As pairs of the new LeBron 12 shoes were scheduled to hit stores in China for their worldwide debut on Wednesday, Nike quietly announced that sneakerheads and LeBron fans alike wouldn't have a chance to buy them.
"Product quality is a priority for Nike," the company said in a statement on its website. "Due to a small cosmetic issue with some of the LeBron 12 shoes, we have delayed the initial retail launch that was scheduled for China on Oct. 1, and the global launch that was scheduled for Oct. 11. We will communicate an update on the retail date as soon as possible."
When contacted, a Nike spokesman said there was nothing to add beyond the statement.
Since the shoes had already gone into production before James switched from the Miami Heat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and subsequently switched numbers from No. 6 to No. 23, one thought is that Nike needs to switch out the "6" with the "23" on a visible tag on the back of the shoe. In pictures of the shoe released by Nike last month, the back tag of the shoe says "LRJ.06." James has frequently been called "LBJ," but his "R" stands for Raymone, his middle name, which has rarely been referred to publicly.
There also appears to be a "6" inside one of the pods on the shoe's sole.
Among active players, the annual LeBron shoe is Nike's best-selling shoe. Although Nike doesn't break out the numbers, market-retail-tracking firm SportsOneSource said $300 million worth of the 11th version of James' shoe were sold at retail last year. The firm says that's $125 million more than the amount of signature shoes it sold of Kevin Durant, whom Nike re-signed to a 10-year deal worth more than $26 million annually this summer.
"This likely won't be a major issue for Nike," said SportsOneSource analyst Matt Powell. "They'll miss out on some business now, but LeBron fans will buy them when they do come out."
Powell also said that Nike is somewhat protected because there are so many staggered releases of LeBron signature shoes in so many colorways, so the number of affected shoes isn't as bad as it would have been in the past. Nike has announced at least seven colorways with the LeBron 12.
As for the idea that Nike would have to potentially throw out the wrong cosmetic and replace it with the new one, Powell said the change won't even show up as a line item for the company that generated $27.8 billion in fiscal year 2014.
This isn't the first issue Nike has had with LeBron's shoe. Last season, James rarely wore the shoes made for him, telling ESPN.com in December that they didn't fit his feet right. Although James didn't display them on the court, the shoes sold just as well as they did the previous season.
ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin reported that James wore LeBron Soldier VIII shoes during the Cavaliers' scrimmage on Wednesday night.