In 1984, Nike revolutionized the sneaker market with the first Air Jordan. In its marketing high-end sneakers, Nike blew away the competition. Since then, prices have risen dramatically. After a short downturn in 2013, Air Jordan sales have charged back. AND by signing projected NBA superstar Zion Williamson, Nike’s plan for Air Jordans to keep booming in the future.
Click the image to read about Zion’s new Nike endorsement deal. And then read these posts (1, 2) for more on Nike’s recent company marketing prowess.
Air Jordan: Marketing High-End Sneakers
Recently, Business Insider presented two in-depth articles on the evolution of Air Jordan:
According to Askinasi:
“At first, Jordan was fined $5,000 for wearing the shoes, but instead of taking them off the court, Nike decided it was great exposure for the brand and chose to pay all of MJ’s fines so he could continue to wear the shoes.” Obviously, that was short-lived.
Now, look at this excellent video on the evolution of the Air Jordan.
I actually am very involved in the sneaker community, so this article was very interesting to me. I remember when the Jordan brand started to increase production which lost a lot of interest from consumers, including myself. Nevertheless, it was a mistake that was able to be fixed and consumers are now still supporting the brand.
I do not know a lot about the sneaker industry and so I thought the Jordan brand first started with Air Jordan. I found it very interesting that he wore Nike Air Ship first before they created his shoe line.