How Supreme went from being a small skateboarding store in New York to an urban cult clothing company that bills millions of dollars

This is the transcription of the video.

Buyer 1: Supreme, Baby!

Buyer 2: I just bought a synthetic leather jacket for $ 1,000.

Buyer 3: People want to know "Hey, look, this kid wears supreme."But people also make this a way of life.

Narrator: These two jackets are almost identical, both have been manufactured by The North Face, and both use Gore-Tex technology.This, the one on the left costs $ 300.The one on the right is currently sold for almost $ 1,300.So what is the difference?

This is part of a collaboration of The North Face with Supreme.So why would someone pay almost thousand dollars more for basically the same jacket?And what makes supreme so expensive?

From the striking logo to the limited launches of products and collaborations with artists, during the last 20 years Supreme has gone from being a small skateboarding store in New York to be an urban clothing company of 1,000 million dollars.But for his fans, Supreme is more than a brand.It is often almost an obsession and its own subculture.

Since its origins, Supreme has maintained an image of authenticity.Founded by James Jebbia in 1994, Supreme began as a skateboarding store in the Soho de Manhattan neighborhood.The store began selling sweatshirts and sweaters for the growing New York skate scene.

Along the 90s and early 2000s, Supreme functioned as a skateboard that attended both skaters and all those interested in the emerging "Streetwear" style.But the limited stock and supreme attitude ended up pushing them beyond their beginnings.

The most iconic supreme design is the logo, originally, of a simple white, italic lyrics on a smooth red background.This design is so similar to the work of the conceptual artist Barbara Kruger that it is difficult not to see it as a direct copy, and the theft of copyright is something that is in the DNA of Supreme.

The appropriation of images by Supreme is one of the keys to its popularity.The images and logos of pop culture are copied and adapt in such a way that designs are more like contemporary art or graffiti than to that of a great fashion brand.The first supreme shirt was simply a photo of Robert de Niro in the film Taxi Driverjunto with the already emblematic red and white logo.And the use of the image company, often without a license, has led Supreme to receive letters of cessation and withdrawal from Louis Vuitton, the NHL and the NCAA.

Dimitrios Tsivrikos: The more we are exposed to a brand, the more likely we develop an association, a familiarity, almost a sense of connection with it.With supreme, there is no status element and went directly so it should be a logo: remarkable, be identifiable.

Narrator: Recognition is key to the power of Supreme as a brand.But articles are also difficult to get, and their products are highly demanded for their very limited releases.

Chris Magnaye: On a Tuesday at 11:00 a.m., you go to the supreme website, you put the basic information: your name, email, telephone number and credit card number.Then, they will send you a text later throughout the day to inform you if you have been selected to queue.Then, on Wednesday, they will send you a text message that will tell you the time and the store in which you must present yourself.And on Thursday, you go to the store at the time they give you.

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There is a "style limit" as a standard in supreme, so that means if a shirt comes out in black, red and gray, you can only have gray.So, if you want it in black and red, you need two other people to get it for you, so they have to queue for you.Many people who queue do them for another person.

Narrator: Supreme only sells his merchandise in 11 “brick and mortar” stores around the world, as well as in his online store.It was in the middle and in the late 200 when Supreme began to take speed.This success was due, in part, to the so -called "Kanye effect."

In 2006, Supreme launched his "Supreme Blazer SB", a collaboration with Nike.The shoes are sold retail around 150 dollars, with resale prices that range between $ 300 and 400.In July 2007, West was photographed using the shoes at the party “Grammy Foundation's Starry Night”.After the photos were published, the resale price of the shoes doubled to 800 dollars.

Similarly, the sweatshirt with the logo that Tyler “The Creator” carried in its music video "She", whose original price was about $ 150, was sold for $ 3,500.But not everything of Supreme would end up being valuable.Sellers like Chris have to decide what will be popular and what articles will give you better performance.

Chris: The way I decide what I think I am going to resell is mainly based on what I would put on.You can also go to these Instagram accounts, and they will have these Instagram surveys, Twitter surveys, in which talking about everything, being able to vote for or against some model ... and there is the crowdsourcing tool to better understand the marketand discover what they can resell or what is popular.Most of the money I have earned with a supreme article has been with the collaboration of autumn/winter of 2017 with The North Face, and it was a mountain parka.I bought it for $ 398 and sold it for $ 950.

Narrator: This incredibly limited launch means that the purchase and resale of supreme items is where the real money is.When you look at the prices of the articles of the supreme store, they are not as extravagant as one would expect.They are sold, retail, for about $ 38 for a shirt and $ 138 for a sweatshirt.But once these products are exhausted when their original price can reach 30 times.

Many other big brands are adopting this model of very limited releases to generate advertising around their products, from sneakers to other urban clothing brands.These releases make people perceive it as something exclusive.

Dimitrios: The more we make a consumer work for their particular access to a product, the more attractive these services and products become.So, I think Supreme knows very well how to do something incredibly accessible and sexy, allowing us to go through as many rings as possible to be relevant to them.

Narrator: But there is something in Supreme that is different.Could any other company get yours selling a brick or lever?What gives supreme such a devout follow -up?

Buyer 1: I think it's the hype they give.Really great things come out.Personally I think it is a renowned brand and renowned brands end up attracting anyone at the end.

Buyer 3: Especially in New York, there are a lot of urban clothes.So people want to have those exclusive articles.I am with supreme: they maintain a low stock due to the high demand.People will pay that price if they are something they like.

Buyer 2: Supreme, I think that what really makes people spend money and queue is a kind of “factor x” that they only have, right?They have done an incredible job limiting the amounts and a production less than the demand.So, in that way his market of people who would want to buy the product is not only the people who are interested in the product, but also the people who are interested in making money, and the people who are interested in the urban style aremuch greater.So, when there is an opportunity to make money, there will be a large row of people around the apple regardless of who will want to use the product or not.

Narrator: Supreme has somehow achieved its fresh, alternative and exclusive image despite its expansion and has maintained its credentials among skaters despite selling a 50% participation in the brand to a private capital firm.With more and more people wishing their products, for now, it seems that Supreme is not going to go anywhere.