James' Shoe 'Decision' Isn't Costing Nike (NKE) Any Sales
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Is LeBron James Nike's (NYSE: NKE) best/worst sponsoree?
The WSJ commented Friday that James -- the four-time NBA MVP -- has worn his $200+ Nike LeBron 11 basketball sneakers just a few times since the season started. In about 18 games, James has laced-up the new kicks just twice, said the report.
On two occasions, James started with the 11s, only to switch to the old shoes about halfway through the game.
James' manager, Maverick Carter, said that the hoops star is still making tweaks to the shoes and plans to sport them full-time within a few weeks.
Is James' decision really costing Nike that much?
NPD research notes that Nike and its Jordan brand garnered about 92 percent of the $3 billion basketball shoe industry as of last week. James contract with Nike is estimated at $15 million per year and we suspect that his decision to not wear the 11s is saving Nike some money.
But, James' star power is still shining. Through last week, sales of the 11s are up 18 percent and revenue is up 35 percent due to a slight price increase. It wasn't made immediately clear what overall sales projections for this year might be so there's no way to gauge whether those sales numbers are ahead of or behind expectations.
Shares of Nike are up about 1 percent Friday.
The WSJ commented Friday that James -- the four-time NBA MVP -- has worn his $200+ Nike LeBron 11 basketball sneakers just a few times since the season started. In about 18 games, James has laced-up the new kicks just twice, said the report.
On two occasions, James started with the 11s, only to switch to the old shoes about halfway through the game.
James' manager, Maverick Carter, said that the hoops star is still making tweaks to the shoes and plans to sport them full-time within a few weeks.
Is James' decision really costing Nike that much?
NPD research notes that Nike and its Jordan brand garnered about 92 percent of the $3 billion basketball shoe industry as of last week. James contract with Nike is estimated at $15 million per year and we suspect that his decision to not wear the 11s is saving Nike some money.
But, James' star power is still shining. Through last week, sales of the 11s are up 18 percent and revenue is up 35 percent due to a slight price increase. It wasn't made immediately clear what overall sales projections for this year might be so there's no way to gauge whether those sales numbers are ahead of or behind expectations.
Shares of Nike are up about 1 percent Friday.
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