- Sep 4, 2003
- 7,987
- 93
- 91
WTF--They're just sneakers!
Posted on Sun, Feb. 15, 2004
Injury, arrest reported during rush to buy Nikes
Crowds at two Charlotte-area shopping malls Saturday morning cursed, pushed and fought to get their hands on the new Air Jordan Retro 12 sneakers, resulting in one woman's injury and one man's arrest.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police were called to Freedom Mall at 8:45 a.m. Saturday to help control a crowd of 100 to 200 customers waiting to buy the $89 and $135 shoes at Footaction, Capt. D.L. Skipper said. Police closed the mall and herded the crowd outside until the customers calmed down.
One woman was taken to Presbyterian Hospital after she cut her face while being pushed into the metal security barrier at the store's entrance, witnesses said.
At about 9:45 a.m. Saturday, Charlotte officers were asked to help Pineville police control a crowd in front of the Finish Line store in Carolina Place mall, Skipper said. Pineville police arrested a 17-year-old and charged him with trespassing and disorderly conduct. Further details were not available.
What's so exciting about sneakers that would cause such mayhem?
"They're Jordans -- come on!" said 17-year-old LaKara Moore, who plunked down $182.72 for two pairs of the black-and-white shoes.
Moore and a friend, LaToya Brown, went on to explain that the shoes are black and white, meaning they'll match practically anything. And another version released Saturday is white and Carolina blue.
Moore bought an extra pair for a cousin, but later discovered that one of her friends had bought her cousin a pair already. So within minutes, Moore sold the spare pair -- at no profit -- while waiting for a friend who was still in line.
A Carolina Place mall official said surges of customers are common when Nike releases a new Air Jordan sneaker, named after NBA legend Michael Jordan. As a result, the mall calls in extra security guards on mornings when a shoe is being released that could be highly popular, said Meredith Keeler, the mall's marketing director.
Keeler said Saturday's crowd was twice as big as the crowds Finish Line normally draws when a new Jordan shoe debuts, possibly because stores at other malls were selling out of them.
Kenya Wilson was frazzled as she waited at Footaction at Freedom Mall at noon Saturday. Her 14-year-old daughter, Lauren, was itching for a pair, and Wilson wanted to buy a pair to reward her for good grades.
But when she arrived at the mall around 9 a.m., she saw the commotion in front of the store. She drove to Carolina Place, hoping for a smaller crowd. But by the time she arrived, the store was out of her size. She turned around and drove back to Freedom.
"It's been an awful morning," she said.
Chicago sports marketing expert Marc Ganis said it's unusual for Air Jordan shoes to cause such a commotion.
"There's a group of people in our country who, for status if nothing else, wants to have the new Air Jordans before anybody else does," Ganis said.
"But usually their desire is demonstrated by paying ridiculous sums of money for basketball shoes, not stampeding their fellow customers," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on Sun, Feb. 15, 2004
Injury, arrest reported during rush to buy Nikes
Crowds at two Charlotte-area shopping malls Saturday morning cursed, pushed and fought to get their hands on the new Air Jordan Retro 12 sneakers, resulting in one woman's injury and one man's arrest.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police were called to Freedom Mall at 8:45 a.m. Saturday to help control a crowd of 100 to 200 customers waiting to buy the $89 and $135 shoes at Footaction, Capt. D.L. Skipper said. Police closed the mall and herded the crowd outside until the customers calmed down.
One woman was taken to Presbyterian Hospital after she cut her face while being pushed into the metal security barrier at the store's entrance, witnesses said.
At about 9:45 a.m. Saturday, Charlotte officers were asked to help Pineville police control a crowd in front of the Finish Line store in Carolina Place mall, Skipper said. Pineville police arrested a 17-year-old and charged him with trespassing and disorderly conduct. Further details were not available.
What's so exciting about sneakers that would cause such mayhem?
"They're Jordans -- come on!" said 17-year-old LaKara Moore, who plunked down $182.72 for two pairs of the black-and-white shoes.
Moore and a friend, LaToya Brown, went on to explain that the shoes are black and white, meaning they'll match practically anything. And another version released Saturday is white and Carolina blue.
Moore bought an extra pair for a cousin, but later discovered that one of her friends had bought her cousin a pair already. So within minutes, Moore sold the spare pair -- at no profit -- while waiting for a friend who was still in line.
A Carolina Place mall official said surges of customers are common when Nike releases a new Air Jordan sneaker, named after NBA legend Michael Jordan. As a result, the mall calls in extra security guards on mornings when a shoe is being released that could be highly popular, said Meredith Keeler, the mall's marketing director.
Keeler said Saturday's crowd was twice as big as the crowds Finish Line normally draws when a new Jordan shoe debuts, possibly because stores at other malls were selling out of them.
Kenya Wilson was frazzled as she waited at Footaction at Freedom Mall at noon Saturday. Her 14-year-old daughter, Lauren, was itching for a pair, and Wilson wanted to buy a pair to reward her for good grades.
But when she arrived at the mall around 9 a.m., she saw the commotion in front of the store. She drove to Carolina Place, hoping for a smaller crowd. But by the time she arrived, the store was out of her size. She turned around and drove back to Freedom.
"It's been an awful morning," she said.
Chicago sports marketing expert Marc Ganis said it's unusual for Air Jordan shoes to cause such a commotion.
"There's a group of people in our country who, for status if nothing else, wants to have the new Air Jordans before anybody else does," Ganis said.
"But usually their desire is demonstrated by paying ridiculous sums of money for basketball shoes, not stampeding their fellow customers," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Facebook
Twitter