After selling hundreds of millions of shoes in the United States and other regions, Shaquille O'Neal has set his sights on South Africa | Picture: AFP
After 18 years on the market, the shoe brand founded by former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal is finally available in South Africa. The basketballer became affectionately known as “Shaq” by fans and decided to use that name for his company as well.
Business Insider reports that the SHAQ sneakers are now on shelves in South Africa along with apparel from the brand following an official launch last December.
There will only be three high-top shoe designs available in the initial launch modelled after the sneaker designs favoured by sneaker lovers. The shoes will be available for both kids and adults.
SHAQ sneakers will be priced between R799 and R999 ($51 and $65) and the basketball player-turned-businessman was intentional about this price point.
Speaking during a podcast interview last year, Shaq shared his motivation for this price point after an encounter with a fan who scolded him for selling his signature Rebook shoes at a price that many of his younger fans could not afford.
“That day, I cut ties with Reebok,” said Shaq before explaining that he later cut a lucrative $40 million (R614 million) deal with Reebok to launch his own affordable line.
Since then, he has sold hundreds of millions of pairs of shoes, made obscene amounts of money and cemented himself in the business arena and is working towards owning Reebok.
The South African sneaker scene got some new life breathed into it some years ago when local entrepreneurs like Theo Baloyi and Lekau Sehoana conceptualised and launched their own brands.
The average price for Bathu sneakers comes in at around R1,200 while Drip sneakers cost between R700 (for kids shoes) and R1,100 (for adults shoes.)
The country also has brands like Kicks (R1,199), Dlozi (R1,050) and Bandz (R1,400).
Shaq’s shoes come in at a price point that is lower than all of these, which may be attractive to the average consumer who may be looking to get a new pair of shoes and save some money while doing so.
If you would like to buy SHAQ sneakers in South Africa, they’re available at Mr. Tekkie and Tekkie Town.