Prospect of a Sugarcane flagship in USA?

[startmeup]

i saw a person. i swear, on the streets of dc in a hollister polo shirt, new balances and canes 47. i went up to the guy and asked him where he got his canes. taken aback, he said "history preservation" i then asked him if he was on any jeans forums. he said no, and when i asked him if he had washed them yet he said "yes, about 45 times". So the point is, sugarcanes are becoming mainstream, and since they are made in the US, wouldnt it be

a)cheaper

b)practical

c)great for the company

if they opened an nyc flagship? has this happened already somewhere, if not, what asre the odds of it happening within the next 5 years?

[blank]

small sample size anyone? one person wearing something doesn't mean "the point is, sugarcans are becoming mainstream"

i've never seen them on anyone else

[watchman]

i don't know about mainstream. I've never seen anyone else in the MD/DC/VA area wearing canes

[PG2G]

I don't think there is a huge market in the US for Levi's rip offs. Levi's themselves aren't even popular among the mainstream that actually buy expensive denim.

[kiya]

i saw a person. i swear, on the streets of dc in a hollister polo shirt, new balances and canes 47. i went up to the guy and asked him where he got his canes. taken aback, he said "history preservation" i then asked him if he was on any jeans forums. he said no, and when i asked him if he had washed them yet he said "yes, about 45 times". So the point is, sugarcanes are becoming mainstream, and since they are made in the US, wouldnt it be

a)cheaper

b)practical

c)great for the company

if they opened an nyc flagship? has this happened already somewhere, if not, what asre the odds of it happening within the next 5 years?

a few comments i have on this post..

seeing one person with canes doesn't mean they're mainstream. History Preservation has been selling them for years and is quite known among people in the fashion industry that are into vintage repros of any kind.

sugarcanes are not made in america. a couple models they make are assembled here then shipped back to Japan to be tagged and completed. the rest of their line is fully made in japan including all their shirts, jackets, belts, etc..

i understand your question, i just don't think a company like sugarcane would benefit from a flagship store in any way. most flagship stores aren't even profitable, they're merely a very expensive ad for the manufacturer.

[drapygo]

I have Cane's 47s.

[poly800rock]

a few comments i have on this post..

seeing one person with canes doesn't mean they're mainstream. History Preservation has been selling them for years and is quite known among people in the fashion industry that are into vintage repros of any kind.

sugarcanes are not made in america. a couple models they make are assembled here then shipped back to Japan to be tagged and completed. the rest of their line is fully made in japan including all their shirts, jackets, belts, etc..

i understand your question, i just don't think a company like sugarcane would benefit from a flagship store in any way. most flagship stores aren't even profitable, they're merely a very expensive ad for the manufacturer.

don't know if this is too personal kiya, but do you guys have to buy from history pres? I thought they had an exclusive deal with sugarcane.

[sneakeraddict]

As far as I'm aware, there isnt a Sugar Cane 'flagship' in Japan, so they certanly aren't going to put one in US.

I read that (outside Japan) the biggest market for that type of premium denim in terms of volume sales is actually the UK and Sweden, so that is another reason it would probably not be put in the US anyway. (Hypothetically)

There was an Edwin store in London that closed within less than a year's trading, and London is a city where people are used to paying serious money for stuff.

In the UK, a pair of Levis 501s or Carharrt can cost approx. £70 from a branded store. (USD-140). That is a 'standard' price that clothes-interested men expect to pay for a reasonable brand name.

I dont know if it would make sense to launch a store in the US where the lowest priced product at the end of the spectrum would cost $230+ due to import taxes, when generally the US consumer expects to pay around $150 for 'premium' jeans?

obviously, there are exceptions like Dior jeans etc, but then the Dior NYC and other flagship stores will make more money selling fragrances and sunglasses than actual clothes.

[02///M3]

Last Thursday's style section of the NY Times had a full article devoted to Sugarcanes. I think that, in general, selvage denim is becoming relatively popular in the states. I saw at least 3 people wearing Nudies in the Uniqlo store the other day.

[swisloc]

obviously, there are exceptions like Dior jeans etc, but then the Dior NYC and other flagship stores will make more money selling fragrances and sunglasses than actual clothes.

yeah, that's an important point. when you're talking about a successful "flagship" it's very rare to find them selling a single product, or largely one product, like sugarcane. Levi's is the exception not the rule, and they are successful because they are a historically marketable brand (and even they have diversified quite extensively in there product range). Other flagships are successful because they can deversify and sell to both sexes and multiple ages (think all fashion brands) and, most importantly as mentioned above, use there store as another marketing tool.

i could much sooner see them start selling to larger department stores, then opening their own. I mean, i seriously doubt even Nudie, which can de seen on the streets of NYC quite frequently now and is almost definitely the most mainstream of these brands (with the possible exception of APC), could open a financially succesful flagship store.

[headcoat]

So this guy didn't get weirded out that a stranger asked him how many times he's washed his jeans?

[startmeup]

^^not at all. he seemed like this was the umpteenth time he had been asked. i admit i was a little rushed, but it was my first canes sighting outside of blue in green.

[nappyhead jenkins]

being a denim ethusiast means never being afraid to ask about another mans washing habits

[toufu]

being a denim ethusiast means never being afraid to ask about another mans washing habits

true that.

[mistanorth]

i saw a person. i swear, on the streets of dc in a hollister polo shirt, new balances and canes 47. i went up to the guy and asked him where he got his canes. taken aback, he said "history preservation" i then asked him if he was on any jeans forums. he said no, and when i asked him if he had washed them yet he said "yes, about 45 times". So the point is, sugarcanes are becoming mainstream, and since they are made in the US, wouldnt it be

a)cheaper

b)practical

c)great for the company

if they opened an nyc flagship? has this happened already somewhere, if not, what asre the odds of it happening within the next 5 years?

I live in sheffield in the UK, a city but not a big one and we have 2 shops selling sugarcanes, so its not like these are unknown jeans - although they do sell for about £160/$310 which is pretty expensive so you dont see loads of people wearing them, nice jeans though.

G

[synthi]

I think were losing sight of the fact that these are niche products. Two girls I know were talking about jeans in front of me the other day saying how they'd spend about £60 ($100ish) max on a pair of jeans, most likely about half that if possible. Of course, I kept my indigo addiction a secret