aircannonsinc Chapter 73 Nike is stunned
Chapter 73 Nike is stunned
The fog in San Francisco hadn't lifted yet, but the seagulls at Fisherman's Wharf were already calling out in unison.
Harris Levitt sat by the window in Starbucks, dressed in a suit and tie as if he were going to a Wall Street merger. In front of him were three draft contracts, each as thick as a brick. The top one had a bright red Nike swoosh printed on the cover, and next to it was a line of small print in marker: Lin Hao, 8000 million, 5 years.
"Hao, I'll say it again," Harris pushed his glasses up and lowered his voice, "Nike is the world's largest sports brand. The resources and exposure they can provide are unmatched by any other brand combined. This contract has a signing bonus of 500 million and an annual endorsement fee of 1600 million. If you sign it, you'll be the highest-paid Asian player."
Lin Hao stirred his hot cocoa, his mouth covered in milk foam. He glanced casually at the contract: "I've read the terms, no problems. But did they agree to my request?"
"Um..." Harris's expression stiffened for a moment, "Hao, can we discuss this again? Headquarters thinks incorporating elements like Northeast floral print jackets and suonas into sneakers is... a bit too avant-garde."
"Too ahead of its time?" Lin Hao put down his spoon, the metal clinking against the porcelain bowl. "Harris, I'm a Chinese player, my roots are in Northeast China. If the shoes I wear don't even have anything from my hometown, then what's the difference between my endorsement and everyone else's?"
Harris sighed, and just as he was about to speak, the store door was pushed open.
The man who entered was a middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a sharp suit and carrying a briefcase. As soon as he entered, he greeted us in fluent Chinese: "Mr. Lin, I've heard so much about you. I'm Mike Zhang, the director of Nike's Player Affairs Department."
"Sit down." Lin Hao pointed to the chair opposite him.
After Mike Zhang sat down, he got straight to the point: "Mr. Lin, Harris has already communicated your ideas to us. To be honest, Nike values your market potential, especially your influence in the Chinese market. But regarding product design, we hope to take a more international and minimalist approach."
He pulled a design booklet from his briefcase and pushed it in front of Lin Hao: "This is our initial design for the 'Lynx' series, inspired by your speed and explosiveness. White upper, silver swoosh, simple and stylish, in line with global aesthetics."
Lin Hao flipped through two pages, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. The shoes were indeed well-designed and packed with technology, but apart from his number "7" printed on the tongue, there was nothing that made them instantly recognizable as his.
"Director Zhang," Lin Hao said, closing the design brochure, "if you change the swoosh and the size of these shoes, will anyone be able to wear them?"
Mike Zhang smiled and said, "Mr. Lin, this is exactly the effect we wanted. Top-tier signature shoes need to be universally appealing, something that all young people who love basketball would be willing to buy, rather than being limited to a particular region or culture."
"What if I insist on including elements from Northeast China?" Lin Hao asked, staring at him.
Mike Zhang's smile faded slightly: "Mr. Lin, we understand your feelings for your hometown. But Nike has a professional design team and market research, and data shows that overly regional elements can negatively impact global sales. If you insist, we may reassess the sincerity of this contract."
The air fell silent instantly.
Harris, standing nearby, was wringing his hands anxiously. He spoke a few words to Mike Zhang in English, then turned to Lin Hao: "Hao, how about this, we sign the contract first, and discuss the design later? Nike is such a big company, they can definitely find a compromise..."
"No need for compromises." Lin Hao interrupted him, picked up his cocoa and took a sip, his tone calm but with an undeniable air of authority. "Harris, tell Director Zhang that I, Lin Hao, wear shoes not to please the whole world. What I want is for people to be able to tell at a glance: these are Lin Hao's shoes, shoes from Northeast China."
After listening to the translation, Mike Zhang's face darkened: "Mr. Lin, I hope you can look at this rationally. An 8000 million contract is no small sum. Moreover, we can certainly create an image that is more in line with mainstream aesthetics, which would be more beneficial to your career."
