Yeezy Was One of the Top-Ten Selling Shoes in 2018!
The Yeezy shoe, that once sought-after sneaker that was so frustratingly difficult to find or afford, was surprisingly a top-ten selling shoe in 2018.
The Yeezy shoes are products of collaboration between Adidas and Kanye West. All the shoes in the range were released in limited edition, and they were well sought-after, the brand having become quite popular since its previous release under Nike. The shoes have been difficult to find since they tended to be grabbed as soon as they hit the market. Resellers had a field day as they bought the sneakers and resold them at prices at least 3 times the regular retail price. Only a few people, especially celebrities, have ever managed to afford them. Still, many people yearned for them and sought them, and that created some kind of a cult following. The Yeezy Boost sneaker has been considered to be one of the most influential shoes for everyday wear, fashion and sport. Despite limited access to the shoes, they managed to become top 10 in terms of dollar sales in 2018.
Despite controversy created by Kanye West, Yeezy Boost 350 V2 was the number 9 selling sneaker in 2018 in money terms according to the list of best-selling sneakers in 2018 created by Matt Powell, NPD sneaker analyst. On the list you can also find the Nike Tanjun, Nike’s Air Max, Converse Chuck Taylor, and Vans Ward.
The Yeezy shoe managed to enter the top 10 list despite its price tag of over $220 compared to Tanjun’s $65. This is short of a miracle but then, being limited edition and being popular with celebrities helped to build a cult around Yeezys. The 500% increase in sales has helped Adidas to get its biggest market share for the first time in many years.
Unique design
Unlike other sneakers that are designed to build business empires, the Yeezy was never deliberately designed to become top 10 in sales. It was designed to be rare and limited edition and it looked strange when it was first released. However, there was a business plan behind the strangeness. Though the Yeezy brand is a small part of the overall Adidas brand, it has had a huge impact. As the CEO of Adidas, Kasper Rorsted, said, “The Yeezy brand has a fundamental impact on our overall brand position but it’s still, in the bigger context of us being a $25 billion company, a small part of our company.” Maybe it is small in the bigger picture but it is now a considerable contributor to the company’s bottom line, and has helped it to increase its sneaker market share. The CEO of Adidas confirmed both points.
Cheap Yeezy now available
Adidas’ strategy worked perfectly. Limited editions created a mystique around the brand. That mystique, good marketing and the shoes’ uniqueness maintained the brand loyalty that already existed from the time of Nike Yeezys. People clamored for the shoes but either failed to find them or found them from resellers at exorbitant prices. Yeezys were more likely to be seen in a celebrity Instagram than on ordinary people who were failing to access them. This was frustrating to say the least.
Now Adidas has made the shoes readily available and cheap, a huge change in strategy that has surprised many people. Thanks to Adidas and Kanye West’s change of strategy, cheap Yeezy is now available and it is not running out in regular retail shops and Adidas.com. As a result, Yeezy is probably going to climb from the number nine position in 2018 to an even better position. It will be interesting to see the top 10 list for 2019.