I watched a brand pivot from gritty skatewear to luxury and it was bizarre

I followed this shoe company called Vans for about 5 years. Back in 2018 they were all about skate parks and punk shows. Fast forward to 2023 and they are selling $120 leather sneakers at Nordstrom and sponsoring art galleries. Their Instagram went from guys doing kickflips to models drinking coffee in minimalist apartments. I get that you need to grow revenue and get into new markets, but did they lose their soul in the process? On the other hand, maybe sticking to just skaters limits your ceiling. Where do you draw the line between evolving and selling out when you manage a brand?

2 comments

2 Comments

theabarnes10d ago

Is their new customer worth losing the people who made them famous in the first place?

robert_hayes10d ago

Man it's such a tough balancing act. I've been through something similar with a brand I worked with years ago. The thing is, when you start chasing the high end customer, you end up changing everything about how you operate. Your supply chain gets more expensive, you hire different people, your whole vibe shifts. And the worst part is, the new customers you bring in are fickle. They'll drop you for the next trendy thing just as fast. Meanwhile the skaters who wore your shoes through mud puddles and broken boards feel betrayed. You can't just slap a higher price tag on the same stuff and call it evolution. You need to figure out if you can grow without completely cutting ties with the people who built your name. Sometimes the right move is to launch a separate premium line under a different name. Then your core brand stays true while you test the waters.