Nike's new Air Jordan shoe: Ann Arbor area's hottest Black Friday item?
Editor's note: The story has been updated to correct that stores open at midnight Thursday.
It isn’t often that a new Air Jordan shoe release corresponds with Black Friday, but this year, the shoe will hit stores as early as midnight Thursday in the Ann Arbor area.
The shoe is called the Air Jordan III Black/Cement, and it’s highly anticipated, said Ida Hendrix, general manager for Briarwood Mall.
Hendrix said Briarwood doesn’t typically get customers waiting in line outside the mall doors before Black Friday opening since there are five entrances, but there will be customers waiting to buy the new shoes at Champs Sports and Foot Locker.
The new Air Jordan III Black/Cement will be released on Black Friday, drawing crowds to nearby shoe stores.
Photo courtesy of Nike
“This particular release has been anticipated for a very long time,” she said.
Champs will open at midnight Thursday, along with at least 21 other stores at Briarwood. The shoe will be available as soon as the store opens.
Foot Locker has yet to announce what time on Friday it will begin selling the Air Jordan, but as of Tuesday afternoon, the store planned to open at 4 a.m. with the rest of the Briarwood stores.
Ty Mopkins of Ypsilanti’s Puffer Red’s and Jus Shooz in Wayne, said there is a huge amount of interest in the shoe release and people will be standing outside both stores before they open at 10 a.m. on Friday.
“There will for sure be people waiting in line,” he said. “We get maybe 50 to 100 calls a day for the shoe.”
The Air Jordan III Black/Cement sells for $160, and don’t expect it to be marked down for Black Friday sales, Mopkins said.
“The shoes we get here are limited and really exclusive,” he said. “Normally we don’t mark them down because the new products come out and the companies don’t allow it.”
There will be another Air Jordan shoe release on Dec. 23, and Mopkins said sales for that one will be “bigger than any other shoe.”
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.
Comments
Pixie Belle
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 7:51 p.m.
So everyone wants to buy the same shoe? I don't understand why you want want to be wearing the same thing is everyone else.
deletedcomment
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 6:09 p.m.
Made in PROC
Usual Suspect
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 6:05 p.m.
Makes total sense. Go out to Black Friday sales to save money by buying a pair of overpriced shoes that has at least $100 added on for the name.
15crown00
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 5:54 p.m.
there is no pair of basketball shoes in the world worth $160.00.the ONLY way i'd buy them is if i also received rebates worth $150.00 and 10% off the remaining price.
souljacker
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 5:32 p.m.
Those are some ugly shoes.
ChelseaBob
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 2:49 p.m.
Do the kids even know who Jordan is? I'll bet more than half of them think he's a shoe designer.
actionjackson
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 2:55 p.m.
He is! Among many other accomplishments.
janofmi
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 2:05 p.m.
Shoes are big business. My son bought a pair of Air Jordans for $200 2 years ago. He recently sold them on ebay for $650... It is like any collection that is viewed as an investment.
elitist hack
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 1:59 p.m.
motorcycleminer--100% agree. It just goes to show that the genius designers at Nike are running out of good ideas and have to go back to the cupboard and dust off someone else's good ideas. That shoe was "new" when I worked at Nike in the late 1980s. Also sounds less like real business reporting and more like PR for the mall...Let's go buy more stuff!
Pablo
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 1:51 p.m.
Commercialism rules! And, you are right there with them on the front page. How about real news?
The Picker
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 1:44 p.m.
This is what passes for news ? This only confirms the intelligence level of A2.com or what it preceives of it's readership
Chris Blackstone
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 1:13 p.m.
And by "new" you really mean a retro re-release. In fact, this is the 3rd retro release of these shoes. 1st release didn't sell well at all, sat on shelves. 2nd release sold well but won't be a blitz like this one will be. And yes, the release on Dec 23 will be even more bonkers. "Space Jam" Air Jordan XI. People go CRAZY for them. Nice to see some footwear coverage on AnnArbor.com. Wish there was more.
lordhelmet
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 12:17 p.m.
I'm sure that many kids on public (i.e, taxpayer) assistance will be walking around in those $160 basketball shoes. Our tax dollars at work!
racerx
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 2:49 p.m.
Let's make an assumption here, as I'm sure you have already. If one were to assume that most minorities are on public assistance, you are implying that minorities would be purchasing these shoes. And that, instead of buying shoes, one should spend their public assistance tax dollars on food or other important items of life. If you ever see anyone in these shoes, please ask them if they were purchased on public assistance taxpayers dollars and just wait for either a reply, or of which I hope, a punch in the face.
motorcycleminer
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 : 12:11 p.m.
Officail footwear of the 99% crowd.....