*Former Nike exec Gentry Humphrey will introduce his new brand, Code, to the market next month.
“The goal of Code is to make sure that we provide footwear 24/7 for our consumer,” Humphrey told Footwear News
Humphrey spent 32 years at Nike and Jordan Brand and retired in September 2021. At the request of Michael Jordan, he continues to run Jordan Golf through his consulting firm.
Code’s target consumer is young professionals who live in major urban cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Tokyo, or Seoul, according to FN.
“These young millennials, sneaker culture is all they know. But what I found talking to consumers is that as they are entering the state of their life where they have to be young professionals,” Humphrey explained. “I felt like there was great opportunity in being able to keep the essence of the world that they’re familiar with, but give them something elevated. This allows them to still feel comfortable and they don’t have to wear footwear that looks like their dad’s footwear.”
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Code will debut with three silhouettes, which Humphrey said will have come in “three different personalities.”
“We can make a shoe in all white and it will look like a luxury athletic shoe. We can make a shoe in all black and, based on the materials we use, it’ll work perfect with a suit. And then we do our fashion versions. We can put studs and crazy colors and suedes and make it look runway- or red carpet-like,” he explained.
The silhouettes will range in price from $100 to $135 to $200. The first shoe will debut on June 5 via the Code website.
“At Jordan, just as important as building product that performed well on the court was the sense of style that was connected to it. When you enter this genre, there’s not a lot of style. It’s very conservative,” Humphrey explained.
“You’ll see wingtips and things that are traditional. I’ve taken a hybrid approach. There are cues that might remind you of things that live in the sneaker world, but they’re elevated so they look different,” he said.
He plans to use Code to help others get started in the shoe industry.
“It took a 32-year career for me to really understand the impact that I had on sneaker culture and street culture, and to realize the next steps and what I could do to make a big difference,” Humphrey said. “In the next phase for me, it’s about how I give back to young creatives that have that same mindset that I had — and have. How do I pay it forward so they don’t have to learn things the hard way? Creating this brand allows me to do that.”
In addition to paying it forward, Code will engage in unique partnerships with influencers.
“You’ll see us do various things with entertainers. We’ll work with them the same way that will work with young creatives,” he said. “We might have a special code name for a certain entertainer’s shoe, and when you go to the site, you plug in that code name and you’ll get the story behind how we worked with that individual. We’re going to have some fun with it.”
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