$15 Shoes in the NBA
April 4th, 2007, 8 Comments »
I’m not a big basketball fan, so I missed this great story about Stephon Marbury’s shoes back in 2006 (found via Metafilter). Marbury worked with a shoe company to develop a $15 running shoe, which he’s been wearing all season:
The New York Knicks guard is leading a revolution, what he calls “the Starbury Movement,” against high-priced sneaker brands that market to lower-income kids. Marbury, who grew up in the projects in New York City’s Coney Island, teamed with Steve & Barry’s, a national discount clothing store, and created his own signature sneaker — Starbury One — that sells for $14.98. His Starbury collection includes three other styles of sneakers and a line of urban apparel, most of which sells for less than $10 at more than 140 stores.
I like the thoughtful, moderate approach to the problem of kids dreaming of “being like Mike” and wanting $200 high-tops. They’re not going to convince kids not to emulate NBA stars, so Marbury’s doing the next best thing–dramatically reducing the cost of their admiration. I’m sure it scares Nike and Adidas a little, and doesn’t fully satisfy the likes of AdBusters, but pragmatic solution to a tricky issue.