Jovani Hernandez With NIKELAND on Roblox, the NIKE, Inc. conglomerate has been testing both its presence within the digital space, as well as its implementation of virtual experiences in real life, as Snapchat has enabled visitors to the company’s House of Innovation (HOI) in New York City to mix both worlds. Most recently, the Swoosh conglomerate has acquired RTFKT (read: “Artifact”), an industry leader in leveraging some of the buzzwords surrounding the burgeoning metaverse to create virtual products and experriences.
“This acquisition is another step that accelerates Nike’s digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture,” says John Donahoe, President and CEO of NIKE, Inc.
Founded in 2020 by the trio of Benoit Pagotto, Chris Le and Steven Vasilev, RTFKT has been redefining boundaries utilizing the power of non-fungible tokens (N.F.T.), blockchain authentication, game engines and augmented reality to produce items and events of digital and physical value. While it’s unlikely that NIKE, Inc.’s latest acquisition bears sizable fruit in the coming year, the decision is entirely a long-term play, and follows the North American sportswear behemoth’s application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on October 27th to utilize swoosh and Jumpman logos, “Just Do it” slogan and other branding references within a virtual setting.
Hang tight as institution’s foray into the metaverse pans out, and check out all upcoming Air Jordan 4 releases in the meantime.
Source: Nike News
