Breaking: Gentry Humphrey Headed Back to Jordan Brand

[rod301]

The remaster program was a bit of a joke, but it did bring some nice releases and OG style boxes.

wouldn’t say it was a joke... majority of the grail cw’s/sillouttes have been spot on over the past 2-3 years. Space Jam XI’s were incredible to say the least. Metallic V’s, BCM III’s, and a few more were all damn near perfect.

 

[JRepp23]

The remaster series is a pick and choose for Nike/JB. It really depends on what they want to do leading to the next big release. One of the first "remastered" shoes were the 45 ten chicagos. Which I will always believe was a great release. Why didn't they have the box? Why do the shadows have the OG box now? To lead into the Concord XI? Because the shadows cant sell in their mind? Its all by design. Is it a joke? Yeah a little. Because everything that has come out since that announcement should be all true OG. Box, mold, shape, packaging, and quality should match its original if its remastered. At least close as possible. I'm not mad though. While so many trash these newer made retros, I think a lot of them are great honestly. Ive worn originals and I wear retros. They JB, aren't as bad as so many say overall. They just like to d__k us around a lot. That's what gets so many people frustrated.

 

[prodigalson11]

All of these weird *** releases coinciding w/ Gentry's return.

 

[staffsgtdignam]

All of these weird *** releases coinciding w/ Gentry's return.

Not surprising, I have a feeling Gentry will come close to killing the brand in the next few years and we will see a JB renaissance in the post-Gentry 20XX years. Until then, JB fans will be on the receiving end of Gentry’s garbage, unfortunately.

 

[kandidra]

All of these weird *** releases coinciding w/ Gentry's return.

he prob made them bum *** neon colored XI ie's

 

[justin747]

Not surprising, I have a feeling Gentry will come close to killing the brand in the next few years and we will see a JB renaissance in the post-Gentry 20XX years. Until then, JB fans will be on the receiving end of Gentry’s garbage, unfortunately.

I'm pretty sure Gentry is gonna ruin what's left of the brand, but I don't know about that renaissance...

It's getting to the point now where they've released most of the classics. Most of the heavily sought after shoes have been released in the past few years. Pretty much everybody has access to all recent releases through resellers on GOAT and Stock X and consignment stores.

Then you have the generational disconnect where you have fully grown adults who don't even remember Jordan playing with the Wizards. They don't have the same connection with Jordans as I do from watching him play in the 80s and 90s.

 

[rainking]

Then you have the generational disconnect where you have fully grown adults who don't even remember Jordan playing with the Wizards. They don't have the same connection with Jordans as I do from watching him play in the 80s and 90s.

Any brand can be ruined by mismanagement, for sure. That said, Jordan the brand is much bigger than Jordan the man at this point. The fact MJ hasn't played in years really shouldn't have an effect like you suggest here--as long as clowns like Gentry don't screw it up. That's the more important point. Jordan's sales have grown year on year, it has revenue exceeding $3 billion. At this point, the brand and its logos are simply recognized as a good footwear and athletic wear brand. I've used this example before: Enzo Ferrari has been dead for 30 years, but you don't see Ferrari having any problem selling out its annual production run. The whole "connection to Jordan as a player" component is a bonus for the brand, not a hinderance. Put it this way: Who has any "personal connection" with Nike or Adidas etc? Yet they dominate the market and some well-selling models aren't really connected to any great athlete whatsoever. That hasn't stopped Nike from selling a billion pairs of AF1s, etc. If the majority of Jordan's annual sales came from 40-plus-year-olds who buy because they remember watching MJ play and feeling connected to him, you wouldn't see the brand bringing in the level of revenue it does and growing its business year on year.

 

[kickconnoisseur]

I just need the 2019 Black Infrared 6s and the Black Cement 4s done properly. And hopefully a legit version of White Fire Red 5s with 3M tongue and Nike Air on back and I'm good.... I'm old. I wore these babies during the '80s and early '90s and stopped wearing Jordans. These are purely for nostalgic purposes... Gentry, you better get these correct!

 

[prodigalson11]

Not surprising, I have a feeling Gentry will come close to killing the brand in the next few years and we will see a JB renaissance in the post-Gentry 20XX years. Until then, JB fans will be on the receiving end of Gentry’s garbage, unfortunately.

My only question is how quickly can JB spin an idea out to market. I guess it's possible that some of these were already in the works before he signed on but it seems way too coincidental.

