PRODUCT STORY
When it comes to style, designer Mike Cherman creates his own rules. His bootleg aesthetic brand, Chinatown Market, is no different. Inspired by the grit and style of New York’s famous Canal Street, Chinatown Market stands out with daring attitude, fun graphics, and cheeky prints. Influenced by retro basketball, the first iteration of PUMA x CHINATOWN MARKET is meant to have a DIY feel as if it were made and customized by hand.
The Ralph Sampson hits the streets for a new era of basketball with a casual lo-top upper and minimalistic design. These clean, street-ready kicks combine retro court style with the DIY influence of Chinatown Market. Multiple detachable Formstrips allow you to wear your way and define your own streetstyle- just like Ralph himself.
Source: PUMA x CHINATOWN MARKET Ralph Sampson Lo Sneakers | 02 | PUMA Lows | PUMA United States
When Puma reentered the basketball market I thought they did a compelling job of capturing the classic aesthetic of the Puma Clyde in a modernized manner. I also wondered if the brand had enough stories to capture the fickle sneakerhead crowd who may say they want something different, but typically sticks with Nike, Jordan and Yeezy. The question for me was answered when the initial push in basketball subsided and I could buy the Puma Clyde Disrupt for 29.99 instead of the 120.00 dollar SRP.
In my head I thought that Puma had failed miserably. I didn’t think the marketing around the products was very good and while I really wanted the brand to gain a real share of the market, especially in resale, lol, it just didn’t seem that this would be the case. Resale, whether people want to admit it or not, does indicate brand heat. I didn’t begin to sell the Puma Clyde Disrupt until recently. What I did sell throughout the year was the Puma RS 0 and X. Not in large quantities, but often enough the shoe popped and that was good.
What does this have to do with the latest drop from Puma, the Chinatown Market Ralph Sampson Lo? The Puma Clyde initially launched at the Chinatown Market pop-up. The brand has returned to the designers at Chinatown Market to launch their latest retro inspired release. That shoe features the signature line from Ralph Sampson with a similar style to the Tinker 3 that dropped from Jordan Brand recently with interchangeable Swooshes.
Ringing up at 120 vs 220 for the Retro 3, this Puma Ralph Sampson Lo is a steal and possibly one of the freshest drops from Puma this year. It’s not that Chinatown Market revamped the model. To the contrary they kept the shoe relatively untouched and added the customization option. In doing so the delivery is simple and those interchangeable Puma logos pop hard asf. In particular the red, blue and green stripe on the black. It’s becoming increasingly hard to nail down just what can reach the market. The white version of this shoe has broken sizes and very limited availability. The black version remains in a full size run.
Thoughts and Analysis
What exactly captures a buyer? What could Puma have done differently here to ensure that both colors connected?
Every retailer carrying the PCM Ralph Lo did their job via Twitter.
Puma on it’s own Twitter feed didn’t really feature the shoe at all.
On YouTube Puma relied on YouTubers like Seth Fowler, but didn’t create any content of their own.
On IG the heavy lifting was carried by the collaborator.
This was a limited release more than likely. This means the drop was probably carried only at premium accounts. Even as a limited drop, only one color almost sold out. On StockX the model isn’t garnering close to a resale value which isn’t quite an indication of how hot the shoe is. StockX is becoming less about dope discovery and more about cheap finds (which says something about the platform and less about Puma). Even on eBay the shoe is listed at above retail, but not a single pair has sold; so looking at StockX and eBay I may think the shoe is dope, but obviously it didn’t hit the market in the same way.
So what could Puma have done?
Waited until BTS. Both shoes have a base colorway of black and white. The shoes are obviously for the fashion market, but releasing a shoe around the fourth of July is a bad decision if it isn’t color appropriate. If the model was dropped at BTS then they have the natural alliance of uniform possibilities and even for parents or kids buying their own kicks they get the old school option of refreshing their sneakers. We did it with lace swaps, this shoe arrives with options.
A more interactive product page on the site. This seems like a no brainer, but remains one of the most consistent issues for retailers and brands. The static webpage and pictures do very little for a shoe in general, but even less for a shoe that can be customized.
The Puma x Chinatown Market Ralph Lo is a dope shoe and possibly it’s doing very well for Puma and I’m making points for no reason. Would you add it to your rotation?