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|| THIS WEEK IN COLLECTIBLES NEWS ||

🔥 Adidas Sells New Yeezys, Kanye Responds

💵 New Balance Announces Strong Financial Results 

🚨 LAPD Uncovers Nike Theft Ring

🤝 Live Commerce Platform NTWRK Acquires Complex

⛳️ Panini Announces Partnership With LIV Golf

👟 Kyrie Irving’s First Signature Shoe With Anta

🔥 Adidas Sells New Yeezys, Kanye Responds

Adidas has initiated a phased release of its remaining YEEZY inventory worldwide, available on Adidas’ own digital platforms and not currently at any physical retail location. This controversial decision comes after Adidas terminated their relationship with Kanye West due to reasons related to his antisemitic behavior. This allows Adidas to capture revenue and decrease their losses, but comes at a risk of affecting their brand. 

Kanye West has responded over social media, claiming that the newly released shoes, like the “Steel Grey” Yeezy Boost 350 V2s, are “fake” since they were not approved by Kanye. He also claimed that Adidas is suing him for $250 million and that he won't be receiving royalties from these sales, despite allegedly being entitled to 15% of sales as per their previous agreement. 

The Yeezy controversy continues to persist and we will soon see if this impacts demand for Yeezy shoes on the sneaker resale market.

💵 New Balance Announces Strong Financial Results

New Balance announced a significant growth in annual sales for 2023, reaching $6.5 billion, a 23% increase from the previous year. This growth includes the company's apparel business surpassing $1 billion for the first time, with notable sales increases in Europe (over 35%) and the U.S. (over 20%). 

Part of the highlights also include their biggest athlete collaborations, such as with tennis star Coco Gauff and baseball all-star Shohei Ohtani.

For years, New Balance’s popularity has been growing steadily within the resale market, often appearing on StockX and GOAT insights reports as one of the fastest growing and best selling sneaker brands. As the demand for New Balance sneakers is clear on the resale market, we can now see that reflected clearly in the company’s broader financial results.

🚨 LAPD Uncovers Nike Theft Ring

The Los Angeles Police Department recently uncovered approximately $5 million worth of Nike products in a warehouse in Hawthorne, California, linked to a suspected sneaker theft ring operation. This operation allegedly stole over $2 Million worth of Nike items by exploiting the company's supply chain and using fake shipping labels to redirect products across Los Angeles. 

The scheme involved paying off UPS and Nike employees to facilitate the diversion of goods from Nike's Memphis distribution hub to various locations in LA. Only one person, Roy Lee Harvey Jr., has been charged in connection to the theft ring, with the investigation revealing the operation's extensive network and complex logistics. 

When successful, thefts like these often result in the stolen products ending up on the sneaker resale market, whether the buyers are aware of the item’s origin or not. Hyped sneakers are highly coveted and have a limited supply by design. This makes certain shoes valuable commodities that command high prices on the resale market, which enables these types of incentives that drive theft and other criminal behavior.

🤝 Live Commerce Platform NTWRK Acquires Complex

NTWRK, a livestream shopping platform, is acquiring Complex Networks from BuzzFeed, introducing a new entity aimed at creating a destination for "superfan" culture and incorporating an e-commerce marketplace into Complex's ecosystem. 

Complex is a leading sneaker media brand, with some of the most popular sneaker journalism and content series like Sneaker Shopping, The Complex Sneakers Show, and Full Size Run. Complex has faced financial challenges for several years as part of the BuzzFeed parent company.

NTWRK has partnered with fellow investor Universal Music Group (UMG), who have described new opportunities to enable their artists to build deeper fan connections with Complex’s relevant cultural audience. This acquisition shakes up the sneaker media space and may serve as a new integrated commerce and media model for sneakers, streetwear, and culture.

⛳️ Panini Announces Partnership With LIV Golf

LIV Golf and Panini have announced a multi-year partnership, making Panini the exclusive trading card partner for the LIV Golf League, introducing their first-ever official golf trading cards. 

Panini plans to launch golf trading cards, match-worn memorabilia, and autographs, with a focus under their Prizm, Impeccable, and Panini Instant brands. LIV emerged as a rival to golf’s PGA Tour and received their funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Amidst Panini’s legal troubles against rival Fanatics, Panini is on the offensive to garner sufficient commercial opportunities to fend off Fanatics. 

LIV Golf athletes are not the most desirable athletes in the world, but this should provide Panini with a new source revenue and a new channel of fan connection.

👟 Kyrie Irving’s First Signature Shoe With Anta 

Kyrie Irving debuted his first signature shoe with Anta, the Kai 1, during a game against the Brooklyn Nets, showcasing the "Artist on Court" colorway. The design of the Kai 1 shares similarities with Irving's previous Nike signature line, featuring a mid-cut construction, a midfoot strap for lockdown, and Irving's signature logo on the tongue. 

The Anta Kai 1 "Artist on Court" colorway is set to release on March 6, with additional colorways expected in the coming months. Anta is a Chinese sneaker brand that aims to gain market share by partnering with famous athletes like Kyrie Irving.

Irving left his relationship with Nike under controversial circumstances after comments he made on social media. Anta has become the new home for Irving’s creative sneaker output, which should help Anta develop more brand awareness.

Check Out the Neustreet X Podcast

🎧 Raymond Ma

⚫ Sneaker Aggregation, Digital Auction Houses, and Tokenization

Raymond Ma is the Co-Founder and CEO of Liquid Auctions. Liquid Auctions provides P2P Liquidity through bid-to-earn auctions, linking the world of Web3/Blockchain/NFTs with Real World Assets and collectibles like trading cards and sneakers.

Previously, Raymond was Co-Founder of the sneaker aggregator Plugd and is an NFT trader/market maker.

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This newsletter was written with contributions from Neustreet Editor-in-Chief Tony McGuire; art generated by Logan Fulcher.