Shawn Stussy founded the Stussy brand in the early 1980s based in Laguna Beach, California as a clothing brand inspired by the surf. In the following decades, it expanded from a local brand to a brand recognized all over the world as a streetwear icon. As the brand has been around for so long, there is a sense of historical credibility that newer labels can’t achieve overnight. UK consumers are not only buying a hoodie, they are buying over 40 years of culture. Stussy sellers are confident about the price and can stand firm on it even during the promotion period thanks to its deep roots. Retailers realize that cutting the price of the Stussy hoodie too drastically risks to lose that built-up prestige. The brand’s history serves as a price-support mechanism, it’s its own thing that works quite invisibly, yet powerful.
Limited Supply is a Price Strategy that is intentionally implemented.
Stussy has always had a limited production mindset, intentionally limiting sales volume to be less than what mass market demands. This deliberate rareti has resulted in limited and strategic quantities of available stussy hoodie even during the UK sales. If it is a product that retailers just can’t keep in the store in substantial numbers, there is little reason for them to engage in price-cutting merely to fill the shelves. Urgency brings in full-price purchasing behaviour among consumers and urgency in the face of scarcity. Stussy’s supply chain decisions are not happenstance, but architectural decisions with the goal of maintaining the brand’s price integrity throughout all retail periods. The UK stockists only get small allocation per season, and many sales happen before the stock goes on sale, even at the full price. This model guarantees that the Stussy hoodie price will remain high, irrespective of the overall retail schedule.
Working together creates a culture and that culture has an effect on resale value.
As a result of Stussy’s long history of collaboration, what consumers think of as the core product pricing is very different. Limited edition releases with other cultural institutions often sell at a high price on resale markets. This halo effect only extends the perceived worth of even the UK’s standard Stussy hoodie collection. Consumers start to equate all of Stussy’s drops with “exclusivity and desirability” and all of Stussy’s products. The psychological lift makes shoppers less likely to wait for a discount as they don’t want to miss out, entirely. Retailers can capitalize on this attitude by having strong price consistency, which equates to an attitude of prestige in the collaborative era. The team effort that Stussy has created has then been a long-term burden for their typical hoodie pricing.
How UK Streetwear Culture is reinforcing premium pricing.
It is unique in the UK streetwear market that there is a very close bond between authenticity, provenance and cultural legitimacy and buying. To streetwear fans in the UK, Stussy is not a mere hooded sweatshirt; it’s a symbol of street culture and consciousness. The positioning of this culture helps to make Stussy hoodies so expensive that there was little resistance from consumers. The brand’s cultural cachet sometimes compels customers to make purchases before they sell out during the sales periods when they are occurring in the UK. The UK market also boasts a strong network of resellers who are aware of Stussy stocks and take into their own hands the majority of the merchandise before they are forced to sell it at a substantial reduction of costs. The fact that it’s a full-price Stussy hoodie is more believable than a discounted one, in the eyes of streetwear enthusiasts. It’s a social phenomenon that continues to drive Stussy hoodie prices to be high throughout all retail times in the UK.
The strategy for controlling the retail channels and selective distribution.
Stussy has a tight rein on which UK retailers can stock and sell their products at any one time. The brand’s limited ability to distribute allows it to avoid aggressive price competition as their products aren’t available at every store. When only a few retailers have a product, the intense competition effect on price from other retailers is greatly diminished throughout the market. UK stockists are generally boutique or premium outlets, and do not have a reason to use discount-based sales strategies. With this selective distribution model, even during sales, the price of the Stussy hoodie is not allowed to go down too much, so it doesn’t sacrifice its image. Stussy’s retail relations aren’t only deals on product distribution, but also brand value at point of sale. One of the strongest, yet lesser known reasons for the Stussy hoodie’s enduring value in the UK is selective distribution.Selective distribution is one of the strongest but lesser known factors behind the price stability of the Stussy hoodie in the UK.
Facts to Give You the Quality You Deserve for Your Money.
The Stussy hoodie has long been synonymous with the standards set by construction that stand not a little bit above the common high street choices accessible to the general public. Many people in the UK who have owned a Stussy hoodie for a few seasons only attribute this to the durability and weight of the hoodie and hence the original purchase price. If the product clearly outlasts the other more affordable options, then repeat purchases are more likely to be made for the higher price.If the product can be demonstrated to outlast the alternatives that are less expensive, then consumers are more willing to pay the full price for repeat purchases. The reputation is advantageous to retailers as the price is not questioned by the customer for items which are reputed for their durability in practical use. The “salesperson” is a silent one that works throughout the year for the brand’s pricing department and is a factor in the perceived value of Stussy hoodies. When the sales are on in the UK, this reputation leads people to value getting their size first, regardless of the amount of negotiation and further discounts they receive. A decades-long tradition of delivering quality is still one of Stussy’s most important competitive pricing assets.
Online resale markets are beneficial to retail prices.
The proliferation of online platforms for the resale of Stussy hoodies in the UK has undoubtedly influenced the sticker price of these items during sales.The emergence of online resale channels for Stussy hoodies in the UK has clearly had an impact on the price dynamics of these items during sales periods. Customers feel the same way about buying a Stussy hoodie at the store as they do when they buy a gold coin or gold nugget; they see it more as an investment opportunity, than as a moment to buy a bargain. This resale floor helps prevent the retail price from declining too much because the first time the price drops below the resale price, the arbitrage buyers will take advantage of you and buy up all the stock. In the UK, resellers are in the habit of watching the Stussy drops and the sale windows and getting all the stock that could be a burden to retailers, which would eventually lead to even lower prices. The secondary market basically serves as a price barrier, telling the primary market that demand is so strong, even the reduced supply is not able to fill.
Why Stussy’s Brand Identity Can’t Be Discounted.
Certain brands are more susceptible to the drop in perceived value as soon as they start discounting, and Stussy has been careful not to do this on the UK market. The brand’s identity rests on staying authentic, and rejecting the search for mass market, “cool” or “mainstream” acceptance by compromising its positioning. The discounts, if they take place at all, are usually quite modest with a sufficient amount of original price still remaining to keep the items at the aspirational level. It’s a disciplined use of markdowns and it has taught the UK consumer that as an ebb and flow business, Stussy will never be cheap, just a bit more affordable at times. The psychological impact is strong: the consumer feels he must buy now at the current price instead of waiting for a discount which might not be realized to any significant extent. The brand identity of Stussy then becomes a kind of commercial immune system that will withstand the corrosion of time caused by steep price cuts. This is basically the sole factor that makes the Stussy Hoodie price remain robust even during the UK sales, and that is why it is immune to discount erosion.