Vans Inc. is no stranger to collaboration. It is, after all, a bread and butter piece in the Costa Mesa apparel giant’s marketing toolbox.
Its latest collab with ultra-popular New York skate brand Supreme brought a special Supreme-printed upper to the Vans Half Cab Pro and Old Skool Pro styles ($110 and $98, respectively).
The capsule launched exclusively at Supreme stores and online earlier this month, as per the company’s modus operandi of scarcity to push interest. That was followed by a launch in Japan.
It’s the latest example of the skate world adeptly channeling its relevance to the core, mainstream and sometimes luxury sectors—Supreme turned heads in 2017 with its Louis Vuitton collaboration and last month signed its first skater in Lucien Clarke.
Skate’s Gains; Surf’s Losses
It’s clear skate, which was once lumped into the broader action sports label, continues to gain ground as other segments, such as surf, look to find their way and relevance in the youth market.
Case in point: Boardriders Inc., the Huntington Beach conglomerate comprised of surf heritage brands Billabong, Quiksilver and Roxy (with some skate in DC Shoes and Element), has been attempting an about-face with the business for some time now. The pandemic hasn’t helped.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded the company’s issuer credit rating this month to Selective Default, from CCC+, after the company sold $155 million of new debt.
Existing lenders were able to roll up their previous loan positions into the new debt, but those who didn’t participate were seen by S&P as likely to be holding disadvantaged positions. Further, the ratings agency characterized the issuance as a “default on the exiting term loan because the company’s operations are distressed.”
