The God Nike

Now we know why the sneaker company, Nike, has been such a great investment. This company just released its newest pricey woman's sneaker, the Air Jordan 12 Retro Vivid Pink, which sells for between $50 and $80 a pair depending on the age of the wearer. (Some Nike sneakers can cost over $2,000.) Now this 12 Retro  product's release has created a frenzy of such magnitude that stores in a mall in Detroit had to be closed because of the surging crowds ... see: Detroit Free Press Article.

We know that such sneakers are manufactured in the Far East for very low cost ... so the gross profit margin for Nike is enormous and pays for a lot of advertising and promotion ... which apparently worked very well in this case. One is tempted to claim that this is capitalism working as it is supposed to. In fact, much of the success of the Nike company seems to depend upon this inner-city subculture. My only puzzlement is the same as I imagine others are also thinking ... if our nation is plagued by such widespread urban poverty ... from whence come the funds for so very many inner-city youths to buy such an obvious luxury?