LeBron X Shoes Cost $315; For Basketball Player, the Most Expensive Nike Sneakers Ever
Nike Inc. announced that they will charge a whopping $315 a pair for their new LeBron X basketball sneakers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 21.
Market Watch noted that the new shoes will feature motion sensors that can measure how high its wearer jumps. Nike's previous James pair, LeBron 9 PS Elite, sells for $250. The site also reported that the company will raise all their shoes and clothing prices by 5 to 10 percent in light of the increasing costs of labor, materials and shipping.
LeBron X will be Nike's priciest sneaker ever, according to Yahoo! In their report, Nike's basketball and soccer shoes were said to make up half of its North American business, however, their gross margins dropped in the most recent quarter, which ended May 31. This is Nike's sixth straight year-to-year quarterly decline.
Poking fun at the company's decision to price the new sneakers at such a high price, Fox News headlined their story as "What recession?" followed by, "Unemployment is still above 8 percent, economists fear a double-dip recession looms and ... Nike is unveiling a $315 sneaker."
James is not the first basketball star to have sneakers named after him. Perhaps the first and the most famous ones were inspired by legendary player Michael Jordan. Air Jordans are still popular today even though the athlete himself has not played on the court since his final retirement in 2003.
James recently came away for the London Olympics with a gold medal in the men's basketball finals.
