Jordan Brand a sneaker industry that is well respected for over 20 years, and is sought after worldwide. The impact the shoes had on the sneaker culture some negative and some positive, but at the end of the day they sell. Even though Jordan brand does not offer sampling, rebates, coupons, people will camp out and pay retail price. Instead of a decrease in price of the Air Jordan Retro series , prices have increased and they continue to get sold out. The only type of online promotion the company provides is through nikestore.com where if you pay more then 175 on sneakers or clothing you get free shipping.
As long as Jordan Brand keeps releasing their Air Jordan series they will make tons of sales. People wait every year for a certain sneaker to drop causing them to keep coming back and purchasing from the brand. If the customer gets what they want, they will be satisfied and continue their relationship with the Brand.
Back in the early 90's Nike was giving the whole sneaker a lesson on marketing and advertising. Not only did they have a young player by the name of Michael Jordan making a name for himself. But they also had his own sneaker brand Air Jordan becoming legendary as well. Still a classic commercial to this day is the one with MJ and Spike lee on " Its gotta be the shoes". Air Jordan's have been worn in t.v shows like : Fresh Prince of bel air, Wayne bros, Seinfeld, and movies like He got game with Ray Allen and Denzel Washington. As of lately Jordan brand has not done a lot of promotion and advertising on the t.v networks, but on the internet it's going crazy. Many sneaker blogs like nicekicks.com, theshoegame.com, kicksonfire.com all advertise the latest sneakers to release with updates on price and dates. In the sneaker community information on rare sneakers that have not been seen in years spread like wildfire and the hype for the sneakers brings collectors to drastic measures like camping out or paying extra money just to have the shoe. Now a adays you can fine Jordan brand advertising on web pages like twitter were thousands of people use everyday to send out information and keep people up to date. With the aggressive techniques Jordan brand is using on giving the costumer what they want with the latest shoes it works. Every month Jordan brand uses product advertisement to focus on their latest shoe that releases to the public. Even though Jordan has not been playing basketball for a while, his sneakers are still making a statement.
"Successful retailing is based on knowing the customer"
Jordan brand sneakers can be found in thousands of retailers world wide. But one of its specialty stores is Niketown NYC which is located on the famous 5 ave, where tourist world wide come to shop and visit. Niketown has a 3rd floor section where all of Jordan brands latest basketball sneakers and appeal are located. A good example of Specialty store is Footlocker where Jordan brand shoes can be purchased as well. Footlocker is a chain of stores mainly for selling the latest sneakers of Jordan/Nike/Adidas etc. Employees are trained to know the merchandise and be able to sell to to costumers giving them information on the shoe when requested. Another way Jordan brand sells is electronic retailing. Websites like footlocker.com, nikestore.com, eastbay.com all have Jordan sections online. This give the consumer a chance to view other customer reviews and is able to search which product is more suitable for them. This concept is more convenient for a customer on a busy schedule or does not have time to go out, can be able to make the purchase through the web.
Upon entering NikeTown NYC and going up the escalator to the Jordan section I see the retailing mix P's in effect. (product,place,promotion,price,personnel,and presentation)
The Jordan brand section has employees on the floors ready to assist you in your purchase. The prices are on the bottom on the sneakers of the tags of the clothing. The products are on the walls next to the apparel. There are also statues and posters promoting the whole Jordan concept around the 3rd floor.
A consumer making a purchase on a Air Jordan sneaker is either a sneaker head, a fan of Michael Jordan, or just purchased it because they like the shoe.Their are different decisions taken by a consumer for purchasing a Jordan brand sneaker such as, their "Reference group". People can be influenced into buying the product because they want to fit in and that's whats in style. The external stimuli of Jordan brand is strong because of the fan base it has. Consumers look at the sneaker and can purchase it on how it looks or feels on them. Growing up MJ was an idol to allot of people who followed basketball. The type of person that is persuaded into purchasing the shoe is someone who is an up and coming basketball player and buys it because they believe it will increase their game skills, even though it wont. A factor that comes in to play when purchasing a Air Jordan sneaker is a persons social class. People with money are able to buy this expensive shoe retailing from 125-180 $ with ease, but someone less fortunate might want the sneaker but because of their economic status wont be able to purchase it.
In the end the consumer is left with a decision from purchasing other sneakers like Adidas or converse, but Jordan brand is "one of one". The way the sneaker looks and the complements a person gets from wearing a Jordan brand shoe is always a good feeling.
