adidas Originals NMD V3 Finally Corrects a Five-Year Issue but Will It Shift?

In 2015, adidas Originals launched the trailblazing NMD silhouette – taking cues from the brand’s inimitable archive in order to create a shoe that disrupted the sneaker world at the time.

Source: adidas Originals Introduces the NMD V3 Silhouette

In 2017 I wrote a prediction article on adidas’ growth. The Trefoil had finally figured out the Swoosh problem and for almost 3 years they had Nike in a blender. A lot of adidas’ growth was attributed to Kanye West incorrectly. adidas’ launch of UltraBoost and NMD introduced two futuristic models with a cushioning tech that sparked the imagination of fans. BOOST did exactly that, it boosted adidas into a different arena. The growth of the company was the perfect blend of design and performance. I wrote my prediction because I could see an issue on the horizon for adidas. Nike had corrected their problems which compounded what I saw in the cards for adi. My post discussed design fatigue.

adidas Originals Black Friday EQT Support Cushion / Support ADV / Support 93/17 | A Silhouette Problem

By the following year after I wrote the Silhouette Problem post, and since 2018, adidas products have consistently been marked down with very little sell through on all general release sneakers. I’ve taken pictures of what I call bloody walls at retail: markdowns with red tags. I wrote articles with data to show the problem in resale (which for me has always reflected retail). In one article I delivered this post:

Revisiting a Discussion: Will The adidas NMD Lose Resale Like The Nike Roshe Run? May 2017 | Updated 2019

In that post I wrote:

I’m going to give you one chart from 2018. adidas had released the Yeezy Zebra and the momentum of Kanye’s kicks were no longer lifting the boat for the Three Stripes. The brand dropped a Primeknit NMD that looked very similar to the Zebra and the shoe fell flat and ended up sitting on shelves until recently. I have still been picking up the model at retail outlets for 49.99. The shoe was named the Sashiko Pack. The price was 180.

As adidas’ brand heat slid, I was buying the model for 34.99. In other words, this model shows up on promo for three years, which is amazing and also a problem as older NMDs are hindering sell through on new releases.

The Arrival of the NMD V3

I’ve documented the NMD since its release and can probably discuss the trends as well as anyone in the industry. I’ve talked about how the NMD S1 could return adidas back to resale which is an indicator of brand heat. The problem is adidas hasn’t fully unleashed the S1 in any considerable numbers. Every drop has been limited. This is understandable as the revision of the NMD_R1 early on disrupted adidas’ momentum with versions of the shoe that were overpriced and missing critical elements of the original which was still performing well. adidas disrupted their own growth and hasn’t been able to adjust since. This V3 edition is interesting and returns me to the original discussion at the start of this post, design.

Elements of the S1 show up in the new “blocks” design at the midsole that made the original R1 so popular, but it’s the toebox that immediately hits me. adidas got rid of the empty, all knit toebox. In the post above I stated that silhouette fatigue was at the heart of adidas’ issues. This NMD retains a familiar shape but adding reflective elements and a fused overlay to the V3 gives it a traditional element which will allow for unique color-blocking. The side panel and toe also allow for adidas to utilize different materials as more colors release. Boost is now old tech. The S1 uses caged Boost to modernize the tech. The V3 uses the new molded blocks which partially cages and gives the midsole a slightly different look, but ultimately may keep this model from moving back towards a GR resale status.

What will the response to the V3 be? Right now, the sneaker isn’t showing up on major sneakerblogs and it isn’t being discussed on sneaker Twitter. The obvious reason for this is the recent SNKRS restocks and Yeezy Day which sent sneaker culture into a frenzy… Then again anything hype sends sneaker culture into a frenzy. But isn’t that what adidas needs? Don’t they need sneaker culture saying “fire” or “must cop”? It doesn’t help that adidas is “launching” the V3 on August 16th, I’m writing this on August 12th, and the all-white version is already marked down: adidas NMD_V3 Shoes – White | men lifestyle | adidas US. It doesn’t help that the retail price is 160 at a time when not even the Air Jordan 1 has been selling out at 170 and 180. The market is dictating the price of sneakers and dropping the NMD in all of its flavors at 160 is akin to the debacle of introducing the Primeknit NMD in 2017 at 180. The result was the chart above where retailers marked the shoe down to buy one get one for a dollar. If the “roll out” is for the 16th and multiple colors are already available and marked down to 128 a pair, wouldn’t adidas benefit from a price adjustment to 130 without showing bloody tags on their own site? The Three Stripes fixed an issue, but hasn’t corrected some marketing and release strategies, which is understandable because of supply chain issues, but correcting silhouette fatigue is only an initial step in recapturing the community.