nike will be fine without him, obviously, i'm not saying they won't... but they're screwing up a bit by not locking kanye down. i mean, this dude wears hyperfuse AM 90's that were sitting, and all the sudden they sell out instantly and are being resold now for 4 times retail... he wears the white flyknit trainers and they flew and can't be found for retail anymore (while the other colors he didn't wear can easily be found for retail or below)...
his influence is undeniable, and helps nike move product that would normally not sell so fast...
ANY product he does for nike will sell out instantly, especially if it's limited at all.
and they got enough leverage with money and lawyers, and the fact that kanye worships nike, to tame him a bit, keep his ego under control a bit, at least enough to not ever tarnish their own name for working with him, or ever lose any money.
there is only money to be made... and instead, they're gonna let him go to the competition and make them money instead...
next thing you know this dude will be wearing random adidas and helping them fly off the shelves...
i've always bought adidas, got many pairs, so i welcome his product with them, as long as it looks dope to me, i'll buy it... if i don't like it (like most of his APC collection), i'll easily pass...
makes no difference to me, i'm not loyal to nike, but i just think they're missing a great opportunity here, and i don't blame him for looking elsewhere. he just wants the chance to create and produce lots of different kinds of product, not just tee-shirts and a pair of nikes once every 3 years. it's pretty obvious from his recent interviews.