It’s simply the result of being a victim of your own success. ALD has entered that “played out” phase because it’s been adopted by everyone. The real question is whether they can ride this wave and come out the other side.
And these are just the examples of somewhat bigger, more invested brands. Judging by Explore page, there are countless of noname copycats who clearly want to capitalize on the looks while they’re hot, without any intention to build a brand afterwards
"The brand needs to slow down, release fewer items, and distance itself from the masses to reaffirm its exclusive, unattainable coolness among true fans."
Want to preface this by saying sorry for my rude comment earlier. A genuine concern for ALD's trajectory should be anchored in maintaining the inherent quality that initially attracted consumers, not in artificially restricting access to perpetuate an illusion of "coolness."
As a long-time New Balance loyalist (over a decade, in fact), my primary concern regarding their recent surge in popularity has never been about the ubiquity of the brand. Rather, it's been about the potential degradation of quality control. When demand escalates rapidly, compromises in manufacturing can ensue, and that constitutes a far more legitimate concern.
Oh, that’s actually a fair point. In the article, I focused on the change in perception of the brand based on the three other articles, the abundance of memes about the brand (“fourth base is him taking off his ALD hat” is my favorite), and generally, my observation of how people talk about the brand. It’s all very subjective of course and might have little to do with how brand actually performs in terms of numbers. With that being said, it still might be true.
Artificially limiting supply would be indeed a wack move. What I actually meant by releasing fewer items and distancing from the masses, is focusing on quality which to me includes how special certain garment is. To give you an example, New Balance 550 was very special upon release. Even though historically, it was a basic model from the range, it hasn’t been re-released until Teddy Santis. But the reception was so good, that it quickly went viral. Which is not necessarily bad, but it just lowers the perceived quality (e.g. you can’t buy Jordan 1s in Chicago off the shelf which makes them special).
New Balance 475 is another example. Besides the fact that’s it’s the first re-release, there is nothing special about it, it’s a mediocre running shoe from late 80s. ALD is selling off its brand for New Balance to capitalize on mediocre sneaker. I think this impacts both perception and actual quality of the brand.
The complete opposite of this would be releasing a Made In USA sneaker that’s not readily available from other collaborations. It would add up to both quality and exclusivity signaling to the core audience that the brand actually still thinks long-term and wants to become the next Ralph instead of maximizing return on what it has already achieved.
“New Balance are well and truly flexing their ability to stay focused and consistent. Where many brands would be tempted to capitalise on current trends and up product volume, Preston sees it differently stating, ‘Quite frankly, we could be bigger if we wanted to, but we use a selective distribution approach to manage the brand and not oversaturate”
It’s simply the result of being a victim of your own success. ALD has entered that “played out” phase because it’s been adopted by everyone. The real question is whether they can ride this wave and come out the other side.
Exactly. And it might to be about time to address this instead of waiting any longer.
Wow, that Pompeii example. Bit the whole look, even the hunter green smh.
And these are just the examples of somewhat bigger, more invested brands. Judging by Explore page, there are countless of noname copycats who clearly want to capitalize on the looks while they’re hot, without any intention to build a brand afterwards
"The brand needs to slow down, release fewer items, and distance itself from the masses to reaffirm its exclusive, unattainable coolness among true fans."
Respectfully, get a job.
Meaning that no brand should slow down while it’s clearly on the rise?
Want to preface this by saying sorry for my rude comment earlier. A genuine concern for ALD's trajectory should be anchored in maintaining the inherent quality that initially attracted consumers, not in artificially restricting access to perpetuate an illusion of "coolness."
As a long-time New Balance loyalist (over a decade, in fact), my primary concern regarding their recent surge in popularity has never been about the ubiquity of the brand. Rather, it's been about the potential degradation of quality control. When demand escalates rapidly, compromises in manufacturing can ensue, and that constitutes a far more legitimate concern.
Oh, that’s actually a fair point. In the article, I focused on the change in perception of the brand based on the three other articles, the abundance of memes about the brand (“fourth base is him taking off his ALD hat” is my favorite), and generally, my observation of how people talk about the brand. It’s all very subjective of course and might have little to do with how brand actually performs in terms of numbers. With that being said, it still might be true.
Artificially limiting supply would be indeed a wack move. What I actually meant by releasing fewer items and distancing from the masses, is focusing on quality which to me includes how special certain garment is. To give you an example, New Balance 550 was very special upon release. Even though historically, it was a basic model from the range, it hasn’t been re-released until Teddy Santis. But the reception was so good, that it quickly went viral. Which is not necessarily bad, but it just lowers the perceived quality (e.g. you can’t buy Jordan 1s in Chicago off the shelf which makes them special).
New Balance 475 is another example. Besides the fact that’s it’s the first re-release, there is nothing special about it, it’s a mediocre running shoe from late 80s. ALD is selling off its brand for New Balance to capitalize on mediocre sneaker. I think this impacts both perception and actual quality of the brand.
The complete opposite of this would be releasing a Made In USA sneaker that’s not readily available from other collaborations. It would add up to both quality and exclusivity signaling to the core audience that the brand actually still thinks long-term and wants to become the next Ralph instead of maximizing return on what it has already achieved.
Taken from Sneaker Freaker article
“New Balance are well and truly flexing their ability to stay focused and consistent. Where many brands would be tempted to capitalise on current trends and up product volume, Preston sees it differently stating, ‘Quite frankly, we could be bigger if we wanted to, but we use a selective distribution approach to manage the brand and not oversaturate”
Looks like Preston has got your back
That’s good to know, but at least 327 and 550 prove otherwise 🤔