Samsung Does an Unexpected Supreme Collab
An unexpected collab with an unexpected outcome.
Samsung and Supreme are giants, that is for sure. They are in the top 5 most powerful brand 2018 list. But even giants need to watch their step unless they step on something that will hurt them. Apparently, Samsung is a very careful, and clever giant in their latest partnership with powerhouse brand Supreme, and the supreme collab they did.
Supreme, the go-to clothing line of hype beasts and skater boys has a brilliant, but simple brand that is hard to beat. Imagine the two giants teaming together and forming a partnership that will very well boost sales on both ends astronomically. But there’s a very big albeit hilarious surprise that Samsung pulled off here.
Supreme went to work earlier this week to find that Samsung had announced a collaboration with the big brand — only it wasn’t with Supreme NYC (the legit one). That’s right, Samsung, a multi-billion-dollar tech giant, is collaborating with not only one of the countless fake Supreme’s that currently plague the streetwear scene, but the one that’s so prominent and powerful that the real Supreme has taken them to court before — and lost. A supreme collab with Supreme Italia.
Samsung, in a genius move that will save them money, and at the same time will skyrocket Supreme Italia to a point it may become larger than the ones they ripped off. All because of a legal loophole that allows the Italian knockoff to imitate the New York based brand. According to Italian law, there is “not sufficient the confusion between the two brands, nor the actual external similarity of the product, to warrant a criminal offence.”
This being said, Supreme Italia — along with fellow knock-off Supreme Spain — is not only able to sell its wares in both Italy and the Asia-Pacific (except for Japan), but they hold the exclusive rights to the Supreme brand in these regions. Supreme NYC themselves can’t actually sell the products they originally made in these countries. Ouch.
This bold and brazen move has caused significant backlash in the west (especially since that time they used a stock photo for the but Samsung has double-downed on the Supreme collab and are sticking to it. A large factor is that Supreme NYC has no sales and marketing authorization in China, but Supreme Italia has obtained product sales and market authorizations in the Asia Pacific region (except Japan). Realistically, if you got China and its 2 billion people, and overpopulated Southeast Asian countries buying the latest Samsung Galaxy Note 9‘s and tablets, little will matter anyway so this supreme collab makes sense, in a weird and slightly shady way.
