$800 Sneakers
My research department sent me “The Key to Selling an $800 Sneaker” from the Wall Street Journal. Personally, I’m not in the market for any of those, but I thought the article said a few interesting things.
The first interesting thing is that there is such a thing as an $800 pair of sneakers. Even more interesting is that Saks Fifth Avenue, according to the article, will have 200 sneaker models priced above $700 this fall.
Now what do I do? I mean, part of me is laughing hysterically at the fact that this product exists and that somebody is apparently, actually, buying it. But part of me respects the guy (Jon Buscemi) who created and figured out how to market it. Jon, 39, started out as a stockbroker and along the way spent some time at DC Shoes. I doubt he has any plans to sell his sneaks at JC Penney.
In fact, he barely plans to sell them at all and is specifically creating a brand known for its scarcity. 400 pairs a year ago lead to 4,000 pairs in January and currently 8,000 pairs are being sent to 50 retailers.
