Hype Beasts refers to the consumers who purchase the latest trending products void of product knowledge. In other words if it's on tv, in a rap song or music video the Hype Beast has to have it. This shift in consumer trends taking the urban sneaker world from an obscure underground culture to a more mainstream market has created shifts and new trends in sales strategies by top companies such as Nike and brand Jordan.
In the past purchasing sneakers was as simple as going to which ever store had them available in some relevant time frame of their release date and spending the money. The most notable impact on the sneaker segment of urban fashion comes from the collaboration between Nike and Michael Jordan in 1985 to create the Air Jordan and Jordan brand. Originally retailing at $64.99 and available to all consumers, the Air Jordan I can be said to be the sneaker that started it all.
Purchasing the latest sneakers in today's market means standing in long lines hours before the release or participating in ticketing or raffling systems weeks in advance. Retro releases of Nike Jordan brand sneakers boast a retail price ranging from $140 to $200+, along side of retro sneaker from other famous players such as Charles Barkley & Penny Hardaway. Which finally leads us to the question which is, Have Hype Beasts killed the sneaker game?
Some view the endless release dates and the emerging resale, trade and customization markets along with the endless amount of websites dedicated to the culture, as a sign that the sneaker game is not only alive but thriving. While traditional sneaker heads long for days of old when you could pick up sneaker were ever they where sold, for better or worse the game has changed. Did Hype Beast kill it?
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Sneaker History
Sneaker New
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