Week 2: Strategic Planning- Continue

    As I mention in my older post Air Jordans is coming out with a new sneaker called Jordan Take Flight in the fall thats not the only sneaker thats coming out in the fall. They are coming out with a Ladies’ Air Jordan 2 Retro. Air Jordans wants to pay homage to the ladies who are rocking Jordan kicks on the daily and they teamed up with New York based creative visionary Vashtie Kola to do just that. As an a fashion designer, video director and artist Vashtie has a fresh take on the classic Air Jordan 2. This limited edition shoe brings a lavender and deep purple color to deliver a more feminine style. The details didn’t go overlooked either with hints of silver into the laces to complement the metallic midsole. 

Vashtie Kola Holding The Retro's 2's

Week 4: Marketing Environment

     With the recession in full affect the Air Jordan Brand has not been affected by it and by the looks of it had a positive affect on the company. They had sales of 1 billion dollars in 2009 and is 5 percent of Nike’s overall revenue. Their net revenue as of May 2009 was 19.2 billion. Also 3 out of every 4 pairs of basketball shoes are Air Jordans and 86.5 percent of basketball sneaker sales are Air Jordans. Most sneaker companies are running out of business because they don't have enough money to adapt to marketing environment and change the way they do things. So the bigger companies like Air Jordans are now even more powerful and taking over during the recession. In 2009 Air Jordans commands a staggering 75 percent of the market share of all basketball shoes sold in the U.S. according to SportsOneSource. Not only did the recession have a positive affect on the number of sells but it helped them focus on the "green" aspect of the sneaker which is a more cheaper way useful way to sell them. Officially the Air Jordans 23 is the latest in the three year old line of Nike Considered shoes the company's line of green footwear. So whether the recession here or not Air Jordans have adapt to it.

Corporate Irresponsibility

     A Nike commercial in which Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers leaps over a moving car got a lot of attention on the internet. It sure looks real but it's not. Bryant described the sequence to the Los Angeles Times as "Hollywood, baby". He goes on to say "Hollywood. What do expect our here? If Rambo can take on a whole army, I can jump over an Aston Martin." he told the Los Angeles Times. In the ad released on Bryant's website KB24.com Bryant tells viewers to not "try this at home" and afterward says to teammate Ronny Turiaf "That is how you jump over an Aston Martin boy that's how you do it". The video can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIWeEFV59d4.

Country Of Origin

1. Sneakers- Vietnam
2. Shirt- Pakistan
3. Shorts- Cambodia
4. Socks- No Label
5. Boxers- Costa Rica
6. Fitted Hat- U.S.A.

Week 3: Social & Ethical Responsible

     Air Jordans really are good basketball shoes. The reason Air Jordans were originally made was to provide a supportive but lightweight basketball shoe. Their fashion statement is not the only reason Air Jordans have remained so popular all these years. Novice and professional basketball players perform well when wearing these sneakers. Basketball teams all over the country outfit their players with these sneakers. They will not help a basketball player hit that three pointer or make that amazing block but they sure can provide great support for the feet as players run and jump on the basketball court. It is always interesting to look at a product that is so incredibly popular among consumers. Air Jordans have remained a best seller for decades now. Their excellent quality and timeless look are the reasons why they have remained so popular with both the young and old.


     Jordan's greatest responsibility as a global company is to play a role in bringing about positive systemic change for workers within their own supply chain and in the industry. When they look at our overall footprint in the world the needs of nearly 800,000 workers in their contract supply chain overshadow any other group.They run the course  from establishing codes of conduct and pulling together an internal team to enforce it to working external bodies to monitor factories and engaging with stakeholders. What they learned after nearly a decade is that monitoring alone hasn't solved the problems. And many of the problems are recurring in the industry. Their focus now is getting to the root of the problems. We're looking end to end from the first phase of our product creation process to the outcome in the lives of workers in the factory that bring our product to life. 

