Ann Herbert has been working her way up the ranks at Nike for 25 years, and now her career hangs in the balance because of her son's sneaker resale business. She resigned on Monday from her role as Vice President and General Manager of Nike's North American division.
Herbert's 19-year-old son, Joe, owns West Coast Streetwear. His company buys collectible-grade sneakers that are highly sought after and then resells them for a much higher price once they have sold out on the Nike or Yeezy site.
Bloomberg Businessweek wrote an article on the success of Joe Herbert's business last week. Unfortunately for his mother, he revealed his relation to the Nike executive. Questions immediately arose around how he was able to gain access to such exclusive sneakers. The damning evidence: he used his mother's corporate credit card. This credit card information was turned over to Bloomberg Businessweek while trying to prove that West Coast Streetwear has made over $200,000 in profit.
According to Herbert, his company uses a computer program called Cybersole to increase their odds of purchasing a pair of sneakers on their release date. He claimed in the article that his mother had no connection to the business, but now we can only assume that he was using her employee discount and her access to Nike facilities to supply him with shoes.
Images from West Coast Joe's Instagram.
I say all of this to explain why normal people like me, who cannot pay thousands of dollars for a pair of Jordan's, are frustrated. Could Joe just have gotten his free or discounted Nike's from his mom and just been happy? Was he not content with having exclusive access to the some of the coolest sneakers ever made? Did he have to use them to sucker us cheapskates into paying absurd amounts of money for shoes we have been dying to have? But, it is not just him. The entire resale industry is the bane of my existence.
SNKRS. The app that constantly crushes my soul. Yes, it is a little dramatic, I know. No matter how many times I log on at 10 a.m. to secure the latest release of retro Jordan's, it just does not happen. I lose a little more hope every single time. I honestly do not know how anyone ever logs on at just the right time to purchase a pair of sneakers before they are placed on the resale market for five times the original amount. I am starting to think it is all a scam.
For example, the Air Jordan 5 Retro Off-White Black (pictured above) originally went on sale for $225. They now go on resale sites like StockX for upward of $1000. Joe Herbert is pictured with at least a hundred pairs. Can you imagine what some people are willing to pay for those?
I blogged before about Travis Scott's successful brand deal with Nike, but here is proof of just how badly people want his signature Jordan's. The Jordan 1 Retro High Travis Scott debuted on SNKRS in May 2019 and retailed for $175. They now are on sale for $1,700 for the men's sizes. I am not sure what is worse, me not getting a pair or Travis Scott missing out on that extra $1500.
Maybe this blog just turned out to be a rant. I love sneakers, but I hate to see the lengths that people will go to in order to turn a profit off of someone's genuine interest and passion. Maybe I just love to hate it. There is always that tinge of excitement when unboxing new Nike's and wearing them out for the first time. I love the feeling of having something that very few others have. But then again, that does not happen often because of how unsuccessful I am on the SNKRS app and my inability to pay $1000 for sneakers.
So, all I have left to say is thanks a lot West Coast Joe. One man's downfall will just lead to the rise of another I am sure. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
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