After Nike canceled his retail account, a prominent figure in Canadian sneaker culture is evaluating his legal options.
In a July 28 email from Nike (NYSE:NKE), Trent, who goes by the stage name Trent Out Loud and sells shoes via his Toronto-based Exclucity retail business, was informed that his account will expire on October 1. The email was from Nike (NYSE:NKE) Canada Corp., and Trent shared it with the Business Journal.
The email from Nike (NYSE:NKE) states that while they recognize the disappointment, this letter may bring, they make all decisions about the distribution of its products independently, and this notice reflects a definitive final decision by the company.
Trent’s 12-year partnership with the world-famous shoe company ended abruptly. It wasn’t wholly unexpected either. Nike (NYSE:NKE) started speeding up sales in 2017 with its SNKRS app and its own branded retail stores. Numerous tiny, independent retailers, including Exclucity, have now had their connections with it terminated. In Trent’s opinion, his tumultuous relationship with Nike (NYSE:NKE) was also a contributing cause.
Trent mentioned in an email sent to the Business Journal that he was told multiple times by Nike’s upper management and both his sales reps that his account was not part of Nike’s strategic closures. Exclucity is a Neighborhood account, top tier, and part of Nike’s go-forward offense. He also wrote that he believes this cancelation is sudden and may have to do with him speaking out and not complying with Nike’s ultimatums. Nike (NYSE:NKE) did not respond when contacted via email and comment forms.
A Fresh Retail Idea
Despite his contribution to boosting the Nike (NYSE:NKE) brand among Canadian consumers, Trent claimed in May that Nike (NYSE:NKE) had stopped providing him with its most popular releases. Business Insider covered Trent’s complaints. “How Sneakers Saved My Life” and “How Sneakers Ruined My Life” are two books written by Trent. His Exclucity brand has close to 95,000 followers, and he has over 27,000 followers on Instagram.
Trent claimed to have run 10 Exclucity outlets last year. He currently maintains stores in Montreal and Toronto. He admitted to the Business Journal that he found it difficult to compete with Nike’s (NYSE:NKE) direct sales and resellers like StockX in 2018, which resulted in a $2.3 million loss.
During the pandemic, Trent only switched to online sales. Still, in November 2021, he introduced a brick-and-mortar idea akin to a speakeasy to jumpstart Exclucity storefront sales. In addition to providing an experience for visitors there for hot shoe drops, he would only open his Exclucity stores at specific hours and days. Trent might have more modest storefronts and close during the less busy daytime hours.
Next Steps
Nike (NYSE:NKE) Canada President Jennifer Chang received a letter from Trent’s attorney Moise Moghrabi on July 5 requesting Nike (NYSE:NKE) to rethink the adjustments to the Exclucity account. Despite obtaining confirmation that the letter had been sent, Moghrabi claimed he never heard back. Trent is reportedly considering his options now that the Exclucity retail account has been closed, according to Moghrabi.
Trent stated that he does not regret coming up and feels empowered to do so as a result of diversifying his enterprises and sources of income and the approaching expiration of the leases on his two Exclucity stores. In essence, he said that compared to other local account holders, he currently had considerably less to lose.
He said that he does not have shareholders to answer to, but he has his kids to respond to because we’re here trying to build generational wealth, and they are trying to develop the next Nikes, the next StockX, and Foot Locker.
Featured Image: Megapixl @Shanliangdigital