 

[justin747]

Any brand can be ruined by mismanagement, for sure. That said, Jordan the brand is much bigger than Jordan the man at this point. The fact MJ hasn't played in years really shouldn't have an effect like you suggest here--as long as clowns like Gentry don't screw it up. That's the more important point. Jordan's sales have grown year on year, it has revenue exceeding $3 billion. At this point, the brand and its logos are simply recognized as a good footwear and athletic wear brand. I've used this example before: Enzo Ferrari has been dead for 30 years, but you don't see Ferrari having any problem selling out its annual production run. The whole "connection to Jordan as a player" component is a bonus for the brand, not a hinderance. Put it this way: Who has any "personal connection" with Nike or Adidas etc? Yet they dominate the market and some well-selling models aren't really connected to any great athlete whatsoever. That hasn't stopped Nike from selling a billion pairs of AF1s, etc. If the majority of Jordan's annual sales came from 40-plus-year-olds who buy because they remember watching MJ play and feeling connected to him, you wouldn't see the brand bringing in the level of revenue it does and growing its business year on year.

You make good points, but Ferrari hasn't been putting out garbage like Jordan Brand has lately. That analogy doesn't exactly work because the JB's decline in quality and increase in price has been a pain point for years.

I know JB is raking in tons money, and I'm not saying they're gonna disappear overnight, but they're losing their target market because of oversaturation, poor quality, wack colorways, price increases, inconsistent production quantities, etc. I'm not sure who they're making most of these shoes for anymore. Like... Who did they think would buy hideous 8 from last week?

 

[rainking]

You make good points, but Ferrari hasn't been putting out garbage like Jordan Brand has lately. That analogy doesn't exactly work because the JB's decline in quality and increase in price has been a pain point for years.

I know JB is raking in tons money, and I'm not saying they're gonna disappear overnight, but they're losing their target market because of oversaturation, poor quality, wack colorways, price increases, inconsistent production quantities, etc. I'm not sure who they're making most of these shoes for anymore. Like... Who did they think would buy hideous 8 from last week?

JB and Ferrari definitely isn't an absolute apples-to-apples comparison, but I was just talking about your specific point about there being fewer and fewer people who feel a personal connection to MJ and having seen him play. In that narrow context, it's an appropriate analogy. Your points above are separate from that specific point. As I said, of course any brand can be ruined and driven out of business if it is mismanaged, and that's where the Gentry discussion tends to spark from. The product, the marketing, the quality, the designs ... those are the things that float or sink a brand, far more so than whether younger people today ever saw Mike play or really know much about him. To me, that's the last thing the JB executives need to worry about right now.

I know how you feel re: over saturation, poor quality, bad colorways etc. I don't know, though, that you can accurately say the brand is losing its target market. I don't know who it's making half this stuff for, anymore, either, but its annual revenue suggests there are plenty of people buying it. I don't get a lot of the decisions they make, but without access to the business's metrics and statistics, no one in here can honestly really say whether or not the brand has real issues or not. I'm just looking at it objectively based on the limited data I am aware of.

 

[888sneakerst]

Maybe the OG group is not the target market anymore. Maybe they are bringing him back so he can come up with new stuff for the younger kids. For old guys like me, I've been very happy with Jordan lately. I mean what do I have to complain about? Nike Air is back. BC3s, TB3s, Metallic 5s, HGG 13s, Black Royal 18s... All great retros for me. I'm probably in for 2 or 3 more releases coming up too. They know how to get my money. Maybe they want to focus on other demographics.

 

[truenike81]

Hopefully we get a true og white cement 3s and fire red 3s with nike air

 

[justin747]

JB and Ferrari definitely isn't an absolute apples-to-apples comparison, but I was just talking about your specific point about there being fewer and fewer people who feel a personal connection to MJ and having seen him play. In that narrow context, it's an appropriate analogy. Your points above are separate from that specific point. As I said, of course any brand can be ruined and driven out of business if it is mismanaged, and that's where the Gentry discussion tends to spark from. The product, the marketing, the quality, the designs ... those are the things that float or sink a brand, far more so than whether younger people today ever saw Mike play or really know much about him. To me, that's the last thing the JB executives need to worry about right now.

I know how you feel re: over saturation, poor quality, bad colorways etc. I don't know, though, that you can accurately say the brand is losing its target market. I don't know who it's making half this stuff for, anymore, either, but its annual revenue suggests there are plenty of people buying it. I don't get a lot of the decisions they make, but without access to the business's metrics and statistics, no one in here can honestly really say whether or not the brand has real issues or not. I'm just looking at it objectively based on the limited data I am aware of.

By target market I mean the older heads like the NT OGs who have been here since the early 2000s. We would buy Damn near anything we saw Mike wear with the Bulls. They're sacrificing the blindly loyal crowd for the young fickle crowd who don't really care at all about Jordan Brand

You can't just focus on revenue with sneakers. The numbers are skewed because of the resale market and stupid low production costs. The true test will be when the resellers don't see Jordan releases as profitable.

