Brand Extensions.
It’s common practice to add ancillary products to a valued, established brand. Usually this is done to expand awareness, build further points of contact, and most often, to generate more income.
This often results in crap.
I understand the importance of rushing out brand extensions into other markets. Maintaining awareness often requires a steady stream of new. But it’s less common to see these extensions skew high end than it is low.
Imagine a band that toured, offering a capsule collection by an established designer at a medium price point, in the manner of H+M. Most tour clothing is low quality, with the only value being the band attached to it. This is in part because tour merch is first and foremost a money making operation.
If the only value comes out of the brand, you’re selling an artifact of decay; a product that turns brand value into money, but neither supports or reinforces the meaning it’s selling. Willful decay isn’t a strategy. It’s a surrender to short-term thinking.
