THE OFFICIAL NIKE KOBE FOOTWEAR THREAD: RIP LEGEND 1978-2020. MAMBA FOREVER | KOBE STATUE : 2/8/24

but yeah i dont like the white CW as much

They are dropping two BL colorways, release date unconfirmed. The yellows and alternate whites.

1598394456110.png


1598394484398.png
 
Good on USTA today for putting Nike on blast. Love that they even said that it should be different with Kobe gear and doing the whole limited stock to drive hype strategy. Jersey should've been for the fans. Damn SNKRS needs to come out with those questions like undefeated for the real heads. Make it a 1-minute leo so the fake fans don't have enough time to google answers.

But don't get me started on undefeateds *** backwards strategy of a 6-hour raffle with those questions..
 
We all knew this was how it was gonna go, but actually seeing it and the high reseller prices on StockX/GOAT still feels extra gross. Making a “Mamba Week” or extra long raffle isn’t enough to cover that up.

I was ready to say “well that’s how any release of a decent product goes these days” but that’s not good enough. We all know money and attention rules everything but even with that said, companies either gotta completely change the way they sell these things or just stop.
 
In Nike's defense, these were already made. They can't just stop production of everything else to churn out more Kobes. Maybe for future releases we'll see much larger quantities, but not these couple of Protro5 colorways (BigStages, 5x Champ, EYBL). I seriously doubt Nike is out here trying to induce hype right now by making these Protro5s limited. It was most likely the plan in the beginning before Kobe passed since the Big Stages were produced in July 2019. Then it just so happened that Kobe passed and demand shot way the **** up.
 
In Nike's defense, these were already made. They can't just stop production of everything else to churn out more Kobes. Maybe for future releases we'll see much larger quantities, but not these couple of Protro5 colorways (BigStages, 5x Champ, EYBL). I seriously doubt Nike is out here trying to induce hype right now by making these Protro5s limited. It was most likely the plan in the beginning before Kobe passed since the Big Stages were produced in July 2019. Then it just so happened that Kobe passed and demand shot way the **** up.

They gave away 90% of their stock to the bubble :lol: water boys, refs, score keepers, floor wipers, everybody has Kobe’s
 
In Nike's defense, these were already made. They can't just stop production of everything else to churn out more Kobes. Maybe for future releases we'll see much larger quantities, but not these couple of Protro5 colorways (BigStages, 5x Champ, EYBL). I seriously doubt Nike is out here trying to induce hype right now by making these Protro5s limited. It was most likely the plan in the beginning before Kobe passed since the Big Stages were produced in July 2019. Then it just so happened that Kobe passed and demand shot way the **** up.

Bruh. Stop apologizing for Nike. I don’t agree man.

Nike can get an ID order and deliver it in a month.

Why can’t they tell a factory to stop producing Monarchs or whatever generic shoes they’re making, to accommodate making an appropriate amount of Kobe 5s?? All their other sig lines collect dust and hit discounts, why not cut their production by 20% and churn out Kobe 5s?
They could’ve easily done it, and made them in time for Mamba week. Made more money, avoided the bad PR, and kept Kobe fans happy. We aren’t asking them to pump out extra Greek freaks or something out of entitlement. This is a unique situation that should’ve been handled in a unique way. Nike dropped the ball big time. It almost is like they’re so out of touch, I can’t help but wonder if they’re secretly applauding themselves for the bad PR, saying to each other “this will be great, everyone is talking about Nike”

My main point is I don’t believe they couldn’t have produced more since February. If 6 months wasn’t enough, OK - make a statement about what they will do, that they need another month or two. Or they’ll put them on ID. Just accepting that they already decided to make them limited before Kobe’s death, and leaving at that is wrong.
 
Last edited:
Removing all the stock from online to put it back this week and release small quantities of the 5x Champs looks too much like a bad marketing stunts.
They should have made everything GR and give part of the profits to Mamba Academy. It was handled terribly
 
Who knows when Nike finalized that deal with Vanessa & her team!

The demand will exceed whatever Nike puts out there... everybody and their mom wants kobes now!

they could of made millions of pairs and we would still be crying in here lol
 
The Christmas Air Jordan 11 is always the best selling Nike Basketball shoe annually, right?

The production range is between 1-2 million depends on the version, right?

In my opinion they should have produced the following numbers:

Big Stage: 1-1.5 million

5xChamp: 0.5 - 1 million

EYBL: 0.5 million

I would really like to know how long it takes Nike to produce 1 million pairs from material sourcing, production and then finally to OBS Hong Kong or Shenzhen.

I have manufacturing experience in China since 2006, but in a whole nother industry, so I have nothing to compare
 
In Nike's defense, these were already made. They can't just stop production of everything else to churn out more Kobes. Maybe for future releases we'll see much larger quantities, but not these couple of Protro5 colorways (BigStages, 5x Champ, EYBL). I seriously doubt Nike is out here trying to induce hype right now by making these Protro5s limited. It was most likely the plan in the beginning before Kobe passed since the Big Stages were produced in July 2019. Then it just so happened that Kobe passed and demand shot way the **** up.

No doubt these were already made but it was obvious how the release was gonna go under these new circumstances and how it was gonna look. I think their “Mamba Week” stuff was their way to try to legitimize it, instead of turning around to produce more/pulling the plug altogether/doing anything really.
Again I get this is a business at bottom line a company like Nike is not trying to spend or punt money... but it just ended up looking disrespectful to have an ad campaign about honoring Kobe, but doing actual business as if nothing was new. Just a half assed effort, coming off like “we’re still gonna do things our way but try to skate by without looking gross.”
 
Last edited:
No doubt these were already made but it was obvious how the release was gonna go under these new circumstances and how it was gonna look. I think their “Mamba Week” stuff was their way to try to legitimize it, instead of turning around to produce more/pulling the plug altogether/doing anything really.
Again I get this is a business at bottom line a company like Nike is not trying to spend or punt money... but it just ended up looking disrespectful to have an ad campaign about honoring Kobe, but doing actual business as if nothing was new. Just a half assed effort, coming off like “we’re still gonna do things our way but try to skate by without looking gross.”

Here's why I have no sympathy for Nike on any front: they could've done a made to order release. They would've made more money than they did from the limited release, they could've taken as much time as they needed to make them if they didn't have enough stock, and all of the real fans would've been happy with none of the resale problems.
 
Jerseys were also an added production. They weren't made already, and they can be mass produced quickly. It's a friggin Swingman, not sewed/embossed. Nike has no sympathy here. JUST DO BETTER.
EXACTLY. It’s NOT a “they were already produced” issue. It was a decision Nike made to do it like this.
 
Back
Top Bottom