Thanks to the growing sneakerhead scene, those who brave days and/or weeks of camping out in hopes of becoming the first to get an anticipated sneaker release first, the scene has drawn criticism over the violence and mob-like behavior that has begun to follow it.
Nike, who is known for their sought after sneaker drops, is trying to distance themselves from this controversy by doing away with midnight releases.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the shoe giant has instilled new rules that halt the release of their shoes at midnight, and instead, forces retailers to wait until 8 am to start selling a new sneaker. Additionally, Nike's rules require the stores to wait to post photos and descriptions of the shoes until after they launch.
Some speculate that the measure was taken to prevent lines of kids camping out for days, which has peaked as of late, thanks to the growing crowd of resellers who flip shoes at a high profit on sites like eBay long after they've sold out.
"The sneaker game has definitely changed into a new breed," Niyah Kerr, manager at Manhattan shoe store Kith, told the Huffington Post. "Before it was a small culture, now people resell the shoes and don't even wear them."
The next major shoe dropping is the upcoming Nike Lebron X, the next signature sneaker of NBA superstar Lebron James. It drops this fall and is expected to retail for $315.
Source: http://www.ballerstatus.com/2012/08/23/nike-cancel-midnight-sneaker-releases/#ixzz24fBtth12
Subject: Nike To Cancel Midnight Sneaker Releases 
Sun Aug 26, 2012 11:41 am
