Nike, the multinational sportswear and sneakers brand, is set to step into the next chapter of its Web3 undertakings. The company will be launching its first ever NFT sneaker named ‘Our Force 1 (OF1)’ on its .Swoosh platform next month. This blockchain-based digital collectible from Nike is inspired by the brand’s popular Air Force 1 collection, physical shoes from which have been sold for prices as high as $8,000 (roughly Rs. 6.5 lakh).
Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon in the US, Nike is looking to work with NFT-related marketing initiatives to bring its products in the Web3 gaming and metaverse ecosystems. This way, the company could advertise its product offerings to newer potential customers.
Starting Tuesday, April 18, Nike will begin airdropping virtual posters of the OF1 sneakers to select users registered on .Swoosh platform. Nike had launched .Swoosh in November 2022 as a Web3 platform that prioritises buying, selling, and trading NFTs based on shoes and apparel.
The receivers of these posters will get an early access to the OF1 NFTs on May 8. For others, the sales of these NFTs will open on May 10.
“The OF1 collection comes in two digital boxes, the Classic Remix box and the New Wave box. Each box is priced at $19.82 (roughly Rs. 1,625) and contains a digital Our Force 1 version of an iconic Air Force 1. In the Classic Remix box, .Swoosh members get a shot at picking up a favourite classic archive AF1 released from 1982 to 2006. In the New Wave box, members could unlock a classic archive from 2007 or later, or an expressive, custom AF1 with a more futuristic twist,” an official blog post from Nike explained.
Company official Edgar Alvarez Barajas shared glimpses of the OF1 NFTs on Twitter.
Nike has been among several high-end luxury brands to have launched NFT initiatives to connect with newer customer-base.
A total of $260 million (roughly Rs. 2,074 crore) has collectively been bagged by high-end luxury brands including Nike, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana with the sales of their NFT pieces, a Dune Analytics report had claimed last August.
Nike launched its first NFT collection named ‘Cryptokicks’ in April with a total of 20,000 pieces. The NFTs from this collection have sold for as high as $134,000 (roughly Rs. 1 crore).
Nike, which acquired virtual design studio RTFKT last December to accelerate its metaverse and NFT push, has bagged $185.3 million (roughly Rs. 1,478 crore) in NFT sales.