Predictions For Kanye West’s Air Yeezys Aren’t Looking Too Good

The importance of a good shoe translates across the world despite age or gender.  Whether its the strength of the sole, the size of the heel or the intricate design on the tongue, the relevance a shoe holds in today's community remains strong, especially among the self-proclaimed sneakerheads. Recently, athletic brands have been overly active when it comes to partnering with celebrities for endorsements and creative deals, but sometimes the hype an entertainer brings to the product doesn't always equal commercial sales.

Forbes " Sneakernomics" blogger, Matt Powell, recently analyzed celebrity partnerships with sneaker brands in order to measure the outcome for Kanye West's collaborative success with Adidas. According to Powell, the availability of a celebrity endorsed shoe are usually scarce, because they're specifically created to be a limited edition. The promotion a celebrity can supply a product can often times backfire when that product is meant for minimal distribution.

"These shoes are not sold in commercial quantities. The pairs available are typically less than 5000. All the collaborations added together would barely move the sales needle for the industry. Because these shoes are limited in availability, they are often in high demand and can claim high multiples in re-sale price on the Internet.  Because these limited shoes are in high demand, there is often a mistaken assumption that they could or would sell well in commercial quantities."

After cutting ties with Nike, the "Bound 2" rapper exploded on the scene with his collaboration with Adidas and the Air Yeezys. The remarkable success of the original sneakers, along with the unexpected release of the Red October Yeezys, caused an uproar in the Sneakerhead and Hypebeast communities. Due to the outcry of more West inspired sneakers, the rapper announced he would be debuting his latest editions this June.

Powell went on to say the success of these shoes only hold their value for a short amount of time, typically when the sneakers are initially released, then as demands for a surplus of the product poor in, the sales begin to plummet.

"Brands who try to commercialize limited edition products do so at their own peril. If history repeats itself the Adidas/West and Williams collaborations will not be commercially successful."

[Forbes]