Nike Revives Iconic Galaxy Foamposite

On Friday, Nike rereleased one of their most iconic shoes, and it won’t have made a lot of sense to the ordinary consumer.The Foamposite One wasn’t comfortable when it debuted as a basketball shoe in 1997 and got headlines for its high price — and in the years since, foam shoes have become more cloud-like than ever and are available for far less than the Foamposite’s steep $230 price tag. And then there’s the particular colorway here. Put simply, the “Galaxy” is hardly subtle. Beyond its black inner liner, the outer panels are printed with a bold space print — hence its name — and the outsole glows green when the lights turn off. It even comes with a long “Remove Before Flight” decorative hangtag. You won’t buy these if you just need a new pair of shoes. But if you’re a sneakerhead, it’s somewhat mind-blowing that you can, and a massive indictment on the former CEO of Nike.For the unfamiliar, the original 2012 All-Star Weekend release of the Galaxy Foamposite is one of the most important moments in recent history. With the bold print, this Foamposite didn’t look like any other modern Nike, or any other shoe, and it was plain cool; and if that wasn’t enough to drive demand, it quickly became apparent that Nike wasn’t making many of them. Rumors went out that stores were only getting a few pairs a size, and people did anything to get their hands on a pair. One man even offered to exchange his used Toyota for a new pair.People slept outside stores for days in tents, hoping to be early enough that they could get a pair; and when the day came, several of those lines developed into riots, and police shut down release events. It’s up there with the infamous Pigeon Dunk release as among the most famous and chaotic sneaker releases in history; and the resale values reflected all of this. A decade after its release, a Galaxy Foamposite could sell for almost $5,000, despite the Foamposite lacking the newfound success of models like the Jordan 1 and Dunk. It’s an understatement to say it’s a surprise for Nike to go into the archive and rerelease it, particularly with this little fanfare.One way of viewing it is that this new rerelease is an excellent thing for many self-described “sneakerheads.” If you like the Foamposite silhouette — as I do — then Nike is making it far easier to get a pair of its most iconic colorway, and it’s brand new. That’s better than paying resale prices for a 13-year-old pair.But also, what is the point of this? Nike just did two big releases of the Jordan 1 for its 40th anniversary, then shortly followed with a rerelease of the iconic black metallic Jordan 5, and a new Union Jordan 1 is coming out soon too. Not only was there not enough attention for these shoes, but its core customers — people really into retro Nike silhouettes — have likely already overspent their February shoe budget. But, by rereleasing the shoe, Nike also undermined the value of the original shoes for those collectors who did pay resale prices.Ultimately, this release is a sign of desperation from Nike; that, under previous CEO John Donahoe, they needed to throw absolutely everything at the wall in hopes that something would stop the bleeding sales and share price. It turned out that the answer was to throw out Donahoe and replace him with the far more capable Elliott Hill; a 32-year Nike veteran whose new ideas have already increased the share price by about 10%.Ultimately, these final Donahoe releases will seem like a strange moment of mismanagement in Nike’s history, before they shift back towards innovation and new models. But if you’re a Foamposite fan, yesterday’s release at least gives you the chance to own an iconic shoe. Unlike the 2012 pairs, a day after their release in the UK, they’re sitting, widely available, on Nike’s app.

Nike Revives Iconic Galaxy Foamposite

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