After masks, phone cases, and fashion socks, CEO brand observation continues to explore those seemingly ordinary emerging fashion items. This time, we turn our attention to 'slippers'.
In the past two years, the competition in the slipper industry has been fierce, with major brands competing to enter the market: sports slippers represented by Yeezy Slide have already become a sharp tool for trendsetters with concave shapes, and have also driven traditional sports brands to actively promote the slipper market; Casual slippers represented by "Cave Shoes" CROCS are creative in their products and forms of cooperation, allowing consumers to continue to have a "true fragrance"; And fashion luxury brands such as Givenchy, Gucci, Dior, etc. have also launched related products... The "ugly slippers" that were once considered unattainable in the hall are moving towards a trendy and high-end direction.
Sports slippers keep popping out of circles
From fitness scenes to daily wear, sports slippers have a high appearance rate. According to the 2021 Current Culture Index released by the resale platform StockX, sports slippers were the fastest-growing shoe product of the year and topped the top three in brand trading volume rankings.
Among a group of sports slipper brands, the one that has to be mentioned is Kanye West's personal brand Yeezy.
In 2018, Yeezy brought slipper product slides to the public eye. This slipper features a Velcro and buckle style upper, which looks like bread on the outside. Its design subverts the public's aesthetic and once sparked public interest. The following year, Kanye West collaborated with Adidas to launch the Yeezy slide, which not only gave slippers a trendy label, but also brought this item into a new market position in terms of pricing.
Since then, Yeezy slides have been constantly innovating, with color palettes and integrated designs that break traditional design styles while also possessing high recognition and texture. Even today, the Yeezy slide with a positive price of 500/600 yuan is still in short supply, and even the number of popular codes has a high premium in the Secondary market.
The positive market feedback from Yeezy slide has led many sports brands to see the market demand for fashionable sports slippers and expand their product layout. In particular, domestic traditional sports companies and China-Chic start-ups have also quickly followed this field and produced their own "masterpiece" of sports slippers.
PEAK's state extreme slippers have applied the running shoe midsole technology "PEAK TAICHI state extreme" to sports slippers, greatly improving the foot feel and comfort. According to public reports, in 2021, Peak sold approximately 2.5 million pairs of bipolar slippers, which means that for every 3 pairs of bipolar series products sold, one pair is a pair of slippers.
The trendy brand XDNA under Tebu launched the "Shaolin Series" and "Zen Heart" slippers on the sofa fabric in Hunan in July this year, incorporating the Zen charm of Shaolin into the slippers. It combines beauty, comfort, and creativity, making many fashion trendsetters captivated.
In terms of established domestic sports brands, Li Ning's Wade Road series slippers and 361 degree AG Slide slippers are all slipper products with better appearance and comfort, and have also received good market response. At the same time, emerging brands are not willing to be outdone.
The sneaker brand basketball culture brand EQUALIZER under the Völkisch movement technology company EQLZ INC. launched a slipper product named Oasis Oasis last year, which has become a popular brand in the Internet because of its strange shape and comfortable foot feel. The company's new and cutting-edge sneaker brand EQLZ, launched in May this year, also chose sports slippers as its debut product.
The local trendy sports brand "UZIS", which started with professional basketball socks, not only collaborated with Peak State Extreme slippers to promote the combination of "sports slippers+basketball socks", but also launched its own footwear product "THE STEP" sports slippers in March this year, using ultra boundary materials.
It is not difficult to see that sports slippers are gradually becoming a new growth product for sports brands. At the same time, domestic brands have also made efforts in technology application and styling design, forming a competitive situation with international brands.
"Ugly slippers" superimposed with trend buff
The popularity of sports slippers has raised the threshold for fashion and comfort among consumers, attracting fashion brands to pay serious attention to the category of slippers, and accelerating the trend of casual shoe brands such as Crocs (demand area: 30-70 square meters, representative projects: Beijing Century Jinyuan Shopping Center, Wuhan Huiju Shopping Center, etc.) and Birkenstock.
Recently, CROCS, known for its "hole shoes," and convenience store brand 7-Eleven have jointly launched four products in one go. Among them, China's limited color scheme products began drawing lots in China on October 9th.
This shoe brand, which is highly controversial in the fashion industry, has become a joint target of many brands in recent years. The brand effect and celebrity effect continue to drive it into a sharp tool for people to create concave shapes.
As of now, Crocs has partnered with luxury brand Balenciaga to launch popular products such as high heels and thick soles; Collaborating with Japanese trendy brand Beams to add fashionable and fun elements such as tassels and beads to Dongdong shoes; Hand in hand with Chinese fashion designer Shangguan Zhe, created Crocs Clog with detachable shoe covers
The continuous co branding has filled Crocs with trendy BUFF, while Jibbitz accessories allow consumers to fully showcase their individuality. At the same time, the brand also creates shoes that are more popular among young consumers for different seasons and scenarios, such as warm cotton shoes and plush slippers suitable for autumn and winter, and cool walking shoes suitable for outdoor sports.
After a series of combined punches, Crocs achieved a record revenue of $2.3 billion (approximately RMB 14.6 billion) in the 2021 fiscal year, an increase of 66.9% compared to the same period in 2020, and its net profit surged by 132.3% year-on-year to $725 million. Nowadays, Crocs is also accelerating its expansion into this promising market in China, and has set up offline specialty stores and counters in cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
In addition to Crocs, the German shoe brand Birkenstock also injects fashion elements into slippers.
Birkenstock, known for its comfort, launched the "1774" trendy product series in 2018 to fill the market gap in the high-end sector. Moreover, in terms of intermodal cooperation, Birkenstock has already collaborated with brands such as Valentino, Dior, St ü ssy, Ader Error, etc., all of which are eye-catching products.
Last year, Birkenstock was acquired by L Catterton, a private equity fund under LVMH, with a valuation of $4.9 billion.
In addition, many brands such as Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Melissa, and others are "researching" slippers in an attempt to accelerate their popularity through the slipper category.
Returning to its origin, the reason why "ugly slippers" have become a trend, on the one hand, is inseparable from the strong demand of contemporary consumers for leisure, practical and simple items, on the other hand, thanks to the brand's constant increase in the functionality and timeliness of slippers, which has changed the negative image of "unfashionable" and "cheap".
Summary:
The lazy and luxurious aesthetic has become an important component of popular culture today, and the trendy and high-end "ugly slippers" have also attracted people from both inside and outside the industry to switch from "truly ugly" to "truly fragrant".
In the future, slippers may gradually expand from casual occasions to broader scenarios. The domestic slipper industry has always been in the low-end stage, with fewer mid to high-end brands. Branded slippers may stand out in the inner competition. Highlighting business philosophy and establishing brand barriers are issues that brands need to focus on.