     

     Their Code of Conduct elevates the expectations we have of our factory suppliers and lays out the minimum standards we expect each factory to meet. They developed their Code in 1991 as a first step in their effort to improve working conditions in our contract factories. In 2010 their Code has evolved to provide additional consistency across the Jordan Brand and in the industry. It remains a straightforward statement of values, intentions and expectations meant to guide decisions in factories. They require factories to post the Code and have strengthened the standards by which they measure compliance. They share their Code and the accompanying standards to share their journey: keeping factories, workers, the industry and themselves focused on the high expectations they have set and allowing others to understand how they operate and how they can adopt refine or build on their experience.

Week Two: Strategic Planning- Continue

     The Air Jordan Brand is coming out with a new sneaker called the Jordan Take Flight this fall. Whether you are landing from your leap at the free throw line or coming down off of a post move in the paint it’s important that your shoes deliver the impact protection you need to power through the game. With the Jordan Take Flight they deliver on that need with performance cushioning reigning supreme. For the first time ever in a pair of Jordans they are giving you ultimate impact protection through full length 360° Max Air. Its high cut will help you from getting crossed up and as a lightweight performance shoe liftoff is encouraged. Its going to cost 110 dollars. They also have the Jordan Take Flight video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcuOsDB0IVY.

The New Jordan Take Flight

 

Week 2: Strategic Planning

     The Air Jordan Brand uses multiple strategies to sell its brand such as billboards, fundraisers, commercials the most popular and recent ad campaign was called "Become Legendary" starring Team Jordan and All-Star athlete Dwyane Wade. “Nightmares Never Sleep” headlines a marketing campaign debuting the Air Jordan 2010 worn by Dwyane Wade in the ad. The television spot takes viewers to another world view of a basketball player's “nightmares” when dealing with the unstoppable All Star Dwyane Wade on court during an intense basketball game. Wade was the first Team Jordan athlete to debut the Air Jordan 2010 on court during last year’s All Star weekend.

                                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcXvVUw7Ha4
      


     “We chose the ‘Nightmares Never Sleep’ spot to debut the Air Jordan 2010 and to show how unstoppable Dwyane Wade is as a basketball player,” said Sean Tresvant Marketing Director for Jordan Brand. “The ad also continues the Brand’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Air Jordan basketball shoe". Created by W&K New York “Nightmares Never Sleep” aired on major networks including ESPN, TNT, ABC and in other channels nationwide. Print ads was also be featured in Antenna, RISE, Slam, XXL, Dime, Bounce and Sole Collector in the January-March issues.

History And Mission Statement

     Early in 1984 Nike was a struggling shoe company. The running shoe that has fueled their sales in previous years was slowly dying and they needed a way to reinvent themselves in order to stand out to another markets. At the same time rookie player Michael Jordan was already endorsing several products. Meanwhile Nike hoped that his appeal would rocket sales but Jordan had other ideas. He had always preferred Adidas or the Converse shoes and hoped to sign on with those companies. Converse with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson on board as spokesmen were not interested in offering a better deal than Nike and Adidas wasn't interested at all. While Jordan himself did not see the significance of Nike's offer his agent David Falk saw a opportunity in Nike's offer to create a new line of shoes called "Air Jordans" and told him to give Nike a chance. 

Air Jordan Brand Logo

Nike signed Jordan to a $2.5 million deal for 5 years plus royalties and other benefits. Peter Moore created the first AJ Logo with a basketball with wings lifting it. The introduction of the AIr Jordan I turned the athletic shoe industry upside down. Before the AJ I most basketball shoes were white but the bold black and red styling of the Jordan I flouted this convention. The NBA banned the shoe from the league in response but Jordan wore them anyway getting serious fines of up to $5000 a game. Nike was more than happy to pay these to keep the shoes on Jordan's feet and in the public eye. All this controversy and Jordan's numbers that year put the Air Jordan line on the road to becoming a household name.

The First Air Jordan Original Release (OG)

The Air Jordan line is now sold by the Jordan Brand subsidiary of Nike.  Collectors classify the Air Jordan line by release year and model: Originals (OG), Retros (shoes that have been recreated for sale to the general public), Retro-pluses (Retro +, Air Jordans that are similar to the Original product, with more up-to-date changes), Player Exclusive (PE, Air Jordans that are exclusive to certain athletes in the realm of sports) and Samples. Air Jordans Mission Statement is: "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete."