Warriors G Stephen Curry's performance this season has "propelled blazing sales of his Under Armour Curry One and Curry Two sneakers," leading to questions of whether or not he poses a serious threat to Michael Jordan as the "king of sports merchandising," according to Sarah Halzack of the WASHINGTON POST. However, sales of Curry sneakers "aren't even in the same league as sales of Air Jordans." Consumer research firm Slice Intelligence "analyzed digital sales of Jordan’s and Curry’s shoe lines" -- as well as those of former NBAer Kobe Bryant and Cavaliers F LeBron James -- between January '15 and March '16. Curry sneakers accounted for just 4.2% of those sales, compared to 9.7% for James’ shoes and 13.6% for Bryant’s. Jordan’s line "clobbered the others," accounting for 72.4% of the online revenue of player-branded sneakers. Part of the "comparatively mammoth dollar haul for Jordans has to do with the relative breadth of the product lines." Slice Intelligence VP/Marketing & PR Jaimee Minney said that the Air Jordan has "come to be something of a fashion statement" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 4/26). In Baltimore, Jeff Barker noted Curry's Celebrity DBI ranks him "among the top five in 'influence'" along with Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Fallon and Kate Middleton. But only 58% of consumers "know who he is." Marketing Arm Dir Matt Fleming said the one area Curry "is not rising above some of his NBA counterparts is going to be in awareness," noting James has over 90% in that category (BALTIMORESUN.com, 4/25).
