LBJ IV China Edition

Nike is making a cash cow out of the latest basketball superstar! But then again, that's what they're supposed to do anyways, no? Moreover, they are blessed with great marketing minds in their ranks and transforming the latest player to be dubbed 'the next Michael Jordan' into a global brand is going to be a relatively easy task .

After all, these are the same people that first gave us the Air Jordan's that is now one of the biggest and most marketable brand in the world. Of course, Michael Jordan's absolute domination of the game on the court and his inspiring ways off it tremendously helped their marketing campaigns.

This time around, they have 'King James'. Lebron James was a kid destined for success. Everyone in the world of basketball have been following his career ever since he was a high school sophomore in Akron, Ohio. The kid was 'the next big thing' and finally, after numerous players have had that tag, he has fulfilled the prophecy.

Skipping college to go straight to the NBA after HS, King James is every marketers' dream! His game belies his young age and when he decided to choose Nike over the other sports brands, everyone knew that his signature shoes would be marketed aggressively by Nike.

LBJ III China Edition

The LBJ signature shoes - now on its 4th installment - first introduced a 'China Edition' last year; they were limited to only 1000 pairs in the world and was a major success. Everyone I knew who were into collecting wanted a pair. Fortunately for myself, I managed to get a pair of these highly-limited, highly in-demand pair of Lebron's.

Nike Philippines managed to avail themselves with a few pairs of the LBJ III China and instead of giving them as gifts to their VIP guests as they used to in the past, they put them up for auction with the proceeds going to charity. I joined and bided for my size 9 the auction and I won!

My pair of the LBJ III China Edition

Besides the 'extremely limited-edition' tag, the LBJ III China Edition was a thing of beauty! The color combination of white and red always makes for an outstanding colorway. The box itself is beautiful - albeit quite heavy - and it also reminds me the insides of a coffin, I don't know why...

However, the designers of the LBJ IV China Edition outdid the previous edition. The design of the current one puts more distinct association to Chinese history and not just because it is a huge sneaker market. The box is inspired by the gate of the 'Forbidden City' and it turned out great! The white/red color combination of the shoes makes it a striking pair.

The Box of the LBJ IV China Edition

The inspiration behind the box

Of course, I want a pair or two of these LBJ IV China's! And last night, a fellow sneakerhead friend of mine emailed and informed me that he managed to hook me up with not one but two pairs of the LBJ IV China's! It's great to have fellow sneakerheads as friends, isn't it?

After having been in this game for a long time now, I'm glad I chose to be friends with the peeps I've met along the way instead of outright selling them the stuff they wanted that I had. In retrospect, in as far as the sneaker game is concerned, it's good to know that I valued friendship and camaraderie over profit...

I can't wait till they arrive!