Team 9

SWOT ANALYSIS
Arvind RAMAN, Maria KORKMAZ,
Qiushuang WANG, Sery KONE
THREATS S W O T

● HIGHLY POLLUTING SUPPLY CHAINS:

Sustainability is becoming a massive issue in the fashion industry, and it is not inconceivable that both
governments and consumers will demand more comprehensive action on the part of fashion
companies in the near future. This could potentially upend the entire industry supply chain, from
cultivation of cotton to delivery.

● RESTRICTIVE INTERNATIONAL BORDERS:

Growing protectionism and tensions over trade between the US and China could severely impact
supply chains in the nearer term, requiring the decentralisation of manufacturing and increasingly
complex logistics.

● UNPREDICTABLE AND RAPID EVOLUTION IN TASTE:

As social media hastens the decentralisation of tastemaking power away from the ivory tower of
fashion media towards the consuming public, trends are becoming harder to predict and quicker to
churn, squeezing design-to-delivery timelines, and increasing the risk of outdated inventory.

● GROWING NUMBER OF PLAYERS IN STREETWEAR:

Competitors like “Bape” with more collaborations and better marketing and advertising (+ lower prices)
OPPORTUNITIES S W O T

● EMERGING MARKETS:
As disposable income increases in emerging markets in Asia, fashion is becoming an ever-more
visible means of individual identity formation and self-expression, driving growth for the apparel
industry.

● INNOVATION AROUND SUSTAINABILITY:

Growing interest in issues of sustainability has meant increased investment in the development of
new technologies across the value chain, from textile creation to retail experience. This has given the
apparel industry new potential avenues to create excitement and appetite in the market through
product innovation and storytelling.

● RESALE AS A NEW SALES CHANNEL:

From the consumer side, sustainability concerns have made the idea of resale, once a niche market,
more mainstream. Brands that embrace resale have an opportunity to keep control of their brand
image, explore new chronological approaches to their design story, and participate financially in this
new market.
STRENGTHS S W O T

● CREATING RARITY:
Supreme releases extremely limited inventory of product at any given time, creating an artificial sense
of rarity. Customers know that if they want a particular product, they have to acquire it now or forever
hold their peace.

● CREATING SCARCITY:
Supreme only operates 12 stores globally, a purposeful strategy to create scarcity. For fans of the
brand, no trip to a city with a Supreme store is complete without a visit to the store.

● HIGHLY INNOVATIVE NEW PRODUCT RELEASE STRATEGY:

Supreme’s mastery of the ‘drop’ (releasing limited quantities of product at a specific time) builds
anticipation and buzz, bringing large crowds into its stores periodically and moving product quickly.

● CREATING A THRIVING SECONDARY MARKET:

Drop releases with limited inventory have a ripple effect, creating a thriving resale market as scalpers
buy in-store and resell online, often for several times the original price. This prolongs the hype around
drops and further boosts the desirability of the brand.
STRENGTHS S W O T

● PRODUCT QUALITY AND DETAILING:

While as pieces of apparel Supreme’s products are commoditised, they are nonetheless produced
with an emphasis on quality and detail in design which make them durable as well as differentiated.
Even without the branding, a Supreme t-shirt is not ‘just like any other t-shirt’. The brand’s founder,
James Jebbia, is famous amongst suppliers for being particular about minute details like the hem of
sleeves, the ribbing on collars etc.

● CULT STATUS:
Supreme has successfully achieved that elusive thing: cult status. A mix of unfiltered authenticity, risk
taking the pays off, smart strategy, and pure luck, it is seemingly easy to replicate but impossible to
manufacture. Once a brand created this hyper-loyal, evangelical customer base, it can be very difficult
to unseat, and has a greater latitude for missteps. It becomes a de-facto insider marker for a tribe, in
this case a subculture of skaters and punks on the fringes of society. For would-be competitors, it is
very difficult to replicate this model.
WEAKNESS S W O T

VULNERABLE TO CHANGES IN THE TIDES OF CULTURE:

For brands such as Supreme which rely on hype, being at the
forefront of the cultural conversation is key. As the brand grows
(and perhaps professionalises) the intuitive understanding of
the subcurrents of the cultural conversation may prove
increasingly elusive to tap into. Losing its cool quotient would
be lethal, causing its current allure to all but evaporate.

OPPORTUNISTIC BUYING BY SCALPERS MAY LEAD TO

DISAFFECTION AMONGST TRUE FANS:
If substantial proportions of new products fall into the hands of
scalpers seeking to make a quick profit, there is a risk that true
brand fans will feel increasingly excluded, underappreciated
and turned off by the overly mercenary vibe of drop events.
This is a real vulnerability of the brand, as the bedrock of its
popularity is the fierce evangelism of its community.
Recommendations

Expand to China and other

01 emerging markets in the

Middle East, particularly the

02
Gulf countries. More collaborations with
unexpected/cult brands

Improve the brand’s website → develop

03 the online presence or Aquire an online

marketplace to get access to the reselling
channel (vertical integration)