50 Cent’s G-Unit sneaker used to be this kind of cultural phenomenon that its success rivaled that of Air Jordan at its height, according to Reebok. Todd Krinsky, CEO of Reebok, recently made that claim at some level of an appearance on The Complicated Sneakers Podcast, recalling that at some level of 1 year, one pair of G-Unit sneaks nearly outpaced a pair of Air Jordans in a equal colorway.
“We had been selling admire, , 40-50,000 per coloration at a time,” Krinsky said of the G-Unit sneakers, before noting Paul Fireman, the emblem’s CEO’s tackle Reebok’s sales in comparability to that of Air Jordans. “He used to be repeatedly pronouncing how many Jordans promote this week. I’m telling you, he used to be literally asking that each week or every time we had a gathering.”
Krinsky persisted, adding, “I take into account that abet to college we offered on one coloration, admire 75,000 pairs. Nonetheless, he’s determined to account for that G-Unit sneaks had been not as sizable of a mark as Air Jordan overall, but that they had been in combating distance available in the market at one level at some level of the early ’00s. “I’m not pronouncing by the system that G-Unit used to be ever halt to Jordan in anyway. I’m pronouncing that one moment in time, that one colorway, I deem we offered in nearly as many pairs because the Jordan birth for that period.”
Rapper 50 Cent arrives November 4, 2003, at his and Reebok’s birth celebration for Solution 7 and G6 shoes at Capitale in Original York City.
Lawrence Lucier/Getty Photography
The exec also recalled conversations with Fireman about utilizing the Hip-Hop lovely and its stars to assist promote their merchandise. This ended in the signing of first Jay-Z, then 50 Cent, who claims to have made $80 million as segment of the deal, as endorsees with their very have signature shoe. “We had this conversation in his boardroom about music artists are turning into extra influential than ever,” Krinsky remembers. “And this used to be that Renaissance period of roughly ’90s and 2000s Hip Hop.”
Complimenting 50 Cent on his commerce acumen and willingness to promote the emblem, Krinsky finds how Fif would pull out the total stops so as to originate determined his sneakers’ success, from visiting retail retail outlets in an try to recall sales. “50 used to be also incredibly immersed in the commerce,” Krinsky said. “Like he came to each assembly on time, ready to run, and his first ask each assembly used to be ‘How many pairs we promote this week?’“
Watch Todd Krinsky’s appearance on The Complicated Sneakers Podcast under.
