R.I.P Supra

[Murge]

Wasn’t Supra one of the company’s that was on a petition to change something about imports or something posted earlier this year?


Spencer deserves better than Supra

[DanTheDoucher]

Wasn’t Supra one of the company’s that was on a petition to change something about imports or something posted earlier this year?


Spencer deserves better than Supra

Yes, I believe I read that Supra import thing as well.

[Ghost Face]

I have pair of those Vaider CW's. The construction is awesome.

I used to get sample Skytop and Vaiders when there was still had a local distro over here. Now I hold out for the Black Friday sales on the euro site and have them brought over by family whenever they visit. After getting samples for years I now buy them whenever I can. I've got a pair of Bleaker, Vaider CW, Vaider 2.0, Atom, Skytop and Skytop 2.

Supra doesn't make shoes for most tastes but they are made very damn well and are well worth the money even at full price. There's just so much more to them than most other shoes.

I think one of their biggest downfalls was constantly dropping new colours and ranges. At one point it felt like it was weekly that a new colour came out and a new shoe was almost monthly. Even if they halved the drops per year they would still be churning out a big range.

[Jacob Gary]

Why are you talking bout cars on here?

Are you fucking stupid?

Toyota already brought the supra back.

Jesus christ do some fucking research SMH.

[V.I. Lenin]

Last time i've seen supras in wild was like 2010. Those spenny pro shoes looks nice tho

[Murge]

Supra’s new catalog looked good. 

[fakie nollie]

This was probably already answered but who are their 200 employees? Workers in foreign plants? I can't image that between an owner, marketing, finance, a TM and the team itself their employee count exceeds 20. Contractors for capturing media, add a few more to that number.

[heckler]

This was probably already answered but who are their 200 employees? Workers in foreign plants? I can't image that between an owner, marketing, finance, a TM and the team itself their employee count exceeds 20. Contractors for capturing media, add a few more to that number.

Do you really think a K-Swiss affiliate - or any clothing brand, for that matter - operates with one-person departments across the board? Like, one shoe designer, one clothing designer, one HR representative, one person in payroll, one person in marketing, a TM, and twelve team riders, that's it?

[beef_rag]

From Xtep website
https://doc.irasia.com/listco/hk/xtep/press/p190502.pdf
They bough K-Swiss , Palladium , and Supra.
Seems their main focus is on the K-Swiss and Palladium ... Supra probably resold to another investment group  in a side deal.
So wouldn't say Supra is dead probably just under new ownership.
On a side note my wife works for a large brand as a senior designer.. They got bought out by an investment firm , All key employees like her got a hefty bonu$$$ to stay.

[BL0B]

eh, shrug.

[poor alice]

I have pair of those Vaider CW's. The construction is awesome.

I used to get sample Skytop and Vaiders when there was still had a local distro over here. Now I hold out for the Black Friday sales on the euro site and have them brought over by family whenever they visit. After getting samples for years I now buy them whenever I can. I've got a pair of Bleaker, Vaider CW, Vaider 2.0, Atom, Skytop and Skytop 2.

Supra doesn't make shoes for most tastes but they are made very damn well and are well worth the money even at full price. There's just so much more to them than most other shoes.

I think one of their biggest downfalls was constantly dropping new colours and ranges. At one point it felt like it was weekly that a new colour came out and a new shoe was almost monthly. Even if they halved the drops per year they would still be churning out a big range.

So so much agree with this. This is how I feel about them too, but their image is seen as kooky from the cool crowd we all know that.
I haven't been disappointed or dissatisfied with any of their variety of models I've had over the years. They have some classic models that are just amazing for skating too.

Personally ive found the OG vulc sole Skytop to be one of the better shoes I've skated in - it just takes a bit of time getting used to the high top style for some tricks and the constant comments 🥰
Had the Vaider in that Tuff upper materialthey did for a while, another great vulc sole shoe. Vaider was a good shoe and a clever sensible shoe in their line; It was a Skytop for people who didn't wanna spend over £65 for em.

The Stacks I didn't have but a handful of close skate buddies have had numerous pairs and swore by them.

