#Hype sneakers series#

In May 2019, Nike called itself a tech company with the development of Nike Fit, a scanning solution to find Nike app users’ best shoe fit. Nike has nearly all of the necessary pieces in place to launch a secondary marketplace of their own that could bring great benefits to both the brand itself as well as consumers, from warehouses to the team that would build that technology. Yet, these marketplaces cannot exist without the sneaker brands, and sneaker brands are still in a position to easily impact their businesses in two ways: flood the market with products, subsequently bringing down demand for shoes, or establish their own secondary marketplace.

However, it’s safe to say the explosion of the sneaker business in the last six to seven years would have been far less robust without the likes of Flight Club, Stadium Goods, GOAT and StockX. Sneaker brands can exist without the resale marketplaces - and have for upwards of 50 years.

Not only does it stand to be greatly beneficial for the brand and consumers, it has the potential to substantially disrupt the sneaker aftermarket. While I don’t know that any of these hypotheses qualify as the “real” reason for the lawsuit, the concept of a Nike-owned resale marketplace specifically for Nike products is extremely intriguing. One of them is that Nike is quietly building the foundation for its own in-house aftermarket platform.

#Hype sneakers series#

Originating earlier this year, the now-amended lawsuit was initiated, with Nike suing the marketplace over their release of an NFT series of Nike shoes, alleging the “stock market of things” is using the company’s trademark without authorization or approval.Īs the suit progresses, conspiracy theorists of the sneaker world have engaged in some far-fetched reasoning as to why the sneaker brand has finally entered litigation with the resale marketplace. Last month, we learned Nike is accusing StockX of knowingly selling fake Jordans.