Cultivate a resale market

The strongest commerce brands nurture a strong resale market and Hypebeasts purchase their products and board them in hope their resale value will rise.

Unlike most brands, Supreme isn’t in the business of profit maximization, i.e., selling as much product as possible. Instead they:

• Promote exclusivity: Their collection drops have many products but in minimal quantities. Additionally, once sold, Supreme never repeats the same product. This scarcity intensifies the desire because customers know that it won’t be available again if they do not buy the product right now. Generally, demand far outstrips supply. Hence, Hypebeasts compete to buy the products, and the merchandise is sold within minutes, if not seconds. Similarly, luxury brands like Burberry, Nike, and Louis Vuitton spend millions on destroying their own unsold merchandise to preserve their reputation of exclusivity.
• Maximize for a resale market that stands the test of time: Hence, Supreme cannot jack up the prices even if demand outstrips supply. Instead, you’ll have to leave value on the table so that a mature resale market develops and resellers can earn a healthy profit. In return, you lock in customers and resellers into a community that is committed to you long-term.

Cultivate Fear Of Missing Out: What happens if you wanted something, but it got sold out? You know that Supreme won’t release more of the same product. This is where the resale market kicks in, converting Supreme’s merchandise into collectibles. Often called “Supreme Flipper” or “Supreme Collectors,” resellers earn a significant markup on the original retail price. You can find the Supreme products for resale on websites like StockX.