 

[rainking]

By target market I mean the older heads like the NT OGs who have been here since the early 2000s. We would buy Damn near anything we saw Mike wear with the Bulls. They're sacrificing the blindly loyal crowd for the young fickle crowd who don't really care at all about Jordan Brand

You can't just focus on revenue with sneakers. The numbers are skewed because of the resale market and stupid low production costs. The true test will be when the resellers don't see Jordan releases as profitable.

Interesting discussion. I don't really see it exactly the same as you do. I don't see them sacrificing us older fans. While they definitely put out loads of stuff that I think is trash, they've also during the past two or three years released loads of OG stuff we hadn't seen in a long time, and there's more OG stuff coming. I don't care if they put out all that stuff I dislike as long as they also put out the stuff I do want. I hadn't bought much Jordan stuff in years, but from 2016 till now I've bought a lot, more than at any other period during the past 20 years, probably. I'd wager the people at Jordan would tell you they are catering to both crowds more than they have in a long time. Gentry's last go around with the brand was a stretch of several years where I completely stepped away from Jordan. Loads of retro+ releases I had no interest in, not many OG releases, and when they did do those, the quality was downright atrocious on a lot of them. Personally , I think JB is doing better than it has in a long time. Still plenty of stuff I don't like and I find odd, but it wasn't so long ago that it was way, way worse.

 

[salacious crumb]

Hopefully we get a true og white cement 3s and fire red 3s with nike air

Fire red 4’s too. One of the best.

Just don’t count the 2012 plastic pair.

 

[Aquamanjay_]

Lol Gentry has been getting blamed for every retro+ this year people don’t like. JB ha put out a ton of ugly retros since Gentry went to Nike basketball around 2011. He came back in 2018, and probably hasn’t made any decisions that affect the 2018 calander. Also, most of Gentry’s retro+ from 1999-2009 are still among the most beloved retro+.

It’s the OG colorways that are concerning. Since the remaster, Jordan brand gave us the first genuine leather white cement 4, reversed his low patent leather and reverse jumpmans on the 11, and fixed paint and much more. There’s no telling what he will do, or if his views have changed. I’m sure most of his collection is crumbling now anyway, and I’m sure he knows how successful the 2018 Black Cement 3 drop was, so I doubt Jordan brand would just let him ruin the growth they’ve enjoyed. He’s not the CEO, and I’m sure his superiors know that he has far more competitors in the sneaker market than he did back then. Maybe he has matured. We have to wait and see.

 

[justin747]

Lol Gentry has been getting blamed for every retro+ this year people don’t like. JB ha put out a ton of ugly retros since Gentry went to Nike basketball around 2011. He came back in 2018, and probably hasn’t made any decisions that affect the 2018 calander. Also, most of Gentry’s retro+ from 1999-2009 are still among the most beloved retro+.

It’s the OG colorways that are concerning. Since the remaster, Jordan brand gave us the first genuine leather white cement 4, reversed his low patent leather and reverse jumpmans on the 11, and fixed paint and much more. There’s no telling what he will do, or if his views have changed. I’m sure most of his collection is crumbling now anyway, and I’m sure he knows how successful the 2018 Black Cement 3 drop was, so I doubt Jordan brand would just let him ruin the growth they’ve enjoyed. He’s not the CEO, and I’m sure his superiors know that he has far more competitors in the sneaker market than he did back then. Maybe he has matured. We have to wait and see.

The biggest problem with Gentry IMO is more than just bad Retro+ colorways. I agree that he had some good Retro+ colorways.

His biggest issue was how he ruined OG models and colorways. Remember that he was the driving force behind Fusions. He had this weird obsession with respecting the OG collectors which I think is cool and I know he meant well, but the way he released OG models and colorways was straight up disrespectful.

Gentry also is the KING of oversaturation. Look at the release schedule when he was with Jordan Brand, then look at the release schedule when he moved to the Foamposite line.

 

[Aquamanjay_]

The biggest problem with Gentry IMO is more than just bad Retro+ colorways. I agree that he had some good Retro+ colorways.

His biggest issue was how he ruined OG models and colorways. Remember that he was the driving force behind Fusions. He had this weird obsession with respecting the OG collectors which I think is cool and I know he meant well, but the way he released OG models and colorways was straight up disrespectful.

Gentry also is the KING of oversaturation. Look at the release schedule when he was with Jordan Brand, then look at the release schedule when he moved to the Foamposite line.

