I really like doing these SYBTF posts on Nike’s SNKRS page. Let me explain how these work. I’m not doing an analysis to check and see what shoes you should be preparing to flip. What I do here is look at the sneakers above the fold. Usually there are 48 pair of shoes above the fold. I don’t load the page to check and see what else sold out that was dropped.
The 48 pair I attempt to break down into Nike Running, Nike Basketball, Jordan Brand and Nike Retro/Classic for lifestyle related kicks. Some of the 48 pair listed are informational posts by Nike.
Doing this gives me a very good idea of how successful a release on SNKRS is. This does not mean that the same shoe sold out on Foot Locker or Finish Line. It’s not an in depth look at POS info. I don’t have access to that. What this does is give me a chance to look and see if there is a trend shift or change in what people are deciding to buy online with Nike. Let’s get to it.
Informational Posts – 8
Coming Soon – 2
This means that of the 48 pair 38 are shoes that have been released. Here is the breakdown. FYI the shoes on the page begin with a Behind The Design on VaporMax and ends with a Air Force 1 Lightweight Legend. This will help you if you are reading this at a later date. SNKRS is updated often so the location above the fold will change.
Jordan Brand – (This includes Retro and new Jordan Brand releases.)
5 Pair Total
Sold Out – 0 Nada, not a single one of the Jordan Brand releases sold out. Jordan Brand is typically gold with Retro, but the Retros released didn’t even capture the market at all. These weren’t bad releases. The Air Jordan 4 Retro Motorsport has been a highly coveted release by sneakerheads for a very long time. It didn’t sell out. The Air Jordan 6 Retro Alternate 91 a shoe that looks a lot like a ‘Hare’ version didn’t sell out. There was also a low top Air Jordan 12 Retro in an eye catching Wolf Grey and priced at 170.00! The other two Jordan Brand shoes were the Black Cat 31 and the Westbrook 0.2 I didn’t expect either of these to perform very well and they are available below retail.
Nike Running – (This includes Nike classic running and new Nike running releases.)
19 Pair Total
Sold Out – 9 pair sold out. Now when we look at this number that’s right at 50% it becomes clear how marketing plays a huge role in the movement of footwear through the SNKRS app. This was the month of Air. Nike’s annual Air Max Day 3-26 saw the release of one of the most anticipated releases in the last ten years. The VaporMax made running shoes for Nike a big deal. There was a constant stream of videos and campaigns for Nike Running in specific the Air Max Retro line up. In a sign of the times many of the Air Max releases were for women. The brands are pushing hard to reach that market. Which shoes sold out for the Swoosh in Nike Running? The VaporMax launched well and sold out in the OG colorway and Platinum, Men’s and Women’s (4 pair). Air Max 1 Anniversary Royal (1 pair – The Uni Red version sold out but is not shown above the fold). The Air Max 1 Master and the Air Max 1 Atmos. The Air Max 1 Ultra 2.0 (Uni Red) in Men’s and Women’s (2 pair)
The shoes that did not sell out were an assortment of Women’s runners. Which included Footscapes and Jewels. These shoes will eventually hit clearance racks, but there is one running shoe that did not sell out and it confirms an article I wrote last year. The Nike Flyknit Racer was once Nike’s adidas BOOST. The shoe was so popular that on the resale market in garnered twice it’s retail price.
This leaves us with 13 pair of shoes. Let’s hit the place where we get the most discussions taking place in the world of sneakerhead talk. Nike Basketball.
Nike Basketball – (This includes classic Nike releases and updated classics, both men and women. I’m also including the Nike Bruin here although it didn’t sell out.)
13 Pair Total
Sold Out – 5 Pair sold out. This is in line with the current market. However it should be noted that there were not many marketing campaigns outside of tweets. This month was all about Air Max. The sold out shoes were limited release items, but as I stated there wasn’t any marketing. Nike allowed the NCAA Tourney to drive interest. Here are the sold out models. The Kobe AD Oregon Ducks. The Kyrie 3 Duke, The Air Foamposite Pro Silver Age, The LeBron 14 Time to Shine and The Paul George 1 Time To Shine.
Shoes that were included in the Nike Basketball category here and probably in the larger POS data by analysts were shoes that were not going to sell at all. The Women’s hybrid Zoom Modairna and the Bruin made up 4 pair of the 13. The KD that leads this section didn’t sell out the shoe definitely doesn’t follow the Edit to Amplify approach that Nike set out to do. I didn’t expect an Elite line from Nike this year with poor performance out of the basketball category. Add to that KD is injured and zero marketing outside of Nike Basketball tweets and what’s the point? Out of the college releases the KD Texas didn’t sell out. The shoe was basic. There weren’t any real elements that made this a Texas shoe.
My Analysis
14 out of 38 releases sold out. SNKRS had a 38% rate of sell through on the drops above the fold. Nike is a much more effective driver of sales through its channels than any of the retail locations with accounts. While this is a guess I would have to say that if SNKRS saw a 38% rate of sell through, Foot Locker and Finish Line as well as other private retail outlets saw half of that which doesn’t look good for the Swoosh.
The VaporMax has been an immediate success, but this is to be expected. The marketing and release of the shoe was textbook Nike. The shoe that surprised me the most? The LeBron 14. If basketball is dead, even a limited release shoe shouldn’t be on trend and should sit. If retros are sitting then LeBrons should definitely sit right? The PG1 Time to Shine also sold out which makes two of the three PG1 releases ‘sold out’. Very interesting stuff…