Supply and Demand of Iron Heart Products
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I absolutely hate hype purchases and the associated stress. I prefer a more leisurely buying process that isn’t threatened by other commitments that might interfere with a drop.
Probably in part due to PTSD from stressful live music ticket purchases. At least IH operates in good faith though.
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I love reading these responses!!
Agree with scarcity, rarity, and exclusivity comments and how they drive sales. Look at Rolex over the last 4 or 5 years and how everyone was going nuts for them. Individuals spending 3 or 4 times msrp at grey market dealers just to own a Rolex.
If Rolex increased production or even just published their production numbers, the market would plummet when people realized there are 1000, 10000, 100000 watches just like theirs. The magic and mystery behind the brand would be gone…
I love your quote G., about predicting the future and often think about it. Let me know when you figure it out
Interesting point here on Rolex. I follow the rolex prices/news regularly. They have just announced a CPO (certified pre-owned) arrangement. So you can now buy certified watches from stores that stock Rolex versus worrying you may get scammed with a fake from Joe Bloggs on the street.
I'd imagine fake IHs are much less prevalent and this may be covered by the 'pre-loved' section but perhaps there is a way that can be extended and IH become more involved in the re-selling aspect.
Having purchased a few items on the for sale boards here I have been lucky enough to deal with some great people including IH's own Olly but can't say my heart doesn't skip a beat as I push send on transferring money to an unknown.
Perhaps if we knew the products sold were 100% legit it may boost sales on the forum. I do however suspect, it would be a logistical nightmare and that the sales section is not the main driver for joining the IH forum.
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I was reluctant to comment, so many people with far greater historical background with the brand have posted comments that I agree with. I only saw the Fall Winter 22 unfold, and now announcement of Spring Summer 23, but since Giles mentioned that First Time Customer or FTC" is a key metric I decided to give such perspective.
The reason I went for IH is the feeling of ultimate quality. If it is in the shop, it should be the best possible rendition of raw material, yarn spinning, weaving mill, dyeing, etc. I am never concerned about exclusivity; it is for me a device of the fast fashion world.
The brand was built on the innovative heavy denim idea that came from deep industry insights of Haraki-san and proved so successful that it transcended intended motorcycle audience. And that is how I would like to see IH future - deep understanding of textiles, and ability to improve and perfect the past and present materials. In other words, if it should bear IH logo it has to be taken to an extreme one way or the other and quality-wise go way beyond anything anyone in the market offers. In terms of what to produce I would like to see things that were popular 100, 50 years ago and will be popular in 100 years.
I would not worry about having millions of products with the IH logo. As a matter fact I think the more ground you cover the more it dilutes the core value and brings the company closer to the clothing giants that offer everything with their logo.
In terms of availability, this discussion focuses on the seasonal products, but I want to focus more on the scarcity of “continuous production”. Waiting times on those seem to vary between 6 to 12 months from what I see on the forum and that I can hardly call continuous. Providing restocks more often instead of introducing other products would be my priority.
One more comment after seeing yesterday’s SS23 is that re-release of popular elements from previous seasons is a great idea. Some of the most popular pieces might even take place in continuous production.
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Some of the most popular pieces might even take place in continuous production.
It's happened before….
In terms of availability, this discussion focuses on the seasonal products, but I want to focus more on the scarcity of “continuous production”. Waiting times on those seem to vary between 6 to 12 months from what I see on the forum and that I can hardly call continuous. Providing restocks more often instead of introducing other products would be my priority.
Haraki needs to innovate, experiment and play. It's part of what makes him who he is. It's simply impossible to tell him to slow down and get more core product through the workshops.
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Haraki needs to innovate, experiment and play. It's part of what makes him who he is. It's simply impossible to tell him to slow down and get more core product through the workshops.
So grateful for that. He's an endless font of creativity and style and I wouldn't change a thing about his output, even if not everything is for me.
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Some of the most popular pieces might even take place in continuous production.
It's happened before….
Thats the tried and tested way of expanding the offer
It all made sense seeing yesterday that the 11oz West Point Shorts are back.
@Karol:In terms of availability, this discussion focuses on the seasonal products, but I want to focus more on the scarcity of “continuous production”. Waiting times on those seem to vary between 6 to 12 months from what I see on the forum and that I can hardly call continuous. Providing restocks more often instead of introducing other products would be my priority.
Haraki needs to innovate, experiment and play. It's part of what makes him who he is. It's simply impossible to tell him to slow down and get more core product through the workshops.
I would not like to take that away from him and as I mentioned it's kind of what I expect from him in terms of production. This is a long topic, but You and Alex mentioned this in a podcast that he wants to focus even more on that R&D side of production in the future. The only goal should be to have products better in their category than anything else produced by other companies. With your brand it all that matters to me.
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I think selecting work or western for shirts was a smart move. Making both means making a lot with just a little difference. If I like a shirt, like the sashiko from f/w24 I'm buying it. Would I have bought it if it was a western? Duh.
Other than the chalk stripe that was both this season I think you guys did a great job making great clothes and decisions.
