The Premeira Runner is a silhouette modernized with perforation and quality leather. Smooth leather and a bungee cord heel tab for style; with an EVA sole for lightweight comfort. Handmade in Portugal Threaded with waxed cotton laces
Source: The Premeira Runner “Mocha”
I posted the video above a year ago after discovering Brittney Perry and PerryCo sneakers. The brand had been in formation for six years and attained a few extremely difficult feats in the time of existence: A feature on GQ, placement in a popular HBO television series and Brittney won several design awards.
The impressive entrance was capped off by items being carried on the Macy’s website. As a former sneaker company owner, this is an amazing thing for a startup, but what happens when the product being carried sells slowly and it doesn’t make sense to place money into the development of more designs?
In 2009 when I launched arch, after Sho-Shot, I was in the unique position of operating a successful e-commerce shop. The shop was a massive revenue generator. This meant I could quickly pivot and make samples on a whim. The problem with having the capital was carelessness. Social media wasn’t as prevalent and selling through social was non-existent. Everything had to be driven to a website and because arch was secondary, I didn’t focus on selling through the site. I didn’t focus on arch hardly at all.
What does this have to do with PerryCo? The Prelude sneaker has been around for over 5 years. The latest sneaker, The Premeira Runner, pictured above, is a year old. PerryCo hasn’t done what I did. From 2009 to 2014 I released over 10 different styles. I changed designs even when I had a successful sneaker. I was paying attention to bigger brands and attempting to diversify my options. I didn’t have a plan, I just had so much money flowing it didn’t matter. I even went through the process of creating an expensive hoops shoe I never released.
When the market turned and funds weren’t as easy to come by, I still kept designing new drops. I finally realized the importance of a plan and building your own platform vs relying solely on outside revenue from my e-commerce. It was too late by then. I had spent thousands on arch because I had the cash on hand. I launched a Kickstarter to cover expenses for arch as I ran through my reserves. Once again, what does this have to do with PerryCo?
The brand has stuck with two products. The Prelude and Premeira. Instead of trying to keep up with the trends, an impossible task, Brittney is introducing new colors on Instagram. The brand is updating the in-production colors with new copy and photography. While there wasn’t a request, I’m updating last year’s post with this one and telling you that PerryCo has added a dope Letterman’s Jacket and some tees.
How do you refresh and remain relevant with limited resources and SKUs? You realize that there is always someone who hasn’t seen your work. You recreate what’s there for a new audience. You share art, food, music and work that you love to engage the people already rocking with you and to invite new people to learn about your brand. You hope that small and big websites remember the company and share highlights during the holiday season like I’m doing here. Had you heard of PerryCo before this post? If you haven’t, use this link to visit the site to learn more.