by The Editors on November 10, 2020
You have to be happy for James Jabbia, right? He borrows a logo, opens a shop, puts the logo on a bunch of stuff and builds a multi-billion dollar fashion house out of it. Pure marketing at its most fluid, frictionless, and fun. Amazing.
The question, however, is what is VF Corp getting for all this money? A large collection of often red and white collabs, a formerly rabid fan base, and the elimination of a minor competitor? Yes, but they’re also getting Jabbia who will reportedly stay on with the brand as it continues to be headquartered in NYC.
VF Corp CEO Steve Rendle has. . .
. . .described the acquisition of Supreme as validation of the company’s strategy to evolve VF Corp’s brand portfolio in line with the market opportunities driving the apparel and footwear sector. At the same time the company can leverage its scale to sustain Supreme’s long-term growth and expand its global footprint. This will open up revenue growth of 8-10% over the coming five years believes Roe.
So there’s that, plus close to $500 million to add to annual VF sales. VF has been a good steward for Vans, so it’s very possible they will do the same with Supreme. The biggest question of all is will Supreme’s loyal fan base go along with artificially constrained product drops from a mega-corp that could just as easily make an unlimited supply of each item. Only time will tell.
[Link: Forbes]
by The Editors on January 15, 2019
We’ve always felt a strange disconnect between East Coast “streetwear” and skateboarding in general. Nothing brings our confusion into clearer focus than Supreme. Yes, James Jebbia has done a stellar job of appropriating all the right stuff to create a billion dollar clothing company, starting with artwork from Barbara Kruger and then logoing pretty much everything and marketing it to NYC’s label obsessed kids. But, really? Is a collection of 248 “limited edition” Supreme skate decks really worth $1 million dollars? Guess we’ll find out soon enough, at Sotheby’s, according to a story on The National.
The 248 boards, which will be sold as one lot through Sotheby’s, offer a unique archive of Supreme’s work and present a rare opportunity to see all of the designs together. Not surprisingly, this adds to the value and, with no buyer’s premium, the collection is expected to sell on January 25 for between US$800,000 and $1.2million (up to Dh4.4m).
Go get ’em Ryan Fuller. What are the chances the new owner will be an EDM producer? Pretty high we’d guess.
[Link: The National]
by The Editors on October 9, 2017
Thanks to a $500 million investment in Supreme by The Carlyle Group, the street wear brand now has a reported valuation of $1.1 Billion, according to a story on Women’s Wear Daily. The Carlyle Group is a massive “global alternative capital” company with their fingers in all manner of businesses, including action watch company Nixon. (click here for the list).
As for founder James Jebbia, well he’s been very . . . businesslike about the deal, according to a story on BusinessOfFashion.
“We’re a growing brand, and to sustain that growth we’ve chosen to work with Carlyle, who has the operational expertise needed to keep us on the steady path we’ve been on since 1994,” said Jebbia in an exclusive statement to BoF. “Working with Carlyle allows us to concentrate on doing what we do best and remain in control of our brand, as we always have.”
Not sure if having $500 million more is exactly doing what’s they’ve always done, but Jebbia might as well give it a try, huh?
[Link: WWD and BOF]
by The Editors on May 27, 2017
We’ve never understood the East Coast streetwear fashion thing. Growing up in the infinite expanse of the West, we never felt the crush of tight urban spaces or came face to face with the idea that anything was in scarce supply. East Coast kids don’t have that luxury. Many things are scarce in New York City and that may be why brands like Supreme are able to monopolize style and make kids believe that a product is worth hundreds of dollars more than another simply because it is difficult to get.
As Supreme met the Internet it became more important for them to make their highly coveted, limited supply fashion items available online when their product drops. Which is nice because not everyone can camp out on Lafayette St. each week to grab the latest before it’s gone. Problem is, it’s just as tough to get an order in as it is to get in line. Two Florida computer kids noticed how hard this was and they created a bot (The Supreme Saint) that (for a price) will dive in on the Supreme website and buy up product for customers in a matter of seconds, according to a story in Wired Magazine.
