“ Due to production and supply issues due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this model does not yet have an official release date. “. This sentence has punctuated many articles concerning the release of a package of models intended for the basketball market since the beginning almost two years now.
After the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, which led to soaring prices and a shortage in its wake, the world of basketball shoes was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. So much so that the largest sports equipment manufacturers no longer bother to give a release date for different models and colors which they know they will not be able to meet the deadlines, always for questions of slow production and supply. . For many models, the estimates concerning the release dates were thus limited to simple “end of 2021” or “current 2022”.
Concerns in these areas have gradually accumulated since March 2020 and have led to an unprecedented situation in the 2021-2022 season.
As with the virus, the origin of the problem is in Asia, where most of the models are produced. For example, Nike has 51% of its shoes manufactured in Vietnam, and 24% in Indonesia. And in these countries as everywhere in the world, companies have been faced with health and safety measures linked to the pandemic, and of course the impossibility of using telework.
The LeBron 19, symbol of the sinking of Nike
In Vietnam, for example, production came to a complete halt for ten weeks between July and September, right when equipment manufacturers are refueling to prepare for the start of the school year and launch new models.
For Nike, it’s the equivalent of 130 million products that could not be made!
“We are not immune to global supply chain headwinds that challenge the production and distribution of products around the world. We expect all geographies to be impacted by these factors.”, said Matt Friendchief financial officer at Nike.
To make matters worse, delivery times for goods from Asia to the USA have been doubled, from 40 to 80 days. This is how the comma brand found itself trapped by making the LeBron 19 the event of the summer and back to school. Except that the model, highlighted in “Space Jam: new era”, released this summer, could not ride the wave of the film. While the LeBron 19 was to be released last August, the first pairs finally sold out… on December 18! Unfortunately, the wait was as long as michael jordan relaxation in the first Space Jam on his buzzer victory dunk against the “Goon Squad”, which was probably not the effect originally hoped for.
But Nike was obviously not the only equipment supplier affected by these concerns which also concern the size of the stocks available.
LaMelo Ball and Stephen Curry on the loose
We can notably cite Puma, back on the market under the title “Puma Hoops”, which wanted to create the event by concocting a signature shoe for LaMelo Ball, the MB.01. This one too had to be ready for the start of the school year with the ambition of making a hit with teenagers, especially with its first bright orange-red color. Except that the same problems considerably delayed the calendar since the “Red Blast” colorway was postponed several times to finally be released in mid-December!
The shortfall also affected Steph Curry whose Curry Flow 9 could have exploded the sales counters if it had been ready when the Warriors point guard beat Ray Allen in the ranking of the players with the most baskets at 3- career points.
To catch up, Stephen Curry wore a “2974” pair that evening, a new record to beat sealed by the career leader that evening. Except that the model is also subject to major delays, and will only be available in the spring, if all goes well! When it doesn’t want…
The queen 8 flop, the Harden Vol. 6 could pass between the drops
On the side of adidas, the problem was reflected in two signature shoes supposed to be the locomotives of the brand with the three stripes in the universe of the NBA: the Dame 8 and the Harden Vol. 6.
Damian Lillard and his Dame 8 were supposed to ride on the post-Olympic momentum but it didn’t happen, since instead of being able to wear his new model when the season resumed, the Blazers point guard had to wait a month of December to do so. On arrival, the release of the pair for the general public was also delayed, and the player was only able to wear them in matches eight times before drawing a line under his season in early January. Again, the timing was completely missed.
In its misfortune, adidas can console itself with the imminent release of the Harden Vol. 6, also subject to major production delays. Except that “The Beard” is about to start a new adventure in Philadelphia after being transferred from Brooklyn on February 10th. For once, the release of the Harden Vol. 6 therefore arrives at the right time!
A way out of the crisis hoped for in the summer of 2022
However, the figures must be a headache for the three-striped brand, which had to rely on the manufacture of 100 million adidas-stamped products over the last six months of 2021, again because of the factory chain closures based in Vietnam, where the brand concentrated 28% of its production. The loss is estimated at 1.2 billion euros!
As they are the market leaders, Nike and adidas are therefore the big losers in this sad post-pandemic period. To end on a good note despite everything, all the elements now lean towards an imminent exit from the crisis.
Nike, for example, expressed its optimism, claiming to have recovered its production capacity to 80% since October. Production and supply delays are expected to continue to disrupt the market and defy the official release dates of the biggest models to come in the coming months until late spring, after which everything should be back to normal. !
