Originally posted on Housakicks
Are Nike sneakers really losing their cool factor ?
It’s all about one’s perspective, some may see a glass as half full and others as half empty. But to be objective one has to analyze this question from Nike’s own perspective; after all they are the one making the shoes with a specific target market in mind. An article was posted a few days ago about Nike losing its cool factor amongst teenagers and a survey was conducted by whoever wrote the article to basically back up his or her claim. But the problem with the survey was that it only covered a specific demographic. The article was written to prove that Nike was losing its cool factor amongst young people which was actually true. But it’s the other assertion that I have a problem with-saying that Nike is struggling because young people aren’t buying shoes may be far fetched.
Do we know who Nike is really targeting when their sneakers are in production? I was stunned a few months ago when I walked into Wheaton Mall, Maryland to see a bunch of men in their mid 40’s lining up to buy the Tri- colored Uptempos. You can read my post about it in the link below.
I was convinced that Nike was targeting younger consumers ( I couldn’t imagine an older gentleman with a pair of tri colored sneakers) but I was dead wrong. This is exactly what happens when you make false assumptions, you come up with flawed conclusions. For anyone to say that Nike is struggling, many factors must be considered. The brand might not just be interested in aiming for younger people . They might be targeting all walks of life; Michael Jordan has retired so the youth isn’t quite captivated any longer with his legend. And frankly speaking, young kids theses days aren’t even interested in basketball shoes so who is Nike really targeting with all the upcoming retros ? The older crowd if you think about is the one with the capital. Consequently If I’m a business man, I’m looking for consumers who can afford my product. To sum up my point of view, I will leave you with the video below; it may just be one person in my sample, but pay attention to the words that come out of the individual’s mouth.
