According to recent reports, hip hop mogul Percy “Master P” Miller has teamed up with former NBA All-Star Baron Davis to acquire Reebok for a reported fee of $2.4 Billion
Adidas acquired the company 15 years ago as part of its master plan to upstage Nike in the U.S market but the brand failed to maintain relevancy. Now looking to cut their loses, Adidas wants to sell the company it acquired in 2005 by March.
Master P, who has a diverse portfolio of investment in food and sports is banking on his influence in the hip hop and black community as a whole to breathe new life into the brand, whose sales reportedly dropped by 44% in the second quarter of 2020. The influence of culturally astute business minds can’t be overlooked. Jay Z helped Reebok gain popularity among the hip hop community back in 2003 when he teamed up with the company to release the S. Carter shoes. The partnership helped Reebok’s U.S. footwear sales grow by 17%, due in large part to its continued investment in hip-hop.
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Master P is hoping to have the same cultural influence and he’s looking to put money back into the communities that helped build the company.
“As we focus on turning Reebok into a lifestyle brand not just a basketball brand, our most important initiative will be to put money back into the community that built this company,” P told Forbes.
Also speaking with the outlet, Baron Davis is not ruling out the importance of having other black creatives on board.
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“I think Reebok is being undervalued. I left Nike as a 22 year old kid representing myself and made the jump to Reebok, which took a chance on me as a creative and as an athlete. I want the people I know athletes, influencers, designers, celebs to sit at the table with me,” said Davis.
The potential sale reportedly comes after four years of attempted-Reebok revitalization. Even though the brand was finally profitable in 2019. Investors had already been calling for Adidas CEO to sell the company.
