[quote url="/t/208299/official-patrick-ewing-ewing-athletics-thread-vol-they-are-officially-back/450#post_16366065"]you can't lie tho, both shoes for $200 flat is great[/quote]
[quote url="/t/208299/official-patrick-ewing-ewing-athletics-thread-vol-they-are-officially-back/450#post_16366069"]
One will sell for $200 come saturday afternoon. I had to pay $200 on the first run.[/quote]
These 2 quotes illustrate fully what is value prop and the foundation for brand as well as what I consider as a warning sign that the balance between hype and sustainable business model is shifting to the wrong end of the scale.
The Ewing brand has a terrific brand message - authentic,quality retros that pay homage to Ewing the player and the messages that the original brand was trying to convey, all at a fair price point. And I totally understand in the current market place, there is no way a startup or relaunch brand will have any chance of success without playing the hype card.
Heck, even the Goliaths of the industry have to play the same game. However, I think any time you have peeps lining up outside spots on a "restock" (which btw, is somewhat of a credibility buster that ultimately destroys brand equity imo), a red flag should be raised. I was at Kith's Manhattan location on 8/31 around 3 PM (knowing full well I had missed out on the initial release but wanted to find out the release strategy anyways) and was told there's "ZERO" chance the white and red 33 Hi's will get restocked. However, this clearly was NOT the case as they are one of the retailers for the 9/29 release.
There are so many things that are not right with what I had experienced - I can understand the "anticipation" the brand is trying to create with the 8/31 "initial release" and with that there will inevitably come the "national release" (which was marketed superbly btw and kudos to the brand for that). I also understand any intended/unintended "exclusivity" the brand is trying to create with ONLY 33 retailers nation-wide. What I'm a bit confused is, why let the hype persist to the point peeps feel the need to create a fb page to knock on the hype or feel compelled to look at the $200+ pairs that are being listed on eBay.
I think this really can be solved with a wider distribution channel. While the Footlockers and Finishlines of the market place may be difficult to get to, how about the Modell's, the Dr. Jay's, the VIM's or the Sports Chalets of the market place? To me, those are PERFECT candidates to increase your reach if the goal is to expand the brand beyond a hype-dependent business model. At the same time, these are your grass-root retailers that the ORIGINAL customers of the brand can resonate with.
Imagine a scenario where you create the buzz exactly like you did with the preview release on 8/31 and you take care of your 33 retailers with the re-launch release on 9/29 but how about a true national release on 10/1 (media day for the NBA btw) with say Modell's/VIM/Dr. Jay's/Sports Chalet/Sports authority. On top of that, you can launch the web store with a web release on the same day and you lay out the plan exactly like it is on the brand's website. This way, you effectively manage the hype rather than letting hype dictate how your business model operates and to which degree do you let hype adversely affect your brand equity.
In the end, I was extremely lucky and was able to cop a pair with surprising ease last night but I had originally wanted to make my purchase directly from the brand's web store. However, a lack of communication as to what is expected from the web store and because I fell partial victim to the hype, I felt compelled to act yesterday instead of waiting any more.
Going forward, I really hope the decision-makers of the brand can reconsider release and marketing strategy thoroughly. The brand has had a very promising relaunch and I truly wish nothing but blazing success for the brand (as I look forward to copping more awesome Ewing retros in the future) so I would really hate to see it fall prey to the typical pitfalls of the industry.
Here's to more great things for the Ewing brand and how about some more news on the tee's that were supposed to be released before 33 Hi's national release?
Didn't know these other stores had them online
