Co-founder and CEO Erik Fagerlind has some harsh words for Adidas.
Source: Sneakersnstuff CEO Slams Adidas Following Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Release | Footwear News
Click the link to read the report on why Sneakersnstuff is slamming adidas.
Read below to see why sneaker stores and people need to stop slamming adidas over Yeezy releases.
This weekend the V2 dropped and I was one of the people who thought that the one local store in Memphis that got the shoes had backdoored them. I was deadWRONG!
I visit sneaker shops daily and talk with AMs and Managers. In these back and forths the truth about a lot comes out. While rapping yesterday I tried to sneak in that the Yeezy release was probably backdoored. I was placed squarely in check and that’s when I realized something. The District Manager of Hibbetts has had to fire managers before who botched releases. The guy is probably one of the most honest DMs in the country. He loves what he does and because he rose through the ranks, he knows what happens on these releases. He actually made the raffle get extended and stayed through the process of the raffle, while also showing up on release day.
Obviously there weren’t enough sneakers, but this is why people have to stop slamming the amount of shoes being released.
- Nike dominates the market. When no one is releasing product that captivates the masses, the market reverts back to the best marketing machine in the business. This means that there is very little deviation in footwear and absolutely zero individuality or originality.
- Adidas has carefully constructed a roster of influencers and styles that have opened the door for some competition for Nike. This is a good thing because when stores are able to move more brands, their business picks up in both footwear and apparel for the models that are not as popular.
- Could a store make a ton of money on these release dates with more shoes available? OF COURSE! But… when there is an abundance of shoes available, sales begin to cool and for adidas this could interrupt a serious moment of growth for the brand and actually hinder the diversity that is currently helping Footlocker and other stores tell better stories and create more interesting inventory.
- Sneakernstuff should dig deeper into their research and look at sales across the board for adidas. Sales are up in Tubulars and NMDs. These two styles are GR and are readily available. They also would have sat on the shelves before. Getting more Yeezys would literally end the sale of the cheaper selections available.
The customer isn’t always aware of how the market works and they want what they want, until everybody has it and then they don’t want it anymore. If all companies listened to customers they wouldn’t be in business. The diversity available in sneaker stores right now is as good as it has been in at least 20 years. That is vital to the generation of new companies and greater individuality.
Oh, and if you can’t get the damn shoes, create your own Fresh.