"Mainstream?" Lin Hao laughed. "What's mainstream? Last year at the Asian Championships, I wore those domestically made shoes with a floral print, and they sold out everywhere online. Wasn't that mainstream? I handed out canned yellow peaches to fans at the airport, and it trended on Weibo for three days. Wasn't that mainstream?"
He leaned forward, staring at Mike Zhang: "Director Zhang, Nike is a business, so let me ask you, is it more profitable to sell a pair of 'plain water shoes' that no one can remember, or a pair of 'Northeast China floral shoes' that the whole world will remember?"
Mike Zhang was stumped by the question.
Harris quickly tried to smooth things over: "Hao, Director Zhang is only doing this for your own good. Let's think about it again..."
"There's nothing much to think about." Lin Hao stood up, picked up his coat and draped it over his shoulder. "Here's what we'll do: you guys go back and tell headquarters that either they'll design it according to my ideas, or I'll go talk to Anta tomorrow. I remember Anta's boss is from Fujian, so he should know what 'being down-to-earth' means."
Mike Zhang suddenly looked up: "Mr. Lin, are you acting out of spite? Anta's offer is less than a third of Nike's!"
"I have enough money," Lin Hao said, turning back with a smile as he walked to the door. "But I need to be comfortable in my clothes. Oh, and tell your designers, there has to be a can of yellow peaches in the shoebox. Without yellow peaches, there's no energy for playing ball."
After saying that, he pushed open the door and went out. The sea breeze blew in, making the design booklet rustle.
Mike Zhang sat there, his face alternating between pale and flushed. Harris rubbed his temples, looking pained. "Mike," he said, "I've told you guys, that's just the kind of person Lin is. He never backs down on the court, and he's the same off the court."
"Does he even know what it means to refuse Nike?" Mike Zhang asked through gritted teeth.
"He doesn't care." Harris said, tidying up the files, his tone complicated. "But I know one thing—he's never been wrong. Last year he said he'd lead Liaoning to the Asian Championships, and nobody believed him, but he did it. Now he says he's going to put Northeast elements on his shoes, and I think... you'd better believe him this time."
Mike Zhang remained silent for a long time before finally pulling out his phone: "I'll call headquarters in Portland. But if this design doesn't sell, Nike will never give him a second chance."
"If it doesn't sell," Harris said softly, looking at Lin Hao's retreating figure outside the window, "then I'll quit my agent and go back to Northeast China with him to sell canned yellow peaches."
……
At the same time, Lin Hao was walking on the pier at Fisherman's Wharf.
The phone rang; it was Zhao Dabao calling.
"Haozi! I just finished negotiating with 'Basketball Camp'!" Zhao Dabao roared on the other end of the line. "50 yuan per episode! They'll even include our canned yellow peaches as a gift with the show! How about it? You can trust me to handle things, right?"
Lin Hao smiled: "Don't worry. Da Bao, you can contact a design team later, and we'll make a design sketch of the shoes ourselves first."
"Design it yourself? Nike's deal fell through?"
"If it doesn't turn yellow, we have to let them know who's really wearing the shoes." Lin Hao looked at the white sails on the sea, his tone firm. "The color scheme of the floral jacket, the pattern of the suona, the canned yellow peaches stuffed in the shoebox—not one of these things can be missing."
"Alright!" Zhao Dabao patted his chest on the other end of the line. "I'll go find someone right now! We have to make sure the elements from Northeast China are clearly and thoroughly understood!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Hao took a deep breath of the salty sea breeze.
He knew that the battle had only just begun.
[Ding! Host has triggered a business negotiation event. Choosing to adhere to the local cultural route activates the hidden attribute: [Cultural Confidence] - Localization acceptance of endorsed products +30%, overseas market acceptance +15%.]
Lin Hao smiled and put his phone back in his pocket.
Let's go to the training hall.
Some things need to be proven by performance on the court; some truths need to be firmly established by the shoes on your feet.