Supreme opens in Shanghai, but is it still relevant?

On Saturday last week, China’s streetwear industry and cool kids partied in celebration of Supreme’s first ever brick-and-mortar location in the country. At the corner of Changle Road and Fumin Road, the downtown Shanghai store feels late to the party, but certainly illustrates an exciting moment for the local streetwear scene. Despite the world-leading skate brand enjoying its heyday back in the noughties and 2010s – ultimately peaking at the legendary Louis Vuitton 2017 collaboration, before former creative director Tremaine Emory exited in August 2023 due to “structural issues” after just 18 months – the Shanghai store confirms that the mainland’s love remains strong. Unsurprising, as this is the market which allowed the counterfeit retail debacle "Supreme Italia" to thrive in the same city, which ended with a 10 million dollar lawsuit in 2023. Proving that the brand still has its magic resale touch, the Supreme Shanghai Box Logo Tee, released to mark the China store opening, is already on StockX at a hefty 450 percent price premium at the time of writing this, the highest markup that the resale site is seeing for Supreme to date. Over on social media, millions of netizens are talking about the brand, too. On Xiaohongshu, #supreme has garnered 75.3 million reads, and 710 million over on X-equivalent Weibo. The latter platform saw conversation soaring high on March 23, the day of the opening, with 107,000 organic posts in one day. But will the brand be able to convert this initial excitement into a long-lasting retail business in China? Competition in the mainland Though they might not have the budget to illuminate a massive skyscraper in Shanghai, like Supreme did recently, China’s domestic streetwear talent have gained market share over the past couple of years. From skate brands such as Pin Sktbs and Avenue & Son, to Randomevent, Hamcus, and Roaringwild, many local players are building their own communities among Chinese Gen Z consumers. With national pride making its way into consumers’ decision-making process (guochao) in China, Supreme has its work cut out. In the West, the brand has lost consumers to the likes of Stüssy, Aimé Leon Dore, and Our Legacy, as well as a certain level of relevance. There’s also been the rise of quiet luxury overtaking the logomanic streetwear that Supreme epitomizes. In 2024, Gen Z consumers are also building cult online communities around hyped labels like Corteiz and South Korea’s Thug Club, with their respective founders Clint 419 and Thug Min gaining icon status among young streetwear fans. In short, streetwear has a new scene in 2024, one where Supreme may struggle to find a niche. Furthermore, the previous hyper-exclusivity and collectibles that used to define the New York City brand no longer appear central to the strategy – consumers can often easily shop products at any time on the site due to the larger inventory of most drops. A new China era Supreme has officially entered Shanghai years after its hypebeast heyday - the WeChat Mini Program has also just officially launched - yet the response online shows that the brand remains celebrated in the Chinese market. Perhaps no longer at the center of streetwear, it proves that once a brand becomes a household name, longevity can be attained, even if its reputation changes. After all, China is the home of Supreme queen-reseller OG MA (who hails from Shenzhen and was, of course, at the opening event) and the netizen response to the store bodes well for sales – perhaps Supreme is entering a new era of catering to its Asian fanbases, just as it struggles with its OG Western fans. It is about time, too.

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Supreme opens in Shanghai, but is it still relevant?