Jerome
Oakley Enthusiast
That's what i'm trying to say. The Supermarket is reserved for in house marketing specifically to work with clients to build the brand for both Oakley and it's collaborators. It's a marketing department strategy tool, not a consumer product and is not meant to be. OCP is specifically a consumer product.
Why hold this from the main public and only allow athletes to do this? Because famous and rich people love/thrive on special treatment. This is Oakley's way of giving them special treatment. Take that away and it's not special anymore.
First, let's get the nomenclature right. Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac is a standard luxury car. Bently and Aston Martin is Ultra-Luxury (Mercedes has models that fall into this category too). Ferrari and Lamborghini are Supercars. When you refer to Ultra Luxury and Supercars and paying the kind of money for the base model car, you should be able to customize to your heart's content. Because who else can afford those kinds of cars? Famous and rich people who love/thrive on special treatment. But even then, it's not as you say, customizable to your heart's content. You are still bounded to what they can offer. Napa leather on your seat? No problem. Endangered Albino Elephant leather with (illegal) ivory shift knob and buttons? Hmmmm.... we'll get back to you on thatAlso, ultra-luxury and supercars are a niche market themselves. They are not mass marketed to the general consumer pool. They are for the wealthy. I don't have the data, but i'm absolutely certain they don't make the volume Mercedes or Lexus does. Yes, each car is crazy expensive, but how many do they sell on a daily basis. I imagine Ferrari might sell a car every day or two, but compare that to how many standard luxury cars move off the lot each day.
Now, if we're talking about the higher end mass market consumer, we move to Lexus and Mercedes, where they do allow limited customization options on their regular lineup, not dissimilar to Oakley's OCP. You get a limited range of choices which will satisfy most consumers, same as what OCP offers. Within those same lines, you obviously don't get the options for a lime green interior with a colorshift pearl exterior on a Mercedes E Class model. If you wanted that, you'd have to go 3rd party customs.
But this is apples to oranges. I don't see Oakley as a "Supercar of the sunglass world", which is what i think you're insinuating.
However, i think i see where you're coming from as an Oakley enthusiast. You don't see why Oakley wouldn't cater to their fan base. But at the same time, do they even do this now? Barely. Don't forget they are a business first. Their primary objective is to satisfy their shareholders. Giving up a marketing tool reserved for their top business partners (athletes/3rd party retailers) to you or me doesn't make financial sense. They teased us with their new x metals, and that failed. They brought back the Eye Jacket Redux and that's gotten mixed reviews. Let's face it. Fans of Oakley is not what makes money for the business.
Now, would i pay top dollar for a pair of Flak 2.0? No, because I find it hard paying MSRP, but that's just me. Would you? Yes (as you said you would), but to what extent? And again, does that make sense for Oakley to let you and others walk in to customize something that is usually reserved to create exclusivity with their business partners? Probably not.
I agree with you 100% that customization is a HUGE market. What i'm getting at is that's what OCP is for. It gives that market just enough to satisfy that craving to be unique. What i gather from that video is that the Supermarket is their marketing strategy tool. A tool that allows their business partners to create strategy and demand for something. Exclusivity (for profit), not uniqueness (for fans).
Again this is all my opinion and Oakley might prove me wrong, but speaking with general business sense, it just doesn't make sense.
I think that I’m an optimistic dreamer that might be a bit naive.
I think that you are more of a realistic person that has a better look on business side of Oakley than I do.
Do you agree with my view?
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