Adidas Just Shocked the Sneakerhead World

From Esquire

For a long while, it seemed like the hierarchy of sneaker brands in the States was pretty firmly set. You had Nike at the top, followed by Jordan and then Adidas. This was just the way things were. But then Adidas scooped up Pharrell and Kanye, and 'Ye started rapping that his Yeezy line "jumped over Jumpman." And suddenly, it wasn't entirely crazy to think that the Three Stripes might do just that.

Still, when you're talking about companies of this size, things move slowly. So learning that it's actually happened comes as a surprise. At least, it did to Sports Industry Analyst Matt Powell of market research firm NPD Group:

Interestingly, Powell doesn't buy the whole "Kanye Effect" line of reasoning that the rapper/designer is helping boost Adidas sales numbers. His recent tweets bear this out, noting that the Tubular Shadow and Superstar were Adidas' biggest sellers in August:

Maybe it's time for Pharrell - who's collaborated on the Superstar and other styles in the Adidas Originals lineup - to write his own footwear-themed song.

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