Nike Launches Sneaker Twitter RSVP System
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Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Nike is launching a Twitter reservation system for their highly anticipated sneaker product launches, which have attracted police in riot gear as often as customers hungry for Air Jordans.
Nike’s Twitter RSVP system invites sneaker-heads to one of 11 participating Nike retail stores on Twitter. On an RSVP date, each store will send a tweet at a random time to begin the reservation process. Then Twitter followers must send a “Direct Message,” not just a tweet, with specific information including their shoe size to that store’s Twitter handle within 60 minutes.
While the company has not directly addressed whether the system is intended to decrease the instances of mayhem at some Nike product launches, Nike spokeswoman Mary Remuzzi told The Oregonian that the system “is something we began considering a few months ago.”
In February, customers rioted at a mall in Orlando, Fla. over the launch of a limited edition sneaker, the Foamposite Galaxy, after a Footlocker store cancelled the midnight, first-come first-served release of 200 pairs of the shoe over “safety concerns.”
While the shoes retailed at $220 a pair, bidding on eBay went upwards of $2,500.
Nike’s announcement comes ahead of the release of the Jordan Brand Air Yeezy 2 by this summer, The Oregonian reported. The shoe is the signature sneaker of hip-hop artist Kanye West.
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