Running Into the Metaverse
The Nike (NIKE) Air Force 1 was the most popular shoe in 2021 according to eBay and data shows that while much of the US population remained indoors for much of 2020 athletic footwear grew more than 35% y/y in the first six months of last year. Sneakers and running shoes are so popular among the buying public that certain Air Jordan models can sell for over $6,000 (new) and Michael Jordan’s actual used sneakers have fetched almost $200,000 at auction. Having been around commercially since the 1920’s sneakers became de rigueur when vulcanization, the process used to strengthen natural or synthetic rubber, made it possible to fuse cloth to rubber, and as the legend goes, two brothers started a sports shoe business in a small German town. As their wives did not get along the two brothers eventually going their own ways, with one creating Puma (pvt) and the other Adidas (ADS.GR).
While the folklore is interesting, sneakers are utilitarian, comfortable, and can certainly be a status symbol, but what does this have to do with consumer electronics and technology? Yesterday Xtep (1368.HK), a leading sneaker manufacturer in China with over 6,300 stores across the country (Jeremy Lin is its spokesperson) released a new and special sneaker collection that sold out in 70 minutes and the special limited edition gift box set sold out in 10 seconds, all of which were part of the company’s 160X 3.0 collection, but at the same time the company also released the 160X-Metaverse NFT collection , the first ‘professional virtual running shoe’ collection that were priced at $252.53 a pair, and sold out in the abovementioned 70 minutes, and as they were sold using NFTs, they will remain one-of-a-kind forever.
So to make this clear, the 321 pairs of these shoes so not exist in the real world but are likely to make your virtual feet feel very comfortable when you are doing your virtual run in the around your virtual plot of real estate in the Metaverse. While the company touts the non-virtual sneaker line’s rolling carbon-fiber plates that add 5% to propulsion power and 20% to stability, they don’t say if the virtual items have the same improvements, so we would be careful before building too much into such a purchase as we expect that any day another sneaker company could come out with a better virtual sneaker could give you 10% more propulsion during your virtual runs.
Of course, the idea here is that such virtual items will have a growing intrinsic value in the virtual world that collectors will be willing to pay more than $253.53 (no applicable sales tax, but likely a number of fees) for as the Metaverse becomes where we live. While the company earned $81,383.13 on the sale, we suspect that given the manufacturing cost of almost zero, the shoes were quite profitable and would encourage Xtep to release more such items in the future. Taking it a bit further, perhaps we could expect the company to reduce its physical production capabilities, where it has to pay workers, purchase machinery, pay for utilities and the like, and become a ‘virtual’ shoe company with a few computers for design and a fancy Metaverse site. Makes business sense, right?
Not these…
While the folklore is interesting, sneakers are utilitarian, comfortable, and can certainly be a status symbol, but what does this have to do with consumer electronics and technology? Yesterday Xtep (1368.HK), a leading sneaker manufacturer in China with over 6,300 stores across the country (Jeremy Lin is its spokesperson) released a new and special sneaker collection that sold out in 70 minutes and the special limited edition gift box set sold out in 10 seconds, all of which were part of the company’s 160X 3.0 collection, but at the same time the company also released the 160X-Metaverse NFT collection , the first ‘professional virtual running shoe’ collection that were priced at $252.53 a pair, and sold out in the abovementioned 70 minutes, and as they were sold using NFTs, they will remain one-of-a-kind forever.
So to make this clear, the 321 pairs of these shoes so not exist in the real world but are likely to make your virtual feet feel very comfortable when you are doing your virtual run in the around your virtual plot of real estate in the Metaverse. While the company touts the non-virtual sneaker line’s rolling carbon-fiber plates that add 5% to propulsion power and 20% to stability, they don’t say if the virtual items have the same improvements, so we would be careful before building too much into such a purchase as we expect that any day another sneaker company could come out with a better virtual sneaker could give you 10% more propulsion during your virtual runs.
Of course, the idea here is that such virtual items will have a growing intrinsic value in the virtual world that collectors will be willing to pay more than $253.53 (no applicable sales tax, but likely a number of fees) for as the Metaverse becomes where we live. While the company earned $81,383.13 on the sale, we suspect that given the manufacturing cost of almost zero, the shoes were quite profitable and would encourage Xtep to release more such items in the future. Taking it a bit further, perhaps we could expect the company to reduce its physical production capabilities, where it has to pay workers, purchase machinery, pay for utilities and the like, and become a ‘virtual’ shoe company with a few computers for design and a fancy Metaverse site. Makes business sense, right?
Not these…
Or these...
Or these...
But these...
Xtep Sneakers - Source: Xtep
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