Why are so many people obsessed with the Supreme?
Ever heard of the Supreme brand? Yep, a brand that is often used today's children are again hits among the fashionista, especially lovers of urban fashion. Brand that the price of this product is quite expensive exclusively because of its rarity. So, what makes Supreme so popular?
Are you willing to spend US $ 30 or almost equivalent to 400 thousand Rupiah just for a brick? Some people are willing to do it! In fact, they dare to resell the bricks at a higher price. Look at the eBay page. There, the highest selling price found reached 1000 US Dollars, or equivalent to 13 million rupiah for a brick!
At first glance, the building material is not much different from the usual bricks costing 800 Rupiah in the building store. The shape of the beam, reddish, and equally made of clay. However, there is one reason that motivates people to buy it, a brand that is listed; "Supreme".
Supreme is a fashion brand streetwear from the United States (US). The brand is inspired by the distinctive style of American urban youth dress that is synonymous with skateboards, hip-hop, and punk rock. Supreme was founded in 1994 by James Jebbia with his first store in Lafayette Street, New York. For the layman, the name Supreme may not have been widely known. However, for fashion collectors and observers, the Supreme has a strong appeal.
Every Supreme releases its new product, long queues are common. In fact, some are willing to wait since the day before the store opened! As a result, traffic around his store in New York disrupted due to queues along these two blocks.
Supreme is known as a brand that always sells out its products. Starting from t-shirts, jackets, shoes, panties, socks, motorcycle helmets, bricks, hammers, to crowbars. The items sold are quite strange
Creating Exclusive Brand Image with Strategy of Scarcity
When fans of Supreme were asked about the reason they were so fond of the brand, the most commonly given answer was the "Hype" factor. Because, this brand is considered cool and popular. Proven when on the red carpet, Supreme became an 'asset' worth to be worn by rappers and other pop artists. In the latest Paris Fashion Week event, Kanye West appears to be wearing a striped green jacket from Supreme. Not to be outdone, North West, Kanye West's daughter with Kim Kardashian also appeared styled with a Supreme t-shirt. Eits, she's wearing Adidas Yeezy shoes on her father's design too, anyway!
Supreme also often collaborate with leading brands such as Nike, Clarks, and Vans for shoes. Not to forget, Commes des Garcons for jackets and A.P.C. for jeans. The popularity of Supreme is also supported by the publication of leading fashion media. GQ Style magazine named Supreme as "the coolest brand streetwear in the world today."
However, behind a strong brand image, marketing strategies are also influential in shaping the brand's exclusivity. Supreme marketing's main strategy is to make the product 'rare'. "If we can sell 600, we will produce 400 pieces, that's how we do," says James Jebbia, founder of the Supreme brand.
Supreme clever positioned himself to be hard to come by. Despite the huge demand, Supreme is consistent to produce its items in limited quantities. One design of a product will only be produced and sold in one release. At other times, it will not be sold again. Supreme also has a special rule in selling its goods; one can not buy more than one product at a time. Let's say you want to buy two pieces of Supreme t-shirt with Morrisey, you have to face twice with the cashier. This rule indirectly avoids monopolistic practices from resellers.
Because Supreme products are difficult to obtain, indirectly an exclusive impression also appears on the brand. The classic red boxed logo that reads the name "Supreme" seems to be a marker that the wearer has a fantastic 'asset'.
