The funds I manage owns roughly five percent of Hibbett - a retailer of street fashion and sporting equipment - and above all - sneakers. Researching this stock turned me down the sneakerhead path. Normally I do not write up the stocks we own because often we intend to buy more - but in this case we own about five percent of the company which is a smallish position for us - but we are a large shareholder for them.
"Usain Bolt is of course one of the greatest athletes to ever put on spikes, and he exudes Jamaican cool. He should be a great ambassador for the shoes. And he probably was. But there is a problem – he came out once every four years, ran for less than ten seconds and that was so fast that you could barely see him. Running a 9.6 second 100 metres does not make it easy to identify the shoes.
By contrast Lionel Messi (sponsored by Adidas) is a great shoe ambassador. He is also cool and he comes out every weekend. Moreover, what he does looks achievable even though it is clearly not. Kids want to be Lionel Messi. "
John, I always appreciate how your pieces included sensible and straightforward contrasts, such as the above. Thanks for sharing this note
"Usain Bolt is of course one of the greatest athletes to ever put on spikes, and he exudes Jamaican cool. He should be a great ambassador for the shoes. And he probably was. But there is a problem – he came out once every four years, ran for less than ten seconds and that was so fast that you could barely see him. Running a 9.6 second 100 metres does not make it easy to identify the shoes.
By contrast Lionel Messi (sponsored by Adidas) is a great shoe ambassador. He is also cool and he comes out every weekend. Moreover, what he does looks achievable even though it is clearly not. Kids want to be Lionel Messi. "
John, I always appreciate how your pieces included sensible and straightforward contrasts, such as the above. Thanks for sharing this note
great writeup, while I'm not a sneakerhead (in my late 20s) many of my friends have remained so for 10+ years. I think the trend continues
Great note, thanks John.
Well explained. Thanks.
This is very well written in many ways
Sorry John "ghetto" culture is about to be shown the door, it's played out, you will soon hear rap music as often as classical music.
You rang the bang John.