Ex-Employee Explains How the fragment design x Nike Air Jordan 1s Ended up at Marshalls
He also clarifies how the bargain retailer gets its sneakers in general.
Sometime in mid-December, pairs of the fragment design x Nike Air Jordan 1 surfaced at Marshalls and fans and resellers alike took to the ‘gram to stunt these completely unexpected comeups. In an effort to shed light on this topic, Complex spoke with Kwabena Richard Leibel, an ex-associate planner at the chain, who allocated all the sneakers to numerous storefronts from 2008 to 2012.
Check out what he has to say in a few excerpts below and read the full article here.
How does Marshalls get the sneakers?
Nike presents Marshalls or TJ Maxx with an Excel spreadsheet that has different tabs depending on the category: Retro Basketball or Running. The tab will tell you what the description and style number of the shoe is, what sizes are available, what the retail was, and what price they’re offering it for. Marshalls is on the hunt for labels, they don’t care what the product is. They just know that they’re buying Nike and can fit it into their buy plan for the current season.
Do the stores know what product they have in stock?
Everyone on the store level at Marshalls is there to make sure the goods get out on the floor. The employees might be individually aware of certain products, but they’re not aware of how the system allocates the goods. The system they use is made to be autonomous. They put everything on the floor. There’s no backstock, there’s no way to know if there’s a different size at another store.
How did the Fragment x Air Jordan 1s end up in a Marshalls?
If I had to guess, it was probably a late shipment. They’re not B grades. They’re not fakes. It’s all A-grade stuff. It’s all made to sell in stores. It was either a late shipment or a lost container that they found later on. A store might not have been up to pick up their order. Stores have to pay for the sneakers within 30 days of getting them. If something’s past due, their order might still be in the warehouse, and it becomes part of the bulk buy from Marshalls.
