- Marjorie van Elven
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Why are some sneaker styles so expensive and others so affordable?
Zeeman, a discount retailer from the Netherlands, has put together a clever
campaign to convince consumers that the price difference doesn’t
necessarily reflect a difference in quality.
The company has released two sneaker styles: Hybrid Z, priced at 200
euro (approximately 224 US dollars or 176 pounds), and Basic Z, which
retails for 12.99 euro (15.4 US dollars or 11.4 pounds). For the first
style, Zeeman claims to have invested more in a “unique, flashy design” for
both the sneaker and its packaging, as well as artificially creating a
sense of scarcity around the product. “By limiting production to just 500
pairs, we make sure it remains exclusive. Then, we invested in a marketing
and social media campaign with various influencers to increase the hype
even more”, said the retailer in a statement.
As for Basic Z, the company says it has “a simple design with good
materials. We produced a large amount of pairs (20.000) looking to bring
the costs down. We didn’t buy any expensive advertisements, all we did was
make sure to take a good, clear picture of the product. This is how we can
make a quality product for the lowest possible price.”
Which sneaker style will Dutch consumers prefer? That remains to be
seen.
Courtesy of Zeeman
