NBA: This Center Is So Stable

The old man was very angry, and the old man was very angry.

Chapter 169 Nike regrets its heartbreak

Portland, Oregon!

Nike headquarters.

Today, Nike’s North American president will welcome a distinguished guest, who is also their partner.

A middle-aged black man with a slightly fat body came here and greeted the face he hadn’t seen for a long time.

“Michael, long time no see! It’s really not easy to see you!”

The North American president greeted Jordan, who had just arrived, enthusiastically.

This is the first time the two sides have met at Nike’s headquarters in Portland since Jordan retired.

For a free-spirited wanderer, Jordan is a busy man. He has never paid attention to the AJ product line. He is more willing to devote his energy to the operation of the team than to the management of the sneaker brand.

If the invitation from Nike was not very important, I am afraid that he would send a team representative to come today instead of being present in person.

“It’s been a long time since we last met. Tell me, John, what made you think of me, a retired old man?”

Jordan was not polite to the Nike executive named John.

For a company of Nike’s size, Jordan is more like their partner than a signed player or employee, so the North American president did not care and went straight to the point to explain the situation.

When he finished his explanation, Jordan raised his eyebrows.

“You mean, the AJ series needs to sign a very influential or potential center?”

Jordan has always cooperated with Nike to carry out work on the Air Jordan series. After all, this is his sub-brand, but the other party took the initiative to ask for new players, and to sign new players in specific positions.

This is the first time!

“It’s difficult to do this in the middle of the season!”

Jordan recalled the more famous players in the league now. Except for those who are about to retire, there are those who have not grown up yet.

No matter which requirement, few people can meet Nike’s conditions. After all, the influence alone is enough to block most players. This requirement means that this person must be at least an All-Star in the league, and he must take over the position after the four major centers retire, and his contract is about to expire or he has not signed a contract.

Jordan thought about it carefully and felt that this requirement was a bit abnormal. He smiled bitterly and said, “This is simply impossible for young people in the league now. By the way, didn’t you sign LBJ? That guy is not enough for you to make enough gimmicks…”

Speaking of James, a name suddenly flashed in Jordan’s mind.

A name that he didn’t want to mention.

He linked Nike’s invitation with the request just made by the North American president, and combined it with the recent publicity of the Chinese brand…Jordan suddenly realized.

“John, Nike plans to use the AJ sub-brand to sign a star who can compete with that Asian kid?”

The North American president silently raised his thumbs: “Michael, you are worthy of it!”

Just as the North American president was still sighing at Jordan’s comprehension, Jordan’s head suddenly shook like a rattle.

“Impossible, this is impossible!”

Jordan’s face was full of disbelief.

“Nike decided to use the power of AJ to fight against a new brand that is less than 1 year old. Are you crazy?”

Thinking of this illogical thing, Jordan rejected it again and again.

“Michael, although I don’t want to admit it, this is the fact.”

Seeing Jordan’s reaction, the North American president sighed: “The Chinese brand called ‘Anta’ was sold out in a short time, and the price in the secondary market and scalpers is no lower than your AJ13.”

Jordan did not put down the cigar in his mouth, and said lightly: “John, do you mean that his shoes are not only better than most of Nike’s shoes, but even better than AJ?”

The North American president did not dare to look at Jordan, and nodded in affirmation.

Even if the man sitting opposite him with a cigar in his mouth is unwilling to admit it, the fact is that the era of MJ is slowly coming to an end with Jordan’s third retirement.

Then, the North American president told Jordan everything from strategic layout to brand planning.

Jordan finally understood Nike’s real dilemma!

After signing Jordan, Nike did surpass many small factories and successfully obtained the qualification to be on par with many large factories.

But now they need to get the official sponsorship of the NBA.

Now this sponsorship quota is firmly in the hands of Adidas, and Nike has no chance at all.

Any chance to enter the market, especially after Jordan retired, their brand influence has also been affected to a certain extent.

Now they urgently need a new star player to serve as the face of Nike in the post-Jordan era.

The reason why Nike is willing to offer such a high price for James’s sky-high contract is that it is certain that the Cleveland genius high school student will become famous in the NBA.

But what they didn’t expect was that Wang Song, the dark horse, came out of nowhere and directly took away most of the league, and all the traffic topics were sucked away.

The most outrageous thing is that the new Chinese brand entered the US market and became famous throughout the United States through that pair of shoes in just a few days.

After Jordan understood Nike’s intention, he roughly understood the cause of the incident, but he had a question:

“To be honest, that guy is your best choice. Although I don’t want to admit it, no matter on or off the court, anyone who fights against that Asian kid has no advantage.”

“Maybe you can consider poaching him…if you are willing to set up a new sub-brand for him.”

At the beginning, Jordan wanted to talk to Wang Song about signing AJ, but he never thought that he would not buy it. After being rejected by Falk, he completely lost his heart about this matter.

It must be said that this is a rare time for him to show his business vision in the players.

“Don’t say it, Michael, this is unrealistic.”

The president of North America recalled the scene of the negotiation between the Ministry of Commerce and the other party last year, and offered Wang Song a 5-year 5 million quota. If it were spread out, it would probably become a laughing stock in the industry.

“Well, old man, it seems that we all have the same fate.”

Michael rarely laughed at himself.

Compared to the 4 million yuan he lost to Wang Song, Jordan didn’t mind the money.

What made Jordan regretful was that he didn’t insist on signing Wang Song. He didn’t expect that Jordan, who didn’t think it was a big deal at the time, would now treat him as a business rival.

He was even worried about whether the other party could fulfill the bet, but he didn’t expect that the clown was himself.

“Since that Asian kid doesn’t know how to respect us and chooses to stand on the opposite side of us, let’s teach him a lesson!”

Looking at Jordan who laughed continuously, the North American president always felt a little scared.

But compared to the basketball god who looked a little crazy for a while, he still liked the Michael Jordan with fighting spirit in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)