Summarizing The Nuance Of The Sneaker Culture

Are expensive brand names genuinely worth the price? Many young boys always love to get the newest sneakers on the market, but does the durability actually add up to the price? Eddie wants to buy a pair of expensive brand-name sneakers. Eddie believes the sneakers will help him fit in and make him contested. Eddie’s mother thinks that this would be a misuse of money. She thinks that, one, the shoes won’t fit him in a year; and two, that the quality of the shoes will not amount to the price. Eddie should not buy the sneakers because there will be new sneakers, that all the other kids will have, that Eddie will want when they come out. These sneakers will not make Eddie contended, and he will remorse for buying them in a couple of months.

“Sneaker Con” was started in 2009 in New York, New York. The owners Alan Vinogradov, Barris Vinogradov, and Yu-Ming Wu started selling and trading shoes to New Yorkers to make money. Eight years later it has turned into a big event in the United

In 1985, consumers in the United States alone spent $5 billion and purchased 250 million pair of shoes.2 In 2001, they spent over $13 billion and bought over 335 million pair of shoes.3 Although the industry is highly segmented – by different sports, models and price – the branded shoe segment is dominated by a few large companies founded in 1964 through an investment of $500 each by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, the company (then called Blue Ribbon Sports--BLS) has evolved from being an importer and distributor of Japanese specialty running shoes to becoming the world leader in the design, distribution and marketing of athletic

When people think about shoes most of them have one superior shoe company come to mind, Nike. This dominant company was founded by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman in 1964. Little do some know this company hasn’t always been on the top of shoe companies. When it first started off it was called Blue Ribbon Sports, but it was later changed to its iconic name Nike in 1973. Matter in fact it was started in the back of a car, and now it’s worth roughly around $15 million dollars. This change didn’t happen overnight. It took a lot of grit from Knight and Bowerman to achieve this elite status, which was obtained through two individuals with great ideas on how to reach it, and the grit to back their ideas up.

The primary target market of TOMS is males and females between the age of 19-24 that want to combine the creativity of being a trend-setter with the satisfaction of being socially responsible. This age range is a part of what is known as Generation Y, or the Millennials. Generation Y has brought a trend of social awareness and activity. From 2002 to 2005 the number of people volunteering went up 25%. This generation is all about giving back to the people, so Toms allows this group to give back by purchasing their shoes. TOMS has also done its homework on this group as well. Utilizing social media, TOMS reaches out to over 488,000 twitter followers, 280,000 Facebook fans, and several thousands of YouTube users. TOMS understands that generation Y prefers hands on involvement. In order to make that happen, TOMS fans are allowed to take part in a yearly One Day Without Shoes movement to understand what it is like to be shoe-less. In addition to the giving back and the social movements, TOMS shoes let young adults be expressive in their style. The plain shoe design makes way for creative minds to manipulate the shoe as anyone may please. TOMS is mainly focused in the U.S., but the shoes are available in over 30 countries globally

When i went to Southland Mall in Hayward, California a few weeks ago, I was shocked by the outrageous shoe prices. Shoes over $300 just because they are Jordan sneakers. In other words, a Family could buy food that could last for an entire week. People are spending too much on shoes.

For my specific discourse community I am studying Nike and they community of followers they have built up around their organization, but first it is important to have a good grasp on what exactly a “sneakerhead” is because they are Nikes specific target audience for limited edition shoes. With the rise of sneaker culture and sneakerheads, there has been a museum exhibit in the Brooklyn Museum to pay tribute the rise of sneaker culture (see Figure 1), there are many different sneaker shows that travel across the United States and globally, such as SneakerCon to give a space for sneakerheads to buy, sell, trade, and talk about sneakers (see Figure 2-5), and there has also been a documentary made to give a detailed look at what sneakerheads are like and how they interact with each other. In short, the documentary discusses a very popular question from within the sneaker community which is, “‘To Rock or Stock?’ Sneakerheads will do almost anything to get their hands on a unique pair of kicks, going to such extreme lengths as hiding in trash cans to score a pair of Retro Jordan 11s to camping for days in sub zero temperatures for the latest Nike Foamposites. How did sneakers become as prized as collectable art? From the shores of Cali to the congested streets of Tokyo, Sneakerheadz examines the cultural influence of sneaker collecting around the world and delves into a subculture whose proud members don’t just want to admire art, they want to wear it” (Synopsis). With unique Jordans releasing just about every Saturday and a growing desire for the shoes with the continued growth of the sneaker community, when a limited release pair comes out, people will do whatever it takes to get their hands on a pair. As a response, Nike corporate has come up with certain strategies to best create hype around the limited launches and they have also created security protocols which are

He also relates how when you buy them and you can’t crease them and keep them in the box. That also shows how we care so little about the cost because we just want to look “cool.” Cool shouldn’t have to mean you put on a $200 shoe and now you are picture perfect. If that thought does come to mind then our society is getting worse and worse. Those who think we do need that are uneducated about themselves.

