Superthought

[Sook A Look]

I work in retail at a store that sells that super-cool,vintage,worn-in abercrombie look alot of us aren't really into. Needless to say I'm looking for a new job but thats besides the point. Anyway...in walk these two Japanese dudes that come in once every 4-6 weeks, and they proceed clean out our sale section and a substantial amount of our men's side. From what my managers have told me,they go back to Japan and sell everything they buy from our store.Its obviously been working for them because they've been coming in regularly droppin 4-5k every time way before I was hired.I'd never given it a thought before I got into "superfuture quality" (couldn't really convey it any other way) clothing but it seems that as much as we're into their awesome fashion, there are some of them that are just as into the busted Abercrombie look we sell in the states. Just a thought.

[xcoldricex]

abercrombie is big in japan.

but they're kinda stupid for buying it there. when it's made in china and you can get it straight off the truck.

[minya]

I've also seen Old Navy stuff selling at Rakuten stores for pretty high prices.

[adsurgo]

abercrombie is big everywhere in the world because its only sold in the us.

[adsurgo]

abercrombie is big in japan.

but they're kinda stupid for buying it there. when it's made in china and you can get it straight off the truck.

thats not completely true. a lof of shit is made is south america and africa and also other parts of asia.

[djrajio]

The look is popular in Japan. There are no Abercrombie stores in Japan as well, so the brand has more value. I know a ton of friends who did this/do this; go to foreign countries, buy everything, and sell it back in Japan. A friend of mine paid his way through college by going to Paris every couple of months and buying out all the Prada bags not available in Japan and then selling them at a markup on yahoo auctions

[xcoldricex]

well, i can buy trashbags of a lot of authentic abercrombie goods in china at 10% or less of what they sell it for here. that's why i'm saying they are stupid.

[djrajio]

well, i can buy trashbags of a lot of authentic abercrombie goods in china at 10% or less of what they sell it for here. that's why i'm saying they are stupid.

Oohh. PM the details. Perhaps we could arrange some sort of business partnership.

[red]

japanese LOVE american culture.LOVE. ALOT.

[6MT]

try go to rose bowl if you have chance, there is buyer from JP thats come every month religiously, and drop big money on gears, and due to that reason the price at a swap meet has been drivent o sky high....

[naturaljax]

funny fact.

they also do this with Rogaine-esque products.

I worked at Costco, and Japanese guys would come through the line with BOXES AND BOXES of hair-grow shit.

Because the stuff they sell in Japan isn't allowed to be as potent as the stuff in America.

So they can at least double what they spent in profit.

Pretty sweet.

[dizzhizz]

Korea be loving the A&F, Hollister and American Eagle shit as well. It goes beyond me but kids are willing to pay a high premium with the three letter words G-A-P branded on their chest.

It goes beyond me.

[Guest Fade to Black]

^^^

To add to that I've noticed a lot of Korean/Japanese students at my school (ones who come from the motherland, not American born) are really into True Religion as well...it seems like a certain aspect of American culture is really appealing to them (based on what brands we're surveying here i'm assuming it's the east coast prep/west coast celeb scenes)...i find it's interesting to contrast the fascination with this side of Americana compared to the other side, which is a lot of the brands discussed here of Japanese made repros of classic American gear.

[adsurgo]

i dont understand why anyone, anywhere would want to look like an american celebrity.

[sushijerk]

well, i can buy trashbags of a lot of authentic abercrombie goods in china at 10% or less of what they sell it for here. that's why i'm saying they are stupid.

This is true. China is where they dump all the stuff that is 1-2 seasons out of date, and they sell to chinese high school/college students for next to nothing. Depending on where you are, you can get gap jeans from $10 to as cheap as $4. None of the stuff is high-end, so you won't be seeing any of the nicer jackets or italian made items.

It's pretty funny, because you can find $70 Gap jeans for 30 RMB, but $30 Levis from JCPenny are always like 300 RMB.

[dismalfuture]

The fascination Asian people have with American stuff is pretty weird. Most of it is merely superficial things like clothes, etc. The Budweiser brand failed in Japan because while they could sell it in clubs, bars, etc, Japanese people refused to buy it to take home and drink.

We in America used to lust incessantly about Japanese-only cars and pay thousands of dollars for OEM parts off stock Japanese version cars, while the Japanee guys were over there emulating the Fast and Furious style we hated, and they were importing all the crap stuff from America to fit to their cars.

I have no idea why Korean and Japanese kids are up on the LA celeb style but it's pretty weird, I know. A Japanese girlfriend I had awhile ago was squarely in the Juicy Couture/Sevens/Abercrombie+mixup of Japanese stuff camp.. still beyond understanding it, but the kids over here can really rattle off LA celeb names and all.

The precursor to the Abercrombie fad in Asia is the Polo Ralph Lauren/Burberry thing. That shit was absolutely rampant in Korea circa yr. 2000, same idea.

[xcoldricex]

This is true. China is where they dump all the stuff that is 1-2 seasons out of date, and they sell to chinese high school/college students for next to nothing. Depending on where you are, you can get gap jeans from $10 to as cheap as $4. None of the stuff is high-end, so you won't be seeing any of the nicer jackets or italian made items.

It's pretty funny, because you can find $70 Gap jeans for 30 RMB, but $30 Levis from JCPenny are always like 300 RMB.

they make a lot of the outerwear (coats, sweaters, etc.) there- i saw all of the nicer jackets there including the $300-$400 ones. and you get the new season stuff, not just old stuff. some japanese brands like TK, AG, etc. make their shit in china too.

[peteyross]

Back when I went to Nanzan Daigaku in Nagoya, Japan(circa 2001), there was a store at the Irinaka subway stop that sold mostly abercrombie at absurd mark-ups. I asked the guy what his business model was and all he did was fly to Seattle, spend 10G's on American mall brands and then fly back. I thought it was hilarious, since I was trying shed myself of those brands to adopt Japanese brands. I should've set something up with the guy.

[daikonyama]

Yeah, it's weird. I lived in Setagaya for a while, and there'd be a few little stores that would sell stuff like American Eagle and Abercrombie. They weren't very big shops, so they were probably doing something similar by getting people to bring stock over. We should just start trading them clothes or something.