Apparently, there aren’t as many big ballers out there as LaVar Ball anticipated.
Though people have been buying the ZO2’s, the sneakers LaVar Ball designed for his son Lonzo, the Big Baller Brand kicks haven’t exactly been big sellers since they were released. The Los Angeles Times found out through inventory data in the source code for the company’s website that around 500 pairs of Big Baller Brand’s three models of shoes have sold in their first week.
The data, which runs through Thursday, shows they’ve sold 356 pairs of the $495 ZO2 Primes and 121 pairs of the $995 ZO2: WET Autograph Edition sneakers. That would mean the $220 slides have sold fewer than 50 pairs, bringing the net total to around $290,000. The L.A. Times noted that a significant amount of that total will go toward manufacturing.
LaVar Ball claimed Monday during an appearance on FOX Sports 1’s “Undisputed” that the company had sold around 495 pairs, which appears to be inaccurate unless very few pairs were sold between Monday and Thursday. That could be a possibility, though, as 263 pairs of shoes reportedly sold on the first day, meaning there was a significant drop-off after initial sales.
Another curious aspect: Around one-third of the ZO2 Primes orders were for size 8 1/2 sneakers.
Lonzo Ball is expected to be picked in the top three of the NBA draft in June — the shoes don’t ship until November — so perhaps more people might purchase them once he’s actually on a team. If anything, Nice Kicks shoe blog founder Matt Halfhill thinks it’s a good lesson in marketing.
“This is a great study in how social media impressions and lots of press doesn’t equal dollars in the real world,” Halfhill told the Times.
Thumbnail photo via Jim Brown/USA TODAY Sports Images