The value of shoes can also decrease by of times it’s been worn or how bad the wear and tear must be if someone decides to resell them. Today the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Beluga are worth almost 1,000 dollars. How can that be the case if the shoes have been out for a while now, the value of the shoe should have decreased. That is 4 times the original price of the sneakers. This could be because the limited number of sneakers manufactory are making. According to Jed Stiller, “part of how they drive their brand is to create things that have a lot more demand than supply and that means big premiums for those who resell their brand-new, unworn shoes, known as “deadstock” in the secondary market.” Back in October when the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Beluga came out only a set number of individuals were able to purchase the shoes that day. The individuals who were able to purchase the sneakers that day and two big factors supply and money. Individuals who go and resell the shoes online now that the sneakers are limited and can place the shoes at whatever number they please because other people may still want them once they have time and money to purchase them from a private

sale of Nike’s high-margin products to high-end customers. Regardless of the low cost of the World Shoes, they

The one item I am pretending to buy is a nice pair of boat shoes. This is a want, not a need. I regularly wear two shoes but own five in total. It is probable that I wear these shoes very frequently, and if not every day, I would wear them every day. My feet seemed to have stopped growing as I’ve been at a size 10 for a while, these new shoes will last me until they either wear out or my feet grow again. If I cannot use them, I would donate it or save it for my younger brother. I wouldn’t ask someone for their shoes unless they were giving them away, ergo, it is unlikely I would borrow these shoes. I’d probably be happy to have these nice shoes, however they would not add meaning to my life. I wouldn’t know the true costs of these shoes, but

It all started with a Jumpman and a swoosh, it was more than just a shoe it was the start of a culture. What most people look at as just a shoe to protect their feet has a story behind it and a deeper meaning to me and many others than “just a pair of shoes”. Don’t put on a pair of shoes unless you know how to wear them right. For every pair I own I could explain the troubles I went through and the people I met to get each sneaker. The best feeling was opening that fresh shoe box and taking out that paper wrapping. Putting on each new pair of sneakers is like taking a breath of fresh air each pair crisp as bacon. I am one among many sneakerheads, people who love to buy, sell, trade, and collect rare shoes. There is a culture, lifestyle, and history behind sneaker collecting. Most people would think dropping hundreds if not thousands on a pair of shoes is crazy but I believe sneakers are essential.

The purpose of this paper would be a personal strategic plan for myself in which visualizes me as a business organization, or as You, Inc. Therefore, to create a personal strategy one must examine a mission statement, vision statement, and understand the environmental scan to identify external opportunities and threats; in which, an individual or organization gathers information about the market, society, its competitors, and oneself. A mission statement defines an individual purpose for achieving certain goals. An individual mission statement should define their primary attributes to employers, employees, or clients to identify the products and services they have to offer in a particular field. A vision statement is long-term goals that give an individual the formation that allows them a competitive advantage in an organization or particular market. My personal vision statement is to seek employment in the manufacturing sector as operations manager in logistics. Once this information is achieved the individual or business can take the necessary steps to identify signs (Business Dictionary, 2015) of pressure and prospects that may influence their current and future course of action through tools such as P.E.S.T (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) and through S.W.O.T. (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis (QuickMBA, 2010).

In the summer of 2014 I was only 15 years and I wanted to find something I would like to do so I started looking on the internet at some trends that was big and the first one I saw was people collecting and buying sneakers so I thought I should try it out. So later on in the day I was still searching for sneakers that look good and the first one I saw was some sport blue 3s and they look nice to me and they came out that Saturday. Then some days went by and I still wanted them sneakers so I called footlocker and they said they were 190$ and I would probably have to camp out for them. So I got to footlocker at 10:00 at night to camp out there were about 3 people in front of me so I was guaranteed a pair but it was a long wait. So finally the

Mitchell, Dan. 2008. “Shoe Seller's Secret of Success” The New York Times, May 24. Retrived on September 11, 2015 . (http://lexisnexis.com)