Can You Resell Puma Sneakers: Let’s Find Out!
Hype is the name of the game in the sneaker resale market.
Does Puma have it? You might be surprised with the answer.
Hype is the name of the game in the sneaker resale market. Can we resell Puma Sneakers? To find out, let̵7;s start with some history.
History of Puma
In the 1950s, before Nike or Reebok were ever around, the shoe world was predominantly German, owned mostly by Adidas, with Puma not far behind. It’s a little-known fact that Puma and Adidas represent one of the greatest business and shoe rivalries of all time, as they both used to be under the same brand owned by two brothers.
In 1948, the brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler split, with Adolf forming Adidas and Rudolf going off with Puma. Ups and downs ensued, but it’s easy to say now that Adidas is on top and making big moves. In 2006, the Three Stripes brand actually purchased and still owns Reebok. Talk about dominance. No war is not worth fighting. After all, Nike came after all of these brands. That said, can Puma rise to the top?
Puma: The Fastest Growing Sneaker Brand of 2019
Today in 2019, we are seeing a rise of the underdog. 2018 was a strong year of growth, and 2019 is even better. Puma is reporting faster growth than ever, with a recent quarter outperforming even Adidas and Nike in terms of growth according to Reuters, making it the fastest-growing sneaker brand.
With List names like Jay Z, Selena Gomez, Rihanna, the Weeknd, and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie repping the brand strong, this German underdog is making moves that have its bigger brother sweating a little bit. So, with this hype, and such a large, billion-dollar sneaker aftermarket, a good question to ask is:
Can We resell Puma sneakers for profit?
The short answer to this question is yes, but only if you understand the brand and what has worked in the past–very few Puma sneakers are flippable compared to the consistency of Jordans and Yeezys. It takes a well-educated resale expert to flip such a brand like Puma.
How to Resell Puma Sneakers
To get you started on this process, let’s take a look and find out what makes a Puma sneaker a winner that sells out instantly.
Puma with Streetwear: The Most Valuable Combo
As with the big-name sneaker brands, collaborations with streetwear clothing brands often result in resale value.
With Puma, this was no different. Two of their most valuable shoes that hold high prices on the aftermarket include the Disc Blaze x Bape and the Suede Classic x MCM. The highest prices on the web are on Flight Club, but checking StockX will show lower values on these kicks.
In late May of 2019, a Puma collaboration with streetwear maker Diamond Supply dropped but is not really expected to sell out.
Diamond Supply has historically made sneakers that sell out with Nike, like their SB collab, so if Puma follows suit with a limited Diamond Supply collab on a silhouette like the Disc Blazer, it could be one to watch out for.
Throwing a celeb’s name on a limited sneaker model normally results in it selling out.
Is this true for Puma?
Let’s take a look.
Puma Collaborations with Celebrities
Having celebrity clout is a strategy that works well with Nike, and almost always creates insane resale hype like the $1,000+ Travis Scott Jordan 1’s.
A few years ago, Puma started going hard with the strategy of celeb endorsements. Is it working?
Rihanna x Puma
One of the first big-name celebrity collections of the brand happened in late 2016 when RiRi dropped a collection with Puma Fenty Puma Rihanna. During the release day, the Creeper models sold out super fast and were going for as high as $300 in resale. To top off the praise received across the board, Rihanna’s Fenty Puma Creeper won Sneaker of the Year in 2016, making her the first female designer to win such a title.
Since its hyped drop, other similar versions of the Creeper (albeit not in the limited edition colors) are sitting for half off at discount retailer Nordstrom rack right now: The previously hyped colorways like the Velvet are hard to move today 6 years later when people seem to have forgotten about these.
The Weeknd x Puma
In 2017, The Weeknd debuted strong with Puma, unleashing his “Parallel” debut sneaker. According to Footwear News, he was planning to make these shoes a “cultural phenomenon”. Although Abel may have had Yeezy success in mind, the line was anything but resellable.
It’s now found for heavily discounted prices on Puma’s official website and many other third-party sites like Shoebacca for $130 under its retail price brand new.
2019 Puma collabs
Selena Gomez is a name associated with Puma heavily in its marketing lately. A Boogie with The Hoodie has also been promoting and wearing the brand heavily. With Puma, it seems their celebrity collaborations are meant more for the consumer market, so for the sneaker reseller, these sorts of collaborations are not expected to generate a consistent profit.
One from the books of Adidas?
Capturing the dad shoe trend, Puma has dropped thunder spectra are strikingly similar to the Wave Runner.
Check out the picture above…you be the judge.
The Yeezy retails at $300, with some resale value tacked on top, making it more than 3 times more expensive than its clone which is currently on sale for less than $100. As popular as the spectra were and still are for formerly non-Puma wearers, they didn’t resell and are now at discounted prices on shelves everywhere.
Why are these celebrity collabs flopping?
There are two critical pieces that are missing that make the vast majority of these Puma x Celeb collaborations flops for resellers:
- No limited stock
- Lack of streetwear clout
Puma is so closely tied to unrelated cultures like F1 racing and soccer without the multifaceted appeal that Adidas and Nike have.
Also, The Weeknd and Rihanna collabs were released in both semi-limited but also widely available releases which diluted the overall value, even of the most exclusive individual models.
Maybe Puma doesn’t want to make limited sneakers that sell out–it just might not be a part of their business model.
So is Puma Resellable?
If you’re in the sneaker game for the money, it’s best to stay away from Puma.
As seen above, one of the most popular and culturally relevant Puma sneakers on the market, the Puma Thunder Spectra, is on StockX for half its retail price of $120.
With such a low ratio of hype shoes and resale value compared to the other brands and even to Supreme clothing, there just isn’t enough past or present evidence for strong resale value.
You’re better off sticking to Nike and Adidas.
Conclusion: Is Puma winning?
As a company, Puma is worth having on the radar.
Its ongoing celebrity collaborations and marketing are expected to increase the brand’s sales across casual sneaker buyers, profiting shareholders, and members of the company. By making their shoes not as limited and with wider models that are tied to celebrity status, Puma’s market share is positioned to grow and capture the attention and dollars of the ordinary consumer.
As the general population grows more hip to this pressing issue, Puma would be wise to drop more press about this. Even if you have never bought a pair of Puma’s, don’t be surprised if you’re starting to feel the appeal. Maybe you or a friend have already bought a pair of Pumas after never having done so before.
Their marketing techniques are converting people around the globe to let them into even the most selective of sneaker collections. Things change, trends come and go, but this 70-year-old shoe company is one that is looking like it’s set for a real comeback.
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