Nike, the US sportswear giant, has a new line of sneakers coming this year. Nike this week announced a partnership and a new product line. The company has teamed up with Nickelodeon and NBA star Kyrie Irving for a new line of basketball sneakers.
According to reports by Fox Business and Sneaker News, Nike and its partners have designed and introduced the Kyrie X SpongeBob Collection for the 20th anniversary of the 1990s popular American animated TV series "SpongeBob Squarepants." Nike's latest collection features five new basketball sneakers, which was officially released on August 10.
The company has already provided details about pricing and availability. For the adult sneakers, pricing starts at $130, $110 for the big kid’s sneakers, $80 for the children’s sneakers and $55 for the Toddler sneakers. The new Kyrie X SpongeBob Collection is available online, through Nike’s official website.
Nike is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the pop culture icon
In a recent Nike blog post, the Oregon-based manufacturer pays homage to the popular Nickelodeon cartoon TV series, celebrating the founding anniversary of the 1990s pop culture icon. The company also detailed in their recent blog post the partnership between Nike and Nickelodeon and the NBA star Kyrie Irving. Also in their blog post, the US-based company said that the partnership and SpongeBob Collection represent Kyrie’s appreciation and love for the beloved American cartoon.
As mentioned earlier by SneakerNews, the new Kyrie X SpongeBob Collection consists of 5 Nike shoes. Three of those Nike-made Kyrie 5's feature SpongeBob, Squidward and Patrick Star, while 2 of the Nike Kyrie Low 2's represent Mr. Krabs and Sandy Cheeks. In addition, there’s also a complete collection of apparel, the website reported.
First introduced in 1999, "SpongeBob SquarePants" is a wildly popular 1990s American animated TV series created by Stephen Hillenburg, an American animator, and marine science educated. The SpongeBob is one of the longest-running American animated TV series and also the highest-rated series to ever air on the American pay-TV network Nickelodeon.
The animated series’ popularity and the buzz has made it a huge media franchise, generating over $13 billion in revenue for Nickelodeon.
The 1990’s animated series also received several awards, which include six Annie Awards, two BAFTA Children’s Awards, 16 Kids’ Choice Awards, 4 Emmy Awards, and 8 Golden Reel Awards. The animated TV series made it's official TV debut on July 17, 1999, on Nickelodeon. The TV series received worldwide critical acclaim since its official TV debut. Its second season has made it even popular and transformed it into a cultural icon. In addition to the TV series, a feature film, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was also introduced in November 2004.
Nike beefs up marketing capability
The Oregon-based company has already passed the $100 billion market cap.
However, the company still believes that it can increase its current revenue and earn even more by knowing what its customers really want. As a result, the company has decided to acquire a leading retail predictive analytics and demand sensing startup. The Boston-based Celec is the company’s latest acquisition and the latest step in the company’s ongoing fierce marketing strategy. The deal is expected to boost Nike’s technology, providing the American firm the ability to anticipate consumer needs. Terms of the latest deal were not disclosed to the public.
Founded in 2013, Celec is a data science and demand sensing specialist. The startup provides proprietary insights that allow retailers to optimize inventory across an omnichannel environment.
Nike plans to integrate the entire Celec team to the company’s Global Operations Team. Nike has not disclosed the financial terms of the deal.
Before its acquisition, Celect managed to raise more than $30 million in fresh funding from investors. The startup’s investors include August Capital, Activant Capital, and NGP Capital.
