What it is
Nike listed the Flyknit VaporMax as a category defining product for Running. It launched on March 26, 2017, Air Max Day, at $190. The North America launch calendar carried two men's colors that day: Pure Platinum, and the Pure Platinum and University Red color the calendar labels OG.
The category around it was under pressure. North America performance running had shrunk for two years, and adidas was taking the premium price bands with Ultra Boost. Khounlavong was North America Footwear Merchandising Director for Men's Running. Nike's global team seeded the VaporMax franchise through The Ten, with Virgil Abloh and Off-White. The North America launch was his.
What Khounlavong did
- Ran the North America launch. He selected the doors with his retail partners and handled the product build and coding.
- Heard from runners before the launch. On the New York market travel of December 2016, run crew members picked the VaporMax Flyknit as a top shoe. One said "Wow... VaporMax... that's different. Nike needs to do more of that!"
- Wrote the launch lesson into the recap of that trip: the consumer needs time to digest new innovation, and proper seed to scale is critical. His own notes read "Consumer needs to metabolize VaporMax."
- Staged the colors after launch day. The North America launch calendar of March 20, 2017 shows a dark grey color on April 27 and three blue colors on June 1.
- Planned the shoe as a growth driver a year out. The men's holiday 2017 plan of November 2016 listed VaporMax Flyknit at $10.1M and 100,000 units, among the ten largest revenue drivers in men's footwear.
- Named the risk early. The same plan said the execution of the model had to evolve to stay fresh. By February 2017 his pricing deck noted that VaporMax would be entering its fourth season in market.
- Set sell-through expectations by color in the summer 2018 allocation tool. Colors with allocation set by sales carried a 3 day expectation. A city specialty exclusive carried 2 weeks. NikeLab and the top tier doors were to drive 75% of the depth on one color.
- Pushed for more separation between the laced and the moc versions in his fall 2018 product read-out of July 2017. His note read "Color is not enough."
Results
- Launch day, March 26, 2017: 100% sell-through on Nike.com men's, 100% at 21 Mercer and 100% at Nordstrom. Nike's business review of April 4, 2017 called the day a big success.
- Foot Locker and Finish Line each sold through 100% online on launch day. Their stores sold through 44% and 35%.
- Nike.com women's sold through 55% on launch day.
- VaporMax Flyknit was the number two men's running model in fall 2017 bookings: 178,034 units and $17.2M, 8.5% of the men's total.
- His March 2017 read of the business credited the growth of the Air platform to VaporMax Flyknit.
At a glance
| Project type | Product launch, door selection and product flow |
|---|---|
| Industry | Athletic footwear |
| Seat | North America Footwear Merchandising Director, Men's Running |
| Ran through | Nike |
| Dates | Launch day March 26, 2017. Documents run from November 2016 to July 2017 |
| Scope | North America |
| Related pages | Jimmy Khounlavong, Nike Men's Running, North America: a $1B business in a contracting category |
| Principal | Jimmy Khounlavong |