Sneakerheads were in a bit of a grumble over the last couple days after our friend G-Roc from The Shoe Game posted an item saying this Holiday 2012′s Air Jordan 4 Retro $160 price point has increased to $180 and the Air Jordan 11 Retro from $180 to $200. People were pissed, you guys.
A day later, our fellas over at Sneaker News got the first retraction story down and updated that the black and red (“Bred”) Jordan 4 remains at $160, while the Jordan 11 “Bred” inches up $5 to a final sticker price of $185.
We reached out to Josh Benedek, Communications Manager at Jordan Brand, for some clarity on the situation. Josh confirmed the $160 and $185 price points and tells me flatly that the prices on the two Air Jordan shoes were never finalized within the brand at $180 and $200.
Keyword, finalized. Internally at shoe companies, pricing along with styles and colorways are tweaked and changed all the time. This is common. At the pace of the Internet and the information seepage we often see so far in advance these days though, it’s possible someone had shown TSG an early but not finalized retail list sheet and that’s the report that ran.
So where did the price increase news originate from?
I sent G-Roc an email to ask if the prices he reported on were filed on a buyers sheet or elsewhere. One of the responses I received back was “all I can say is I saw it with my own eyes” and to read his public reply to everyone on TSG.
When I first saw G-Roc’s original post, my first assumption was an updated list sheet went out to Jordan Brand accounts reflecting the new retail and wholesale prices. It wouldn’t be the first time. Last December’s Air Jordan 11 “Concord” shoe was originally listed on retail sheets at $175 MSRP, but later on boosted by $5 to $180. Just as this year’s Air Jordan 11 release is being taken up by $5 again, to $185.
In the end, maybe a better way to satisfy everyone is taking Tinker Hatfield‘s suggestion of if you’re going to raise retail prices on consumers anyways because of factors like raw material costs, labor, freight, and such, then why not increase the price another $5 or $10 or what it would cost on a product to actually improve the production build and selection of materials. If kids are paying close to $200 on a shoe, a little extra cash for a higher quality constructed product seems like a much more decent trade off than an ornate box with plastic trinkets and a sub-par assembled sneaker.
Follow CounterKicks on Twitter for breaking sneaker news and exclusive info
Great reporting as always! I for one am glad they didn’t raise the price to 180 and 200 because I wanted both the IV and XI. Wish the quality was better! Tinker might be on to something but I see they could use it as way to justify making the kicks above 200 and more which will HURT!
The truth of the matter is that the shoes would have still sold. No question about it. It’s simple economics. From a truly reliable source I learned to make a $180 shoe cost Nike $12 and the shoe is sold to retailers for about $50 or $60. Where does the extra markup come from? Simple. Overhead. Everything that Nike produces doesn’t sell out and oftentimes gets heavily discounted. To compensate for this aspect of the business their major projects such as Jordans, Kobes, Lebrons, etc are priced higher. Jordan still gets paid, Kobe gets paid, etc. The money to pay these guys has to come from some where.
Man, there is so much that I want to say here, as I feel that Nike is completely full of it on this issue. I think that there are some very greedy people in that organization, those that only care about bottom line, instead of the quality of their product. Nike seems to really want to be on the same stage as Prada, Gucci, and Tom Ford, where they have celebrities wearing their shoes, as they may be the only ones who’ll be able to afford them after a while. These price increases aren’t about having the best product anymore, it’s about being the most popular.
woah nice read / reporting on this. hope Jordan brand doesnt go over $200 next year