Nike is cutting the number of Jordan brand shoes sold in stores by half starting with the important back-to-school selling season. New ads for the Jordan brand are coming out in July.
Jordan brand chief Larry Miller said that while sales of the latest Air Jordan XV sneaker have exceeded expectations, "We've been riding the brand pretty hard for awhile, because regardless of the state of the market, Jordan is a constant. Now, we want to go back to when people had to wait in line to get the product."
There are too many models and stores for Nike and every other athletic shoe brand. Even though marketers have gotten rid of most of the extra stock, there are still too many stores, especially in malls, which makes sales only about price.
Nike also wants to sell more of its clothing in places other than shoe stores, like department stores and urban outlets. Miller said, "The idea is to have a look that is a mix of real athletic and style."
The $12 million budget will stay the same, and so will the creative, which puts Jordan in a more supervisory role so that active endorsers like Eddie Jones, Randy Moss, and Derek Jeter can be shown off better.
Miller said, "We will always use Michael, but we can't really show him slam dunks anymore."
