Nike buys digital shoe making firm; to sell virtual sneakers

In a bid to encash on brands’ increasing interest around virtual goods and NFTs, footwear and apparel brand Nike has joined the bandwagon. To materialise its vision of selling virtual sneakers, the footwear and apparel giant has brought RTFKT (pronounced as artifact), a company that manufactures digital sneakers. RTFKT sells digital items as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

NFTs are authenticated using the same blockchain technology as cryptocurrencies.  Nike did not, however, disclose the amount at which it acquired RTFKT. “This acquisition is another step that accelerates Nike’s digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture,” Nike CEO John Donahoe was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.

RTFKT encashed on the similarity between sneakers and NFTs, both of which are sought after as coveted items. RTFKT, which was founded last year, sold ~600 pairs of physical sneakers for $3.1 million but these items were the NFT versions of the sneakers sold with each pair. “We’re excited to grow our brand which was fully formed in the metaverse,” RTFKT co-founder Benoit Pagotto said.

Meanwhile, this is not Nike’s first attempt at a virtual reality showroom. The US-based footwear and apparel brand has already opened “Nikeland” which is a virtual showroom based on Roblox, a gaming platform. Visitors can dress their avatars in Nike clothes here. But how does this virtual Nike showroom work? Shoppers don virtual reality goggles to examine 3D replicas of real clothes.

Craze around NFTs is not something new in the retail sector. An NFT of a Gucci bag sold online for more than the real version’s cost in May this year. Scottish distillery William Grant and Son had also 15 bottles of its iconic Glenfiddich whisky for $18,000 a piece or around Rs 13.5 lakh each in October this year. Each of these bottles was accompanied by its own NFT.

(With agency inputs)

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