why they need to breathe new life in the line. If anything I've seen more people wearing Jordan Fusions than anything else Jordan. Maybe because they identify with something timeless like the Air Force One more.

I think raising prices more and more is hurting the line, because it's making them less accessible by young kids. That's who they need to concentrate on. That next generation. When I was young I had a price limit on the amount I could spend on some sneakers.

Jordan's are no longer the status symbol they once were, because there are so many other sneakers that cost $100 plus also.

Gimmicks and saturating the market also devalue the line. I can afford to miss out on II release, because the IX's are coming out next week. Why rush out to pay $150 for something that will be on sale when the new colorway drops next month?

 

[airfresh23js]

Good stuff, but wow where do you find the time to write a novel like that.

 

[big daddy 8523]

I think the economy has a something to do with purchases but not everything. I was out of work for 9 months and I continued to buy JB shoes 3 pair in Dec and Jan alone. But with me only being 24 and me having a circle of about 5 friends me included that have been wearing Jordans since we were children (Our parents could afford them). It's not about the money so much as it is about feeling like Jb doesn't need us as consumers cause if we don't buy it someone else will.

When retro's first released let's be honest the new Edition was the thing. When a new color came out the old one became well the old pair.

When Retro's got hot after the 4's released in 99 we loved them they were great quality, cheap and reminded us of the glory days. The truth is everyone didn't get Jordans cause of the price back then, but now children are getting Jordans as their first pair of shoes and 20 yrs ago it was unheard of a lot of children wearing $100 shoes.

I don't care about Jb's bottom line but I do care about things that will affect me. When you take Nike Air off the back of the 3's, 4's, 5's, and 6's, it may work for a while but the purist are only gonna put up with it for so long. Jumpman's on all retro 1's (when the jumpman wasn't even being used yet until the 3's,) It's ******ed if u ask me, but what do I know I just buy the shoes im not important.

I can't understand why Jb don't see that their slipping in regards to the people that put them on top. Cause when its all said and done and this Jb fad is over then all they have is us so called fans and they alienate us if they lose everyone by the time they realize it by then it will b too late. Everyone didn't see Jordan play. The same way I didn't want those Barkley's or Shaq's will be the same reason our children won't want Jordans. They saw Kobe and Lebron and Durant play and last I checked none of them were signed to JB.