I had the Ellington ones with the cup foam sole with a design panel on the heel that made it look as if it had an air bubble. They were on sale due to the Colourway being so awful and gaudy - skated so so well and were as durable as the Skytop.

Wearing the Cuba's as chiller shoes right now and loving them. Very comfortable and eye-catching in a low key sort of way.

Currently 2 months deep skating White Hammers and they are one of the best shoes I've skated. The sole lets me feel the board and feel protected at the same time- again I think they have a hybrid Vulc / Cup sole but don't know much about it.
Whatever synthetic material is on the toe box is resistant to griptape and flexible on in the right way. Only complaint is the foam side panel joins to the synthetic part right where you get the standard Ollie hole - this has come apart as expected and caused my lace loops to be sort of  loose.

Those are the main ones I have experience with and regardless of what sort of shoe you like to skate in I would say you could find a suitable one from they lineup

[DaSk8D00D]

They had a good run even though they fell way the fuck off after K-Swiss got involved. They were one of the few companies actually willing to try some new design styles for skate shoes, and they team was top-tier at their peak. Great tour videos too, shame that they couldn’t stay at that level. I skated 2-3 pairs of the skytop 3, as well as the Ellington and avenger model which were all great shoes

[poor alice]

They had a good run even though they fell way the fuck off after K-Swiss got involved. They were one of the few companies actually willing to try some new design styles for skate shoes, and they team was top-tier at their peak. Great tour videos too, shame that they couldn’t stay at that level. I skated 2-3 pairs of the skytop 3, as well as the Ellington and avenger model which were all great shoes

I've heard the Skytop 3 was a nearly perfect skate shoe but didn't ever cop a pair due to not really being a fan of their aesthetic design overall. I know the construction will be solid and the shoe looks like it would skate well but they seem to me like even more of statement than wearing the 1's, and I have those in black 'gator skin.

[GAY]

I used to work at an e-commerce company that, right up until a few months before I started, was run like the third-generation family business it was. Shortly before I came on board, it was purchased by a capital investment company that had also purchased Supra.

This investment company worked in sort of the same way that house flippers do - they bought a company with potential, pumped in a bunch of money, allowing them to expand, and then sold them on at a profit when the time was right. This was the investment company that eventually sold Supra to K-Swiss, if I remember correctly.

When I started at that job, there were less than 100 employees in the whole company, between R&D, marketing, photography, the product teams, customer service, sales, and the warehouse. By the time I left three years later, the company had, by my estimation, tripled in size, bought three other companies in the same industry, and expanded the building we worked in twice after buying the truck depot next door and tearing it down.

We'd have quarterly "town hall" meetings hosted over lunch in a large open area of the building, where the CEO and management team would talk to us about how the company was doing and show us pie charts and graphs while we stuffed our faces with free food. That's probably exactly how this layoff meeting happened.

I have zero doubts that Supra had 200 employees, and it was, unfortunately, probably too bloated to perform at a sustained high level. I feel bad not only for the employees, but for the pro riders as well. I hope those guys get picked up fast.

Somewhat related: everyone at my company got a free pair of Supras when the capital investment company bought them...a month or so before I started. Everyone in the office but me had fresh skate shoes.

Gnarly and fascinating. Great post fella. Corporate culture is no joke and I'm at my first "big company" job and some days I'm just like, "What on earth is going on and what the fuck are these people talking about?"
The funny thing is that, by being the only person in the office without Supras, you inadvertently ended up being the most fashionable.

[Yesterdays-pop]

I’ve seen some cute girls wearing Supra in the wild, they always have big butts.
I had a pair of crocodile rubber Greco hammers in 2012-2014 they were indestructible and only cupsole I’ve really enjoyed, I bought them for $18 at shop sale with homie discount, I still have them and they are in great shape.
Ive also seen people, mostly euro hypebeast which is a weird breed, come out of the Supra store in NYC with bags and bags of clothes and shoes

[Sativa Lung]

This was probably already answered but who are their 200 employees? Workers in foreign plants? I can't image that between an owner, marketing, finance, a TM and the team itself their employee count exceeds 20. Contractors for capturing media, add a few more to that number.