The breakthrough came within a couple of months, when Supreme released a version of Nike’s Air Jordan 5 sneakers. The shoes were offered in three color options, what sneaker fans call colorways: white, black, and desert camo. That day Matt and Chris charged $100 for each pair a customer wanted to buy. One of the colors received around 200 orders, making the duo roughly $20,000 in five seconds. Chris and Matt won’t say how much they make from their bot, the Supreme Saint, but they’ve formed an LLC.
Nice to know it’s still possible to jump in on street fashion and siphon off a little cash on the side. Then again, how exclusive is this stuff if anyone willing to spend a little extra can get it whenever they want? And what will the future hold now that Supreme is clamping down on bots in general? Click the link for the rest of the story.
[Link: Wired Magazine]
by The Editors on November 26, 2012
Supreme gets the big, old media treatment with a profile by the New York Times‘ Alex Williams. Sure, it’s full of many of the normal comments regarding boutique skate shops. . .
Huge lines, once endemic to its New York flagship in SoHo, now form at satellite stores in Los Angeles, London, Tokyo and other cities. The current issue of British GQ Style, a men’s fashion bible, hails Supreme as “the coolest street wear brand in the world right now.” And the Berlin culture magazine O32c called it “the Holy Grail of high youth street culture.” The Business of Fashion site called it “the Chanel of downtown street wear.”
But the piece also gets in with the story behind James Jebbia, the brand he launched 18 years ago, and why it hasn’t been completely blown out into big box stores. And those stories are always good.
[Link: New York Times]
by The Editors on October 3, 2011
Kids writer and Gummo writer/director Harmony Korine has designed some new skateboards for Supreme. The decks, which features blurry, supernatural looking photos will arrive online and in Supreme stores on Thursday, October 6, 2011.
[Link: Supreme NY via Empire Ave]
by The Editors on February 9, 2011
She’s got an amazing voice and tickles the ivories like few women can, but we’ve never actually enjoyed looking at Lady Gaga. That may have changed with Terry Richardson photos of the Lady for Purple Magazine. Who knew that all she needed to look reasonably normal was a Supreme deck and some shades. Click the link for the rest.
[Link: Global Grind]
by The Editors on June 9, 2010
The Queensland Supreme Court ruled today (June 10, 2010) that when Billabong terminated its licensing agreement with Suzi Burke Suwenda’s company CV Bali Balance they did it correctly, according to a story in The Australian.
CV Bali Balance, associated with Sydney-born businesswoman Suzi Burke Suwenda, has lodged a claim in a Bali court for about $168 million in damages from Billabong after the surfwear company cancelled a distribution licence in 2005. . . The action in a Denpasar court is current, but the Queensland Supreme Court ruling should have a big bearing on the case in Bali, with several of the legal actions there relating to the legality or otherwise of the termination of the distribution agreement.
Even with the good news Billabong’s stock still dipped .11 percent yesterday. Suwenda, on the other hand still believes PT Bali Balance will prevail in their civil case in Indonesia, according to Goldcoast.com.au.
[Link: The Australian and Goldcoast.com.au]
by The Editors on September 4, 2022
When the spreadsheet doesn’t look good adjustments must be made, and apparently, VF Corp (parent company of Vans, Supreme, The North Face and more) has decided the company will run much better without 600 of its “positions,” according to a story on Footwear News.
VF Corp did not specify which departments and locations would be impacted by the layoffs. The company employed 35,000 people around the world as of the end of fiscal 2022. According to Denver Business Journal, these cuts will impact 1.7% of the company’s existing workforce.
Looks like it’s 300 people losing their jobs and 300 empty positions being eliminated. Business is business.
[Link: Denver Business Journal via Footwear News]
by The Editors on May 16, 2022
By clicking the “continue” link at the bottom of this blurb, you will encounter a list of headlines that refer to our topics, namely, skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, fashion, and finally, business. Many of these stories have been read by “The Editors,” and many have not.
The list of headlines style is evidence of the slow evolution of this site and The Editors themselves. Snark has been annoying for nearly a decade (deja vu from last month), and The Editors realized there is no longer any reason to restate what other people have written to make it funnier. Few have time for witty nor funny when it slows the speed of information consumption.
Nothing is getting in the way here. Follow the jump and read the list. If there are brands, people, or topics that interest you, please use the search function in your browser and jump to it straight away. Enjoy.
[click to continue…]
