From hype to 'genuine scarcity': brands bet on limits shoppers can believe
The Business of Fashion reports that labels such as New Balance are finding success with products made scarce by real constraints — rare materials or slow handwork — as shoppers tire of drops engineered to sell out.
Limited drops have driven fashion demand for years, but shoppers are growing wary of scarcity that exists only to create hype, The Business of Fashion reports.
New Balance’s example
In September, New Balance released two collaborative versions of its 991v1. The edition with Copenhagen label Mfpen ran to just 90 pairs, hand-made from surplus deep grey leather and mesh from the brand’s Flimby factory in the UK. A week later, a version with London jeweller Bleue Burnham was limited to 240 pairs, each hand-stitched with coloured threads.
New Balance’s chief marketing officer Chris Davis calls this “genuine scarcity”: stock is limited by the materials and craftsmanship, not by design. “It comes down to the idea that it’s created to last,” he told BoF.
Hype isn’t going away
BoF cites a survey with McKinsey in which 45% of US luxury clients named early access and limited drops as drivers of exclusivity. Brands that lean too often on artificial scarcity, however, risk losing customer trust.
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