That's what I was saying too, but I received angry "Christ almighty" replies and got my ass kicked for being stupid. I've been in the corporate world over 10 years and have seen a lot. Someone claimed Supra has 30 warehouse staff which seems really excessive (I have warehouse experience too). Then that person also said 20-30 sales reps which could be true but also seems really excessive. Then 15 designers, I would guess 5 at the most full time but that's just me.

Maybe they're closing down their stores? They have some international locations, and there's only 15 people on LinkedIn representing Supra. OP is just a cool guy and was fucking lazy and vague with his rumor spreading. Doesn't matter people are super butt hurt over this terrible news. At least they got one last free meal 😂

[uncool old fart]

Gnarly and fascinating. Great post fella. Corporate culture is no joke and I'm at my first "big company" job and some days I'm just like, "What on earth is going on and what the fuck are these people talking about?"
The funny thing is that, by being the only person in the office without Supras, you inadvertently ended up being the most fashionable.

Everyone at that company, aside from the upper management installed by the investment company, was a passionate enthusiast within the industry we worked in. We were all very close - very much like a family. As cliche as that sounds, it's 100% true. We spent lots of time together outside of work, and a lot of those guys are still some of my best friends. It made navigating the weird new corporate landscape a little easier, but within the last year, so many people left, myself included. It just became too much to handle. We still hang out, and the stories that get back to me lead me to believe that things are getting worse.

It just goes to show you that the second they smell money, corporate greed ruins any niche industry, including skateboarding. Especially skateboarding.

[Reed Richards]

I’ve seen some cute girls wearing Supra in the wild, they always have big butts.
I had a pair of crocodile rubber Greco hammers in 2012-2014 they were indestructible and only cupsole I’ve really enjoyed, I bought them for $18 at shop sale with homie discount, I still have them and they are in great shape.
Ive also seen people, mostly euro hypebeast which is a weird breed, come out of the Supra store in NYC with bags and bags of clothes and shoes

Can confirm the first part, especially in the tri state area.  I never had Supras but it's sad when brands go, especially in the hands of an investment overlord.

[Garth Marenghi]

Oh, man. Don't tell me Mike Plumb jumped over 25 shoe boxes at an indoor park in vain...

[Switch_fsflip_noseslide]

Rolled my ankle in a pair of Greco hammers, so fuck em.

Figured Penny would be on 3stripe by now.

Spenny has noike wrote all over him since prod hook up, or Tiago gets him on DC.

No one wants to give Greco legend status. So idk who'll pay to make his shoes or deal with him.

Lizard had a shoe, they took it away. Now theyre like sorry,we do ne

[Sativa Lung]

Expand Quote

This was probably already answered but who are their 200 employees? Workers in foreign plants? I can't image that between an owner, marketing, finance, a TM and the team itself their employee count exceeds 20. Contractors for capturing media, add a few more to that number.

[close]

Do you really think a K-Swiss affiliate - or any clothing brand, for that matter - operates with one-person departments across the board? Like, one shoe designer, one clothing designer, one HR representative, one person in payroll, one person in marketing, a TM, and twelve team riders, that's it?

Sorry to inform you, but yeah they do. Even if you take your one person and make it 5, it's still not over 200 regular staff. You already know there's people like Alphonzo Rawls who had designed shoes and clothing for everyone but he's not a full time employee is he? Some of you are getting Supra confused with Amazon and it's kinda funny the fairy tales fans will create to please their imagination. All myself and a few other logical people are wondering is who are these 200+ people? And then I want to know what they got for lunch from Kswiss haha.

[heckler]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

This was probably already answered but who are their 200 employees? Workers in foreign plants? I can't image that between an owner, marketing, finance, a TM and the team itself their employee count exceeds 20. Contractors for capturing media, add a few more to that number.

[close]

Do you really think a K-Swiss affiliate - or any clothing brand, for that matter - operates with one-person departments across the board? Like, one shoe designer, one clothing designer, one HR representative, one person in payroll, one person in marketing, a TM, and twelve team riders, that's it?

