Loading
The appeal of skate shoes
8 April 2011
The skate shoe market is full of brands all trying to attract customers of a similar profile. However, once achieved, the rewards can be huge. Skate shoe purchasers are generally very loyal to a brand and also very social. Once they've made the purchase, many of their peers are likely to do so too.
The majority of consumers who buy a pair of skate shoes, are probably not skaters, and many have probably never owned a skateboard in their life. However, it's the dream and brand that many of them are buying into.
Once a brand becomes aspirational and 'hip', consumers will buy it, whether it's used for the purpose it was originally intended for, or not. Skaters are generally seen as cool, which all adds to the attraction of skate shoes, and is part of the reason that the leading brands spend vast amounts sponsoring individual skaters and skate events.
Names such as Ryan Sheckler and Rob Dyrdek are big in the world of skate and leading ambassadors of particular skate brands. In addition to appearing in product literature and at publicity events, famous skaters such as these can also release collaboration collections of footwear and clothing.
In today's society, stars from sports that have traditionally only had limited media coverage, can become hugely famous thanks to social networking and streaming video. In the case of Rob Dyrdek, several of his videos have had well in excess of 1 million views. With his close links to a skate brand, this is great news for the retailer.
One thing that skate brands are usually careful to avoid is saturating the market. While they want to sell shoes, part of their attraction is the fact that they appear to be exclusive and have a cult following. Once you become over-distributed, you loose this exclusivity and can sometimes devalue your brand beyond repair.
A possible solution to this, and one that many skate retailers implement is tiered accounts - mainstream retailers can stock many of their lines, but some key pieces are held back each season for selected skate-stores only. This helps to keep the diehard skaters with the lates, yet exclusive releases, but also means you can open up your brand to a much larger market.
Skate shoes are now more popular than ever. Whilst it's difficult for a new brand to break through, if it can be done, the rewards can be huge.
The majority of consumers who buy a pair of skate shoes, are probably not skaters, and many have probably never owned a skateboard in their life. However, it's the dream and brand that many of them are buying into.
Once a brand becomes aspirational and 'hip', consumers will buy it, whether it's used for the purpose it was originally intended for, or not. Skaters are generally seen as cool, which all adds to the attraction of skate shoes, and is part of the reason that the leading brands spend vast amounts sponsoring individual skaters and skate events.
Names such as Ryan Sheckler and Rob Dyrdek are big in the world of skate and leading ambassadors of particular skate brands. In addition to appearing in product literature and at publicity events, famous skaters such as these can also release collaboration collections of footwear and clothing.
In today's society, stars from sports that have traditionally only had limited media coverage, can become hugely famous thanks to social networking and streaming video. In the case of Rob Dyrdek, several of his videos have had well in excess of 1 million views. With his close links to a skate brand, this is great news for the retailer.
One thing that skate brands are usually careful to avoid is saturating the market. While they want to sell shoes, part of their attraction is the fact that they appear to be exclusive and have a cult following. Once you become over-distributed, you loose this exclusivity and can sometimes devalue your brand beyond repair.
A possible solution to this, and one that many skate retailers implement is tiered accounts - mainstream retailers can stock many of their lines, but some key pieces are held back each season for selected skate-stores only. This helps to keep the diehard skaters with the lates, yet exclusive releases, but also means you can open up your brand to a much larger market.
Skate shoes are now more popular than ever. Whilst it's difficult for a new brand to break through, if it can be done, the rewards can be huge.