Sportswear and apparel giant Nike (NKE) is known for many things — sneakers, ‘Just do it!,’ Michael Jordan and, of course, the swoosh. But some say it’s tech that sets Nike apart. Enter the Air Jordan XXXIV and Huarache Adapt.
The Air Jordan XXXIV is the latest shoe in the Jordan signature line. It is one of the lightest basketball shoes ever made, with an adult size 9 weighing in at 13.1 oz. The Jordan brand did this by stripping away any non-essential material. As Nike puts it, the Air Jordan XXXIV leaves athletes only what they need.
Jordan Brand designer Tate Kuerbis says athletes themselves drove the brand to create the lightest shoe possible.
“Athletes noted a desire to improve traction and reduce weight — that became our starting point. We focused on athletes who are playing above the rim and making them more explosive,” he said.
To help with stability, the Air Jordan XXXIV also sports the all-new Eclipse plate, the latest evolution on the flight speed plate that has been standard in recent Air Jordan models. Zion Williamson, the 2019 NBA draft first overall pick, will be wearing the Air Jordan XXXIV this upcoming season. It retails for $180.
Self-lacing Adapts
In January, Nike unveiled the Air self-lacing Adapt BB. The shoe created a lot of buzz, as well as its fair share of problems when some customers noted that the shoe did not work correctly on the Android system.
Nike is back with Adapt technology, but this time it has strapped it on the Air Huarache model. Nike even integrated Siri into the self-lacing process. Commands like “tighten my shoes” and “release my shoes” give runners a hands-free experience. The shoe, which sold out in minutes during a limited release, retailed for $350.
On top of cutting-edge tech, Nike continues to dominate on the financial side of things. It reported its fiscal Q1 results on September 24, and the company obliterated consensus expectations. The swoosh brand was expected to bring in adjusted earnings of 70 cents per share and revenue of $10.44 billion. However, the company reported an adj. earnings per share of 86 cents and brought in $ 10.7 billion in revenue.
Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.
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