Stephon Xavier Marbury, the American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Beijing Ducks in China, has revealed in a Tweet that your favorite sneakers are manufactured cheap in China.
He expressed concerns about how the product is manufactured at a very low cost but is sold for a high profit where the product is greatly cherished—the United States.
The 38-year-old sportsman announced to sneaker heads, that brands that come with a price tag of up to $300 are being produced for just $5 dollars a pop in the same Chinese factories that his own $15 dollars wares are being produced.
Home boy your paying 200 for Jordan’s and they make them for 5 dollars. The shoes are made in China in the same places. Stay calm we coming!
— I AM PEACE STAR (@StarburyMarbury) October 4, 2015
Marbury entered the athletic shoe industry in 2006 with his affordable brand of sneakers. However, in addition to competing with more popular Nike shoes, Marbury has also had to confront enthusiasts who do not find his product aesthetically pleasing.
This revelation by Marbury comes after years of criticism about the rising cost of athletic footwear and its relation to violence in the predominately black, low-income communities across the US.
In recent years, the industry competitor Nike has tried to defuse the situation by implementing RSVP and raffle systems. According to the company heads, these systems make sneaker purchases much safer for lovers of the product.
However, the Think Progress reports that this has not helped stop the robberies and the violence associated with sneakers. It chronicles the following as classical examples of the total failure of the policy:
Three men in Houston shot and killed a man during a robbery attack in 2013. The man was said to have purchased a pair of the newly released Jordan Gama Blue 11’s for himself and his son during the Christmas holiday season.
In 2014, an Ohio couple got pepper sprayed during the release of the Air Jordan XI, and another young man lost his life during an altercation at a similar event. A Virginia teen was reportedly robbed for a pair of Foamposites. A man from Chicago also lost his life when someone took his $1,800 pair of Air Yeezys, a brand of Nike sneakers created by hip-hop superstar Kanye West.
For all these reported cases related to the product, critics have said Michael Jordan, who is believed to have 55 percent market share in the US basketball and more than $2.25 billion in annual profits, has not done enough to save the situation.
According to statistics, consumers spent $6.46 billion on athletic shoes in 2013. According to experts, due to the huge profit associated with the product, the profiteers are not willing to address the ugly side of the business.
Before even moving to China, Marbury maintained the belief that providing an affordable product would stop people from taking violent measures to wear popular footwear. His latest Tweet shows that same commitment and reinforces what he had advocated during his days in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
He played 13 seasons in the NBA for the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, Knicks and Boston Celtics. He averaged 19.3 points per game and 7.6 rebounds.
According to the Washington Post, Marbury first released his shoe line in 2006, partnering with Steve & Barry’s; however, the venture went belly-up in 2009, as Steve & Barry’s went out of business and Marbury’s star faded in the NBA.
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to have 55 percent market share in the US basketball and more than $2.25 million in annual profits?
isnt that 2.25 billion?