Reebok is Depending on a Famous Rapper to Save the Business

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By: Business Insider

Reebok's sales pale in comparison to those of the sneaker behemoth Nike, which is the top apparel retailer in the country.

Reebok held 8% of its market just over a decade ago, but as of February 2015 it held only 2%, Adweek reported. One way Reebok is trying to change the way people think about the brand is by partnering with a star rapper: Kendrick Lamar.

This tactic has been successful for Adidas and Puma, with Kanye West and Rihanna, respectively. And there's certainly a storied connection between rappers and the fashion industry.

"Hip-hop and fashion are the same thing," Lamar told Fashionista. "It's been that way since Run-DMC in the '80s. You've got to attach yourself to something that represents you."

Reebok has been partnering with Lamar since late 2014, and most recently he has been promoting Reebok's classic leather gum shoes, as evidenced by Reebok's Instagram posts. Last year he launched a pair of Ventilators that served as a call to end gang violence in his hometown of Compton, California, Mic noted.

But can that — as Complex wondered in early 2015 when Lamar partnered with Reebok for a campaign surrounding the classic Ventilator shoe — be enough to save Reebok?

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