Nike declined to release
sales figures, but Matt Powell, an analyst at SportsOneSource, estimates that about 12 million pairs of the Air Force 1 were sold at its peak in 2005, and 10 million to 11 million were sold last year.
The shoe was originally popular in the East, and Nike is giving loyalists in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York the chance to choose 1 of 25 of the most popular models to be re-released in those
cities in the summer.
The shoe is valued more for its fashion relevance than for its performance. "People want to analyze its death, but it's really just that it looks great on your foot," says Bobbito Garcia, a sneaker and hip-hop expert who wrote the book "Where'd You Get Those? New York City's Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987."
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