Consumer Shift - Thoughts from my Japan trip. not about rare earths at all.
there was a change a-brewing and now its here... not one nike. nope... I did not see any nikes on any feet, no american big brands... what I did see was national proud boys wearing asics (always a good choice) and ON. that's right ON.... and it was mainly foreign rich kids from Korea and china shopping in Ginza.
I don't like buying consumer product stock because taste changes and american influence kills brands. however what is actual fashion and what is actual hype...what gets made in china and what is not allowed. its a shift to chinese consumerism my guy.
so what do the chinese like? and how can we make money off of this?
exclusivity + timely design + lifestyle integration = fashion
lets talk watches, or nikes, or beanie babies... they all suffered from the same shit. overproduction + classic branded design + lifestyle chasing = complete shit.
it used to be that Rolex was classic and old money... then it was variety within the classic and new money. then it was starter classics and newer expensive collaborations... then it was ew you have a Rolex? I have a Patek Phillipe.
what about nike... used to be that nike had limited runs and focused on sports and lifestyle ... then the kids started reselling them and collabs were booming and they killed themselves by offering direct to consumer and style your own branding... nikes are gross.
beanie babies are the same shit. but for poor people. and it died cause of that.
well, nikes are now a Walmart brand type shoe. and watches are fucking dumb I saw a line for the swatch ap collab in Japan and it was all foreigners and kids... buying these colorful watches, then I saw in america they didn't giv3 out watches, it was a pocket watch! hahah
style and coolness are dead. in the age of influencers and fake news, the only thing that matters is the equation I stated above... now add a new factor divide that shit by location.
Japan is cool, china is not, France is cool, Europe is not, america is cool (just California and New York btw) , latin america is not.socialist countries are never cool, chinamaxxing is an influencer scam. no one wants a xiaomi phone. yeah there are micro fashion houses in Mexico and in Morocco and in china that are amazing, and hella forward.... but they need american influence to get on the stage.
we decide what's cool... ok let me extend on that... worldly rich white people decide what's cool. that rich kid you know that goes to Japan and wears comme de garçon. he's deciding what's cool and what isn't... since every rich person ever (no matter the color) gets grifted into thinking that other rich people have taste (they don't) then that drives the sales... balenciaga can copy it... but they're on their way out and so are all the luxury brands you know and love... good riddance. I just bought ONON stock cause the new designs they unveiled in Japan look cool as fuck. they just happen to align with a certain style that the japanese are loveing.... chunky soles and late 90s hacker fashion.