Originally posted on Housakicks
was packed with so many emotions: Michael Jordan was coming back after his two year convalescence, it was also the first shoe that transcended the basketball court to the suit and tie arena. For the past 30 years, the Jumpman has been the epitome of success- just think about the many sneaker communities that have been created around the Jordan Brand. The retros are cross cultural and are symbolic of passion, unity, determination, etc.. sentiments that will never perish as time progresses.
The NMD came unto the scene a little after Kanye west jumped ship and joined Adidas, and I can boldly assert that as comfortable and sleek as the NMD is, most of its success although not quantifiable is closely correlated to the notoriety of Mr. West and his antics. Yes the new consumer is looking for more casual and cheaper sneakers , and the NMD just fills that void, but for how long ? Trends always change and the skinny jeans and joggers will soon fade away. Kudos to Adidas for capitalizing on the nmd and it’s derivatives. My latest observations in my local mall is telling a different story: the NMD’s are being discounted after a year of being the highest commodity on demand. And at this rate will they stand the test of time? You know my answer to it , it’s a bold NO they won’t. Other competitors have tapped into that market as well which has caused a market saturation and consequently a possible demise of the NMD. Adidas has also dangled with prices; within a two year span the NMD went from $100 to almost $130 or $170 depending on the material used. That is a ridiculous rate of change, basically a $15 to $35 increase/year. So l’ll ask the question again: will the Adidas NMD stand the test of time? Let me know what your thoughts are on this.
Up Close With The New Balance NB 247 Sport Pack-The NMD Got Some Challenge
Nope. Like you, I have been making some key observations and many sneaker spots physical and online have too many NMD’s sitting and now discounted. Though I haven’t crunched any hard numbers as I don’t have access to that kind of data, I feel Adidas is somewhat in trouble. The NMD is only one part of the tale.
We can talk about “some” Yeezy’s losing value and where the brand image is currently at at a more appropriate time.
I started noticing around late spring / early summer that some of the Adidas collabs like the White Mountaineering etc could be had a few days after release on more than “a few sites”. Rewind the clock just 7mths ago and this would have been unheard of. There are many authentic NMD’s on eBay already discounted below the discounted prices you’ll find at local malls and many online retailers and the “completed sales” feature doesn’t show a pretty picture at all. Not even at prices lower than many or most online retailers are people buying them at a frequency where Adidas doesn’t have to worry and could consider simply tweaking their pricing.
Something else is at play. More evidence for your question? The R2 and CS2. They simply never took off. I was pretty shocked when I walked into BAIT in San Fran in March and got the KITH and Titolo collab. The KITH’s, Titolo’s and White Mountaineering are not the only ones I’ve observed sitting a little longer than say a year ago.
You know your product line is in trouble when your collab’s aren’t moving in stores with high visibility and a steady customer flow.
The re-release of the OG happened too soon and even something about that felt less hyped and while hard I got a pair directly from ADC. A year ago? Impossible x 100 and I really dislike saying anything is “impossible” because I know better.
The hype for NMD’s has already peaked and gone and there is a cautionary tale in Nike’s 2016 inventory woes that Adidas should pay close attention to.
Although Tayib wrote this one, I have to state that I initially told him that NMD could remain as a brand. Did you know that NMD is actually a “brand”? http://www.arch-usa.com/adidas-originals-nmd-apparel-fw17-can-the-nmd-transition-into-a-brand/ NMD has its own line of apparel and the CS2 and R2 are obviously versions in that line. The shoe has had several stand alone art shows and launches that have been excellent marketing platforms. Now, I said that I thought that it could survive… on second thought I have to rethink that short lifespan of adidas footwear.
The ZX Flux rose and fell within 1 year. That model is dead. The SL Loop was a shoe that I really liked. It dropped right behind the ZX Flux and that shoe died in less than 6 months. The Tubular has seen 5 different versions and whether it’s primeknit or mesh, the shoe is on sale everywhere. The DOOM was horrible and UltraBOOST is now sitting in both the caged and uncaged versions. EQT has never really taken off and the increase in price has hurt the NMD. From 120 to 180. I mean the Japan in black and white had a 10 dollar difference! WTF? Our one “Sneaker” shop in Memphis still has the White Mountaineering and the Stan Smith Vachetta pack high and low. This is a store that doesn’t have a Nike account due to its proximity to City Gear.
I think adidas’ marketing team is golden however and they continue to adapt quickly. That may be their saving grace is speed. They don’t stick with a dud for very long. Then again, that could contribute to their long term issues.
I admittedly didn’t know the NMD was it’s own brand but the accessories, art shows and other pieces I’ve seen now makes sense as part of a line. Thanks for that. I guess I have way more research to do into Adidas than I thought lol.
“I think adidas’ marketing team is golden however and they continue to
adapt quickly. That may be their saving grace is speed. They don’t stick
with a dud for very long. Then again, that could contribute to their
long term issues.”
Can you elaborate on a few things you think the Adidas team has done in the last 5yrs or better yet something they did that was disruptive and had sustaining resonance past a 3yr cycle?
adidas is only in it’s second year of growth so there isn’t anything that has reached 3 years. As far as disruption there really isn’t any. Nike disrupted themselves. adidas didn’t disrupt Nike at all. Where adidas is shining is in their early use of video in marketing and understanding the shifting science of marketing to this generation. Nike seems to be stuck in time with their marketing campaigns and they aren’t effective. adidas created a hit music single and then crafted a grand prix winning campaign that has been placed in the right moments to signify the difference between them and other brands. (Although the reality is they aren’t any different, lol). Here is the adidas marketing search on the site: http://www.arch-usa.com/?s=adidas+Marketing
I think we’re measuring different particulars of the Adidas brand so I have things tracked as far back as early 2013/late 2012 vs what you may be tracking is the shift in marketing, WS/Stock Market growth and their publicly stated strategy since their major pivot, which to your point is about 2yrs old.
So what I have tracked is from a Strategy/UX pov. In late 2013 Adidas did two things that people have quickly forgotten about. Why did people forget? You answered that in the last paragraph of your initial response.
Consider this. Above you stated:
“understanding the shifting science of marketing to this generation”
Strong marketing or understanding it’s shifts without implementing the means or spaces to easily consume content and buy goods digitally, the means by which this generation lives is not an understanding of that audience, nor is it sustainable. It’s surface level.
B=MAT – Behavior equals Motivation, Ability and Trigger. Adidas scores very low on the last two and this is one of the key reasons they can’t complete a long term hook cycle and their products and brands die so quickly.
Interesting… adidas did a complete 180 as far as user experience about 3 years ago. They worked on the website layout, but their marketing didn’t quite match. Their marketing didn’t improve until about a year and a half ago. Which is why they were able to capitalize on Nike’s missteps. I wrote an article on why the brand wouldn’t sustain http://www.arch-usa.com/adidas-is-fragile-and-this-stock-surge-cant-sustain/
Your analysis is right on the money. Their cycles are much shorter because while they have learned to strike the right chords emotionally, they still haven’t completed the user experience. They are making a push to do so via Gameplan A but that isn’t content for the generation of buyers. They are still missing a consistent stream of information.They have been striking the right chords with women via Stella and Avenue A.
The reason Jordan Brand/Nike is going to bounce back is because although they have missed the mark in marketing, they understand the power of content creation. Their SNKRS, Nike News and air.jordan.com are excellent usage of long term marketing strategy that incorporates search (Those sites are indexed). What they haven’t done is realize that polish is currently out when it comes to this generation. Things have to be less controlled to work. Nike’s well oiled approach is antiquated. adidas’ community approach and video is excellent.