Licensing in the athletic shoe segment is far more diverse than in the past, when sporting goods brands, athletes, fashion labels, and kids’ characters accounted for the bulk of activity. Over the past 10 to 15 years or so, the category has become more and more important for properties as diverse as musicians, celebrities, artists, and corporate brands of all sorts, along with the traditional property types.
A small smattering of the many properties that have forged sneaker collaborations in the past few years includes artists such as Damien Hirst; corporate brands including Eos and Mountain Dew; fashion labels such as Comme des Garçons and Lemar & Dauley; musicians ranging from Taylor Swift to Wiz Khalifa; character/entertainment licenses including Star Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel, The Simpsons, and Hello Kitty; and others ranging from Smiley to Monopoly.
Adidas alone introduced nearly 50 limited editions with partners in 2016, including Kanye West’s Yeezy brand; Pharrell Williams, along with his Billionaire Boys Club and Parley fashion labels; online lifestyle news site Highsnobiety; fashion designer Alexander Wang; artist Jeremy Scott; Japanese trend retailer Beams; and a variety of sneaker designers and skateboard companies.
One of the driving forces behind all of this activity is the sneaker-collecting community, often referred to as “sneakerheads.” Not all limited-edition sneakers that are meant to appeal to collectors are licensed; marketers introduce different colorways or design features to enhance collectibility, for example. But licensing and collaboration are essential tools in the quest to continually come up with new and desirable introductions that will appeal to consumers whose collections are already vast, as well as bring new collectors into the space. Many of Nike’s most collectible shoes over the years, for instance, have been collaborations with the likes of Heineken, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Eminem, and Back to the Future. Of course, with so many collaborations on the market these days, not all are equally desired.
Sneaker collecting is nothing new. It goes back to the hip-hop scene in the 1970s and achieved wide public consciousness in the mid-1980s thanks to Nike’s Air Jordans, which were followed by a number of other signature athletic shoes from Nike and its competitors. Adidas’ 1986 shoe line with Run DMC is credited as being the first involving a non-sports property.
Sneakerheads are unique in their collecting habits, with some specializing in a particular brand, property type, or theme and others being completists. Some put the shoes they collect into storage or on display, placing a premium on future value, while others collect to wear or are attracted by the community elements of the hobby, both online and at live events such as Sneaker Con. Some purchase on the secondary market, while others focus on new releases. As with any collector hobby, both shoe values and the popularity of collecting tend to wax and wane over time.
In 2014, a Forbes article estimated that sneakerheads drove 5% of the then-$22 billion U.S. sports footwear market. The collector community is influential beyond its relatively small economic impact, however, as shoe companies are guided by collector preferences in their overall product development.
For licensors, collaborating on limited-edition sneakers can enhance a property’s fashion-forward image, boost awareness, serve as a test for a longer-term program, and potentially create new fans. The revenue-generation potential of individual initiatives is typically capped by the small quantities; most editions are less than 500, with some limited to just a handful of pairs.
Of course, many licensing deals and collaborations for athletic shoes are still founded on traditional attributes such as durability (e.g., Goodyear sneakers with SCL Footwear Group), style (Jennifer Lopez wedge sneakers with Giuseppe Zanotti), novelty (Mickey Mouse sneakers from Coach), retro appeal (Nickelodeon’s Double Dare sneakers with Keds), or other characteristics. But sneakerheads remain a factor and have prompted many of the more offbeat licensed pairings in the sector.
Watch for Raugust Communications’ January e-newsletter, scheduled for distribution tomorrow, January 17, 2017. The Licensing Trend of the Month will summarize the many technologies that are making, or will make, a profound impact on the licensing business across product categories and property types. If you have not yet subscribed to this free publication, you can do so here.
Comments are closed.