httpvhd://youtu.be/3Xz8qF9oRy8
adidas Basketball Commercial (2008)
According to bloomberg.com, Nike reports its annual revenue from basketball related products at $1.7 billion. While it would be nice to compare, adidas does not segment and report their revenue from their basketball sector. However, considering the fact that they have an 11-year contract with the NBA as the league’s official supplier (jerseys, shirts, shorts, apparel, etc.), the prospect of not having a season can’t be good news at all.
“Over the last 3 1/2 years, U.S. basketball shoe and apparel sales have been flat. I do not project big growth here,” said Matt Powell, a footwear analyst from SportsOneSource (oregonlive.com).
If you really do think about it, who other than the aforementioned NBA superstars have their own signature kicks? Tons of players have specialized PE colorways made for them, but the train stops there for most. Going a little further, can you think of anyone other than Kobe who has as much viral marketing done for their sneakers? It’s not even close. The Nike Zoom Kobe VI even had a short film made (see below) by Robert Rodriguez [Sin City, Machete]!
Even LeBron James, whose global star power is out of this world, did not do himself any favors by exiting Cleveland in the fashion that he did. Granted, he’s still one of the most polarizing athletes on the planet, but he did lose the respect of enough fans to where his brand took a considerable hit. How great that damage truly ends up being, only time will tell, but again, the lockout will only disintegrate things even more.
Nike’s $1.7 billion figure may be the only thing we have to use as a reference point, but in either regard, whatever dip in revenue they take will certainly be felt, if not more so, by other basketball equipment providers like adidas and especially Under Armour, who is trying to crack through the door.
NEXT: The Domino Effect
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httpvhd://youtu.be/1TO4yeUIPWE
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