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ON STYLE DECEMBER 10, 2009
Getting Kicks by Designing Your Own
Keds and Other Brands Ask Regular Folk to Create Products—and Market Them
By CHRISTINA BINKLEY
...
Now Keds is taking things a step further—allowing consumers to design their own Keds shoes and then set up stores and sell them—at both retail and wholesale. The program, called Keds Collective, is expected to be announced Thursday morning, but it's already functioning quietly, with a handful of carefully vetted test designers, at Keds.com.
Jeriana San Juan, an assistant costume designer for "Saturday Night Live," has sold six pairs of Keds with her designs, including an interesting ink-splatter look. "I'm totally thrilled," she says. "I didn't expect that people would buy—other than my cousin who I told about it."
...
Of course, companies like Keds won't get richer selling one pair of shoes at a time. Custom products sell at a slight premium over regular items, but they cost more to produce, too. (Prices differ depending on the designs.) But the true riches are in the marketing. Social media can turn those custom sneakers into an advertising juggernaut when the designers—you and me—proudly holler about them from the rooftops of the Internet. Ms. San Juan, for instance, has posted her Keds designs on Facebook and is adding a Keds link to her Web site.
...
Many of these efforts are aimed at people who weren't alive when Ronald Reagan was president. The "sweet spot" for Keds Collective is a 24-year-old. People that age "work collectively," says Ms. Kohler Burrows. Those who want to sell their Keds designs must pass muster with the brand's overseers, and they will get about 10% of revenue—or $6 on a $60 shoe. Stores, too, will be able to order these designs.
Not to be left out of the fun, I tried my hand at a pair of Keds. They came out a mite pricey at $70, but I'm sure (in my hungry little ego) that they would draw compliments.
ON STYLE DECEMBER 10, 2009
Getting Kicks by Designing Your Own
Keds and Other Brands Ask Regular Folk to Create Products—and Market Them
By CHRISTINA BINKLEY
...
Now Keds is taking things a step further—allowing consumers to design their own Keds shoes and then set up stores and sell them—at both retail and wholesale. The program, called Keds Collective, is expected to be announced Thursday morning, but it's already functioning quietly, with a handful of carefully vetted test designers, at Keds.com.
Jeriana San Juan, an assistant costume designer for "Saturday Night Live," has sold six pairs of Keds with her designs, including an interesting ink-splatter look. "I'm totally thrilled," she says. "I didn't expect that people would buy—other than my cousin who I told about it."
...
Of course, companies like Keds won't get richer selling one pair of shoes at a time. Custom products sell at a slight premium over regular items, but they cost more to produce, too. (Prices differ depending on the designs.) But the true riches are in the marketing. Social media can turn those custom sneakers into an advertising juggernaut when the designers—you and me—proudly holler about them from the rooftops of the Internet. Ms. San Juan, for instance, has posted her Keds designs on Facebook and is adding a Keds link to her Web site.
...
Many of these efforts are aimed at people who weren't alive when Ronald Reagan was president. The "sweet spot" for Keds Collective is a 24-year-old. People that age "work collectively," says Ms. Kohler Burrows. Those who want to sell their Keds designs must pass muster with the brand's overseers, and they will get about 10% of revenue—or $6 on a $60 shoe. Stores, too, will be able to order these designs.
Not to be left out of the fun, I tried my hand at a pair of Keds. They came out a mite pricey at $70, but I'm sure (in my hungry little ego) that they would draw compliments.