Release fatigue is a very real thing.
These last few months, more than any other time in the last few years, there are release-date sneakers sitting on the shelves. Starting with the “Marvin the Martian” Jordan VII’s, shoes have been sitting on the shelves for weeks (if not months) after their initial release date. Why is this, you might ask?
Sneakers are as popular as they have ever been. But, as discussed in past articles, the sneaker bubble is starting to burst. With the wide swath of new releases that drop every single week, you just can’t keep up to pace. It doesn’t help that this is one of Jordan Brand’s weakest seasons in recent memory and a rough year for retail sales as a whole, but shoes just aren’t moving as fast as they used to.
Take for example this year’s Black Friday release, the Aqua Jordan VIII’s. A pretty desirable shoe all in all, right? Wrong. You can find any size you’re looking for in the Aquas, from small kid’s sizes to large men’s sizes sitting on the shelves at your local sneaker store. Most stores that raffled didn’t even receive enough total tickets to cover the amount of pairs they had in stock. Although they’re no Black Infrared VI (last year’s release which sold out on release date), they’re still a nostalgic shoe for many sneakerheads..which makes it all that much more surprising that they didn’t sell.
It could be that retros are sitting because people know they don’t need to raffle anymore. They can walk into the store on release day and get their pair. It could be that retros are sitting because it’s been a weak season for Jordan and the product isn’t moving like usual. It could be that retros are sitting because there’s just too damn many shoes. Whatever it is, the coming months (and Jordan’s Spring 16′ release success) will be very telling. Will retros be on the shelves for the imminent future…or will they go back to selling out right away? We’ll have to wait and see.
Why do you think retros are sitting? Is it sneaker fatigue, lack of dope releases, or something else altogether? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, and as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the dope sneaker pictures you can handle.
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