[close]

Sorry to inform you, but yeah they do. Even if you take your one person and make it 5, it's still not over 200 regular staff. You already know there's people like Alphonzo Rawls who had designed shoes and clothing for everyone but he's not a full time employee is he? Some of you are getting Supra confused with Amazon and it's kinda funny the fairy tales fans will create to please their imagination. All myself and a few other logical people are wondering is who are these 200+ people? And then I want to know what they got for lunch from Kswiss haha.

[citation needed]

[versacekid420]

Fuck the berries but lizard king kickflips over the remaining stock of Supras

[GAY]

Rolled my ankle in a pair of Greco hammers, so fuck em.

Figured Penny would be on 3stripe by now.

Spenny has noike wrote all over him since prod hook up, or Tiago gets him on DC.

No one wants to give Greco legend status. So idk who'll pay to make his shoes or deal with him.

Lizard had a shoe, they took it away. Now theyre like sorry,we do ne

Don't blame Supra for your feeble, brittle physique.

[Roisto]

I actually just checked the Supra site for what shoes they have. The Lizard and Flow look good IMO. Never seen any Supras around and never really considered buying them but I could give them a shot for sure. 🤔

[MareVitals]

I hope greco lands somewhere-was liking the look of his new shoe. That said I could never shake the image the Skytop gave supra and never owned a pair

[Sativa Lung]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

This was probably already answered but who are their 200 employees? Workers in foreign plants? I can't image that between an owner, marketing, finance, a TM and the team itself their employee count exceeds 20. Contractors for capturing media, add a few more to that number.

[close]

Do you really think a K-Swiss affiliate - or any clothing brand, for that matter - operates with one-person departments across the board? Like, one shoe designer, one clothing designer, one HR representative, one person in payroll, one person in marketing, a TM, and twelve team riders, that's it?

[close]

Sorry to inform you, but yeah they do. Even if you take your one person and make it 5, it's still not over 200 regular staff. You already know there's people like Alphonzo Rawls who had designed shoes and clothing for everyone but he's not a full time employee is he? Some of you are getting Supra confused with Amazon and it's kinda funny the fairy tales fans will create to please their imagination. All myself and a few other logical people are wondering is who are these 200+ people? And then I want to know what they got for lunch from Kswiss haha.

[close]

[citation needed]

Not amused how you can't politely talk to me, but that's typical.

https://www.owler.com/company/kswiss
https://www.owler.com/company/suprafootwear

Not sure how accurate owler is...It's got a limit on page views, then you have to subscribe.

But 43 million annual sales and 161 employees of course they canned it...if true...43 million annual sales is nothing. Especially with 161 employees or 200+ per the OP.

New LA HQ: https://www.sportswear-international.com/news/stories/Relocation-Supra-to-focus-US-business-around-new-headquarter-in-LA-13281

Can't image 200+ people working there and having lunch together. Article also mentions they closed locations in Santa Monica and New York City. I feel the OP meant he heard a rumour that at a Kswiss lunch they are canning Supra and then I'm guessing an email went out after the lunch to all the employees, if true.

[sus]

Rolled my ankle in a pair of Greco hammers, so fuck em.

Figured Penny would be on 3stripe by now.

Spenny has noike wrote all over him since prod hook up, or Tiago gets him on DC.

No one wants to give Greco legend status. So idk who'll pay to make his shoes or deal with him.

Lizard had a shoe, they took it away. Now theyre like sorry,we do ne

Maybe you rolling your ankle was your fault and not the shoes?
My buddy works for customer service at a skate company and had a kid hit him up complaining that he broke his ankle ollieing a 3 stair because of his shoes, when there was no defects on the shoe or anything.

I hope you didn't hurt your ankle on a 3 stair too

[weon]

sad, will genuinely miss supra. i think they might be the brand i've had the most skate shoes from.
guess i'll have to get the white gum elevates before they're gone.

[figureitout]

I just feel bad for spencer.

Spenny is the one who matters in this, the Primitive thing/ his output should help get him on something. He and maybe Greco will be the only ones who land beyond flow i bet.

edit: maybe Penny, Muska as well. Whoever said Es should scoop Muska, Penny, Spenny i agree is a great idea, doubt they can afford two certified legends and a top pro though.