I believe consumers and NikeTalk members definition of a "flop" is not the same as Nike's or a major company. For the consumers, if a Nike sig shoe or any other shoe for that matter (in this case the Nike Lebron line) hits the sales, clearance, or outlet racks that shoe is a "flop". While in actuality that shoe with a retail price of $200 going on sale for $20, $30, $50 etc off is not close to a lost for Nike. Maybe if it took Nike $200 to make the shoe, but on average it takes Nike around $30 to make a shoe. So if you paid $200 for a shoe (we can leave taxes out to achieve more round numbers) Nike has already made close to a $170 profit off your purchase. If you found a pair of shoes you wanted at an outlet or on a sales rack, lets say for $150 instead of the retail price of $200, Nike has still made around a $120 profit off your purchase even with you buying them on sale or with a discount. Although Nike uses a lot of new tech (Flyknit, Flyweave hyperposite, hyperfuse, etc) those materials aren't very expensive. Also by using a lot of different catchy or gimmick titles like EXT, Elite, SE, etc and charges higher prices for the over all same silhouette. Of course Nike as a company has to pay different fees and cost for productions as a company but there constant rise in earnings show that they aren't hurting financially. A lot of us up here (I'm guilty of this too) basically buy the same shoe over and over from a particular line because of a different color. EX: I purchased 13 pairs of XI's two of them where Elites, and two where EXT models. The other 9 where the exact same shoe just with different colors. No improvement in tech or materials. Nike is winning including the Lebron line.
