Shoes were just shoes for 80 or so years in the 20th century, sneakers were just fabric that was support for feet. In the 1980s a man named Michael Jordan presented the world with a pair of sneakers that will change the shoe business for years to come. After the release of Notorious Air Jordan I in 1985, the Jordan sneaker company began to skyrocket. Millions and millions of people began buying the Jordan sneaker brand believing that buying these sneakers would make them “Like Mike”. In order for the Jordan Company to continue making money, Jordan had to create a plan that would sell a fair amount of shoes in a short period of time. Through a change in sneaker color, repetition in shoe styles, and reselling shoes during different time eras, Jordan was able to do just that. The reselling of the Jordan sneakers made a business statement, “Reselling old products will be an advantage to you and your company.”

When a person first walks into the shoe store and see all the selection of shoes, they are struck with a plethora of questions in their head, trying to figure out which shoe they should pick for themselves. Does this shoe go with everything? Is this a shoe that is going to be worn more than once? The most frequently asked question is, is this shoe the right style for me? The style of the shoe is what the customer first sees; ultimately helping them determine whether or not they should buy the shoe. The Jordan/Nike Company figured that in order to continuously make a profit a plan must be made in order to get more shoes sold to the public in a short period of time. The way to do this would be to resell the same style shoe to the public. In image six the Air Jordan VI “Maroons” sold in 2015, have a similar style to image three the “Promised Lands” that were sold in 1991. Both pairs of sneakers have the same high-top retro style, with 

the Nike Air logo on the back of the sneaker. Representations of the resell of the same style of sneaker being sold are also shown between image two and image five, and between image four and image seven. The only apparent difference between the sneakers that were just mentioned is that there is a change in color between the original shoes and the resold shoes.

The Jordan/ Nike Company realized selling the same shoe in the same color would not allow any type of increase in profit. Many of the people who bought the shoes when they first came out would still have them; Decreasing the amount of sneakers being sold in the stores. To continue making money, the Jordan/Nike Company decided to change the color of the resold sneakers. In image two the Air Jordan V “The Fighters” sold in the 1990’s and the Air Jordan V “Laneys” sold in 2013 portrays this idea of changing the color of the resold sneakers to make a profit. The Air Jordan V “Fighters” were a red, black and white color that was suppose to represent Michael Jordan playing for the Chicago Bulls in his prime. After Jordan left the league the resell of the Jordan V’s could not look identical to the original sneaker, so the fiery red, black, and white “Fighters” changed into the cool blue, white, and yellow “Laneys.” The change in sneaker color from the old school plain red black and white colors to the new school vibrant colors represents another idea in Michael Jordan’s plan to sell his resold sneakers to people in different time eras.

Reselling a product is a smart business plan, but in order for it to be affective it has to be executed during the right time. Michael Jordan didn’t resell his sneakers within the same year or within 5 years of the original sneaker being sold.  In image nine and ten the selling of the Jordan sneakers being sold during different time eras is shown through the clothing styles and the sneaker styles. In image nine the picture is of Ben Mathews, a young star featured in the 1993 sitcom Boy Meets world, wearing an old school jean jacket with denim jeans, along with the Air Jordan VII.  Through Ben Mathews’ clothing and sneakers a representation of the Jordan brand being sold in the 1990s is shown. In image 10 a famous rapper named Ludacris is wearing the Air Jordan VII in 2015.  The difference between this image and image nine is in image 10 the color of the Air Jordan VII’s have more vibrant colors and  the person presented in the picture is wearing newer style clothing. Comparing the two images shows the original selling and the reselling of the Air Jordan sneakers and how the sneakers are still popular even through the change in time.

Jordan came up with a plan to resell sneakers to different time eras, while keeping the same sneaker style only changing the color of the sneakers. This plan increased the amount of profit made by the Jordan/Nike Company. Breaking barriers in the sneaker world.  Michael Jordan’s plan influenced other sneaker companies as well as some clothing companies to resell their old products to. Making a point that not always the latest and the greatest clothing and sneakers are just that, but most of it is merely the recycled styles from the original piece.
