When I was growing up, sneakers were ubiquitous, unbranded, ugly and cheap. Kids loved them because they were so easy to run around in, and parents loved them because they saved wear and tear on your “real” shoes. But over the years, the lowly sneaker has morphed into the designer athletic shoe, and in the process, given birth to a whole new category of what economists call “luxury goods.” No company has benefited more from this fashion trend than Nike, which reportedly controls one-fifth of the global athletic wear market. Nike’s most famous brand is Air Jordan, named for the equally famous Michael Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in the 1990s and is generally credited with being the greatest player ever to play the game. In February, Nike began releasing a series of “retro” Air Jordans, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of earlier models. The “Powder Blue” Air Jordan 10 hit retail stores in late February; first day sales reportedly topped $35 million worldwide.

Air Jordans are manufactured in China and reportedly cost Nike a bit more than $16 a pair. buying nike shoes from americaThe Air Jordan 10s are listed on Amazon for $250 to $550 a pair, depending on the style and color. top ten soccer shoe brandsIf that strikes you as a rather hellacious markup, welcome to the world of “luxury” goods, where the selling price is determined not by the cost of the goods, but by the status that buyers think they confer.nike toddler shoes for sale Psychologists tell us that there are two main reasons why we buy luxury goods, even when many of us really can’t afford them. old school high top nike shoes

The first is called “signaling” — using luxury goods to “show off” and send a clear signal that you measure up to your peers, or to others in your community. nike sb shoe store onlineSimilarly, we often purchase luxury goods to “mark” significant accomplishments in our lives.new nike canvas shoes The second reason is triggered by moments of low self-esteem. As a recent article on luxury goods in Time Magazine put it, “when you’re experiencing low self-esteem, you’re more likely to feel a stronger desire to acquire high-status goods ...” So, it would seem that no matter whether you are feeling way up about yourself or way down, you are likely to treat yourself to a pair of Air Jordans that you probably don’t need and maybe can’t afford. Beyond the gaudy prices, there are a couple other hidden costs attached to buying MJ’s latest shoes.

For one thing, spending on luxury goods doesn’t flow back through the economy the way it used to. Nike’s stock, for example, has tripled in recent years. But since the wealthiest Americans now own 90+ percent of all common stocks, they take home nearly all of the gains when stock prices surge. On the other hand, people in the middle class and working class have to rely on the growth of good jobs for their financial well-being. Unfortunately, buying overpriced shoes from Nike does not payoff in jobs either. Nike imports all of its shoes, and, consequently, employs a lot fewer American workers per dollar of sales than most large companies. So, from our vantage point, buying luxury goods tends to make other people rich and over-rewards CEOs — Nike’s Mark Price has earned $61 million in just the last three years. Buying luxury goods usually undermines American jobs, since almost anything you buy instead probably entails a lot more home-grown labor. In professional sports, athletes often re-up their contracts with the team that gave them their start for less money than they could get elsewhere.

It’s known in the sports business as the “hometown discount.” If Michael Jordan and Nike want to continue selling us Air Jordans at outlandish prices, then perhaps they should take a little less in profits and hire American workers to make the shoes that they sell in America. It could be their way of giving the home team a hometown break. Terry O’Keefe is a longtime guest contributor to the Citizen-Times and is a “recovered” politician.Too dependent on the U.S. market. Too focused on men. Too reliant on basketball and sneakers. To Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker, former Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan is already a "living icon," but the time has come for his brand at the athletic-goods juggernaut to "spread its wings and grow beyond the sport of basketball." A new Jordan Brand store opening Saturday in Chicago's Loop marks an early effort by Nike to double sales at the division — whose products feature not a swoosh but a trademarked Jordan "Jumpman" silhouette — to $4.5 billion by 2020.

Nike also plans to open Jordan Brand stores in New York, Los Angeles and ultimately Toronto, selling not only basketball sneakers but also men's training shoes. Jordan Brand also plans to begin making shoes specifically for women in coming years. The women's goods now on the brand's website are mostly bags, hats, visors, headbands, scarves and socks. Most sales for Nike's Jordan Brand are generated in the United States, related to basketball and shoes, and geared to men, CEO Parker conceded at Nike's investor day last week, when the company announced the sales targets. But Jordan's "legend transcends sport and culture across gender, age and geographies," so that opens up a "world of opportunity for one of the world's greatest brands," Parker said. Indeed, more than a decade after Jordan's retirement from professional basketball, his endorsement income surpasses that of many top players and has only grown, a sports economist testified recently during a trial over a lawsuit Jordan filed against a grocery chain.

Smith College professor Andrew Zimbalist said Jordan's 2012 endorsement income was more than $75 million — about double that of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. It was $28 million in 2004, a year after he retired from professional basketball. Curtis Polk, a legal and financial adviser to Jordan and vice chairman of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, testified that Jordan made more than $100 million from the marketing of his image in 2014. He said that figure has increased steadily since 1998. At least one brand consultant, however, calls Nike's expansion of the Jordan Brand into other sports potentially "disastrous." "It's exactly the wrong thing to do," said Laura Ries, an Atlanta consultant. The Jordan Brand's basketball focus is "why it has been successful for decades." She said even though her kids have never seen Jordan play, they know who he is. "Diluting the brand, bringing it to different categories, will undermine what it stands for," Ries said. Jordan Brand's plans to make women's shoes are also "somewhat insulting to women," Ries said.

"Why do women need a men's hero shoe?" she asked. "Nike is so big and powerful that it has the ability to make a line of shoes with anybody." Nike also said last week that it plans to begin reporting Jordan Brand financial results separately instead of lumping them into its basketball division. The Jordan Brand has four main product categories: basketball, training, sportswear and kids. "What the Chicago store does as it opens this week and into the future is be a beacon for the best Jordan Brand products available in all four categories," said Sarah Mensah, general manager of the Jordan Brand in North America. "What we heard from consumers is they were seeking a place where they could see everything that the Jordan Brand offers." The main exterior signage at the new Chicago store is the Jumpman logo. The store's name is just its address — 32 S. State St. (too bad it's not 23 S. State St., Jordan's number). The ground floor has about 1,800 square feet devoted to retail.

The Jordan Brand includes merchandise inspired not only by Jordan but also by Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. "All have been curated and chosen specifically by Michael," Mensah said. The store's first floor also pays homage to Jordan. Shoes he wore on the court will be displayed. There's a floor drawing, done by Chicago's Right Way Signs, with a six-finger hand, symbolizing Jordan's six championship rings. A 250-square-foot consumer lounge includes a coffee table made of wood from an old United Center floor and signed by the man himself in August. Leather door handles are laser-etched with the recognizable elephant print featured on the Air Jordan 3. Other Chicago flourishes on the first floor include work by Chicago graffiti-artist-turned-painter Hebru Brantley. Upstairs from 32 S. State St. is 3,400-square-feet Station 23, a gym for invited guests, mostly for athletes age 14 to 18 in the Chicago area. Athletes who visit the gym will get special jerseys and can try out shoe models while playing on a maple hardwood half-court.