Gentry actually preferred more limited drops. The allocation from the 2000s and early 2010s doesn’t touch the last five years.

It’s funny, idk what OGs he was talking about. Many OGs and older heads hate the guy for ruining their classics. I think it’s pigheaded to want to hoard stuff and keep it all to yourself so no one else can have it anyway. The OGs will always be the first no matter how crumbled and discolored they get.

 

[rainking]

The biggest problem with Gentry IMO is more than just bad Retro+ colorways. I agree that he had some good Retro+ colorways.

His biggest issue was how he ruined OG models and colorways. Remember that he was the driving force behind Fusions. He had this weird obsession with respecting the OG collectors which I think is cool and I know he meant well, but the way he released OG models and colorways was straight up disrespectful.

Gentry also is the KING of oversaturation. Look at the release schedule when he was with Jordan Brand, then look at the release schedule when he moved to the Foamposite line.

That whole "respect the OG collectors" BS was utter nonsense. First of all, the idea that there was/is this sizable group of people sitting on original examples of Air Jordans was idiotic. I'm not saying there aren't people like that out there, but placing a priority on what, keeping their OG collections valuable, was moronic. I grew up in the 80s and 90s. I played a lot of basketball and knew a shedload of other players and just people who liked Jordans. I never once crossed paths with anyone who was actively maintaining any sort of Jordan or sneaker collection. So right off the bat, that entire respect the OG collectors line was stupid as hell. I always felt like, hey Gentry, I'M an OG, but I don't have my OG shoes anymore, because we actually wore our **** out back then. And even if I had somehow kept a bunch of DS pairs from back in the day, guess what genius, I can't wear them because they'll fall apart. So can we please have the shoes again that we had back then? But nope, we had to respect some mythical group of collectors who couldn't actually wear their collections, thereby depriving us for years of good replications of the shoes we loved and were willing to buy again. It was like, thanks a lot, you **** LOL

 

[rainking]

Gentry actually preferred more limited drops. The allocation from the 2000s and early 2010s doesn’t touch the last five years.

It’s funny, idk what OGs he was talking about. Many OGs and older heads hate the guy for ruining their classics. I think it’s pigheaded to want to hoard stuff and keep it all to yourself so no one else can have it anyway. The OGs will always be the first no matter how crumbled and discolored they get.

That was the other thing. That dbag stunting in Sole Collector with his own collection of one offs and rarities while meanwhile making sure none of the people who were loyal to the brand for years and years could get their hands on any of it. A real class act, that guy.

 

[justin747]

Gentry actually preferred more limited drops. The allocation from the 2000s and early 2010s doesn’t touch the last five years.

It’s funny, idk what OGs he was talking about. Many OGs and older heads hate the guy for ruining their classics. I think it’s pigheaded to want to hoard stuff and keep it all to yourself so no one else can have it anyway. The OGs will always be the first no matter how crumbled and discolored they get.

I know he preferred limited drops, but then he also preferred releasing like 6 different retro models a month. Gentry FLOODED the release calendar with unnecessary releases that nobody wanted.

 

[justin747]

That was the other thing. That dbag stunting in Sole Collector with his own collection of one offs and rarities while meanwhile making sure none of the people who were loyal to the brand for years and years could get their hands on any of it. A real class act, that guy.

https://solecollector.com/news/2008/07/gentry-humphrey-s-closet-of-dreams

This is the interview that made me kinda hate dude. Fusion talk starts at about 7:00

 

[JRepp23]

That whole "respect the OG collectors" BS was utter nonsense. First of all, the idea that there was/is this sizable group of people sitting on original examples of Air Jordans was idiotic. I'm not saying there aren't people like that out there, but placing a priority on what, keeping their OG collections valuable, was moronic. I grew up in the 80s and 90s. I played a lot of basketball and knew a shedload of other players and just people who liked Jordans. I never once crossed paths with anyone who was actively maintaining any sort of Jordan or sneaker collection. So right off the bat, that entire respect the OG collectors line was stupid as hell. I always felt like, hey Gentry, I'M an OG, but I don't have my OG shoes anymore, because we actually wore our **** out back then. And even if I had somehow kept a bunch of DS pairs from back in the day, guess what genius, I can't wear them because they'll fall apart. So can we please have the shoes again that we had back then? But nope, we had to respect some mythical group of collectors who couldn't actually wear their collections, thereby depriving us for years of good replications of the shoes we loved and were willing to buy again. It was like, thanks a lot, you **** LOL

This said perfectly..

 

[tonytobacco]

That whole "respect the OG collectors" BS was utter nonsense.

youre utter nonsense