Supreme is set to be acquired by EssilorLuxottica, owners of Oakley, Ray-Ban, and other eyewear companies, for $1.5b. Supreme has been struggling under its current ownership of VF Corporation, with a decrease of almost $40m in revenue from 2022 to 2023. VF bought Supreme in 2020 for $2.1b, selling four years later for much less than it bought for.
Supreme was the undisputed leader of the streetwear industry only years ago, and in 2019, nearly 80% of people1 described it as the “epitome of streetwear.” The downfall was steep, though. Weekly drops used to sell out in seconds, but now sit up for days. Many attribute Supreme’s downfall to becoming “commercialized” and releasing “too much inventory,” leading to a loss of rarity.
Originally, Supreme was a skateboarding-focused company, known for its counterculture branding. VF Corporation increased the amount of inventory released and pushed it away from its roots, trying to make it a brand “liked by everybody.” The company lost sight of what made Supreme unique, and consequently, lost the top spot in the streetwear game.
Supreme is not completely gone, though. The top sneaker sold on Copyt for the past 6 weeks has been the Air Force 1 Low Black Supreme, which has been one of several products keeping the company relevant. The Supreme x Nike Air Force 1’s have all performed very well, and collabs with Maison Margiela, GORE-TEX, and more have also kept the company alive. Their clothing is still sought after, and everybody still knows the red box Supreme logo.
For resellers, new ownership could help Supreme revive itself and become a worthy investment again, or it could remain where it is, only barely holding onto relevancy in streetwear with a handful of collaborations. It’s going to take some work, but Supreme could prove its supremacy once again depending on how the new ownership uses the brand.
1–https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092277/top-streetwear-brands-worldwide/
Mateo Moyon