Remember going into the sneaker store and grabbing the sneaker that you have been drooling over since you walked in the mall. You grab the shoe and yell to the nearest associate “YO, HOW MUCH ARE THESE”? He/she would say “The price aint on the shoe”? Obviously not, duh. So they would ask the manager that always seems to be talking to someone from the opposite sex, how much are those? Then the manager would look up at the ceiling and then come up with the price. I thought that they made that price up until I would see the same price at the other store. You ask for your size, try them on, pay for them and then walk out of the store with your fresh kicks.
Now the bigger question is, How much are sneakers. YEAH, YEAH, I know all about marginal cost, price indexing, competitive pricing.. blah blah blah. I got 3 freaking degrees in business, I know. EAD. But how much is too much for sneakers?
Take the average cost for a pair of Nike’s, it is roughly under 20 bucks, give or take. Now the retail price is four times the cost. I know, it is not right. Why are we paying so much for a pair of sneaks. But look further, what ethnicity made the sneaker culture what it is today. That’s right, those lovely brown people that for some weird reason, is responsible for so many different culture enhancements for this country that I could write for a week straight to highlight. Am I saying we are what is driving it is today, NOPE. People of all ethnicities are enjoying sneakers. Man, I saw a white Doctor walk around in some air max 95’s. I was about to dap him up until the dude came back with a needle. NAH BRUH…
If you are a cultural historian, than you will know that young urban minority kids are the ones that built the sneaker culture what it is today. We were rocking sneaks with the fat laces, we were the ones pulling out the toothbrushes when we got the scuff marks, we were the ones that put a status symbol on the different types of sneakers. We are also the ones that were killing each other and hurting each other. Growing up in the United States as a minority, you are taught to work for someone. You are not taught to have generational wealth. You are not told that you will inherit a fortune 500 company. Yes, I know, there are white people that grew up poor as well. What we have for status symbols are very meniscal, but that is all we have until “WE MAKE IT OUT”. If you feel this post is racially bias, do me a favor. Look up which ethnicity has purchased the most sneakers in about 15 years.. I’ll wait.. Still Waiting…….. STILL HERE… WAITING ON MY POPCORN..DAMN I NEED TO GET BACK TO WORK!
The basic business fundamental structure is there must be supply and demand. Sneakers are expensive because people are willing to pay for them. Some will say, “If you spend that much on some sneakers then you are stupid”. Well, if you spend over 100 dollars for your new smart phone than you are stupid. You only need to make calls and receive calls. NO NO NO, Texting is not a damn necessity. Everyone values things differently, nothing wrong with that. Before you saying something is overly priced, make sure you know what the real cost is.
PEACE POP
AJR