From Timberland To Birkenstock, Cult Shoes Explained | Suddenly Obsessed Marathon
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 มิ.ย. 2024
- On your feet and on the street, these are the kicks people cannot live without. What makes Timberland, Birkenstock and Crocs so popular? Suddenly Obsessed Marathon takes you inside the rise of these billion dollar shoe brands.
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:42 - How Hip-Hop Made Timberland a Billion Dollar Brand (Published June 2020)
11:25 - How Birkenstock Became A Cult Classic (Published July 2020)
21:28 - How Crocs Became An Unlikely Billion-Dollar Brand (Published May 2020)
In the U.S., the Timberland boot is widely recognized as a fashion staple. But that wasn’t always the case. In the early ‘90s, hip-hop stars on the East Coast adopted the boot and sales began to climb. At the time, hip-hop wasn’t mainstream and the strength of black spending was often overlooked by marketers. Its executives would learn to both respect and embrace their evolving consumer base, which would change the trajectory of the brand forever. Throughout the ‘90s, the Timberland brand went through a massive expansion, seeing revenue climb over $1 billion in 2000.
Birkenstock sandals have withstood decades of passing fashion fads. Since the 1960s, they have adorned the feet of hippies, models, moms, dads and even Gen Z. Birkenstock's success relates to its selectivity in the market. In 2016, it chose to remove its products from Amazon and turned down collaborations with streetwear giant Supreme. Whether it's a counterculture statement or a modern day fashion staple, Birkenstocks never go out of style.
A lot of people think Crocs are really ugly. People who love to hate Crocs had cause to celebrate in 2008, when investors were writing the company off as a passing fad. Crocs lost over $185 million that year and cut 2,000 jobs. The stock plunged to just over $1 a share from a high of about $69 a year earlier. But over the next decade, Crocs would go on to sell 700 million pairs of shoes worldwide. It’s become a top brand among Gen Z and limited edition Crocs are selling for up to $1,000 on the resale market. Even celebrities like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Post Malone are wearing the shoes.
Subscribe to CNBC Make It.: cnb.cx/2kxl2rf
About CNBC Make It.: CNBC Make It. is a new section of CNBC dedicated to making you smarter about managing your business, career, and money.
Connect with CNBC Make It. Online
Get the latest updates: www.cnbc.com/make-it
Find CNBC Make It. on Facebook: cnb.cx/LikeCNBCMakeIt
Find CNBC Make It. on Twitter: cnb.cx/FollowCNBCMakeIt
Find CNBC Make It. on Instagram: bit.ly/InstagramCNBCMakeIt
#CNBC
#CNBCMakeIt
From Timberland To Birkenstock, Cult Shoes Explained | Suddenly Obsessed Marathon
I bought my Tims 6 years ago and they're magnificent. It's cold and rainy where I live and I wear them almost everyday between October and April.
200€ well spent.
The fact that timberlands were originally made to be blue collar durable workshoes and then turned into being for hip hop artists and then fashion gurus (aka people who didn't even need them) and then the price of them skyrocketed so the people who actually used them couldn't afford them is stupid.
So that leaves a market open for other brands to step in and take that blue collar pie. Tims can't help but become expensive with high demands if they want to become a prestige brand and have the kind of perception value that say a nike has and have a high valuation that honestly money can't buy
@@akshaydeif we stop wearing them then nobody will have them because that skit will be bankrupt we made them a staple so hush up
@@cassandraclark5499 Did you not watch the video?? They were a blue collar staple for two decades before they got into hiphop.
timberland pro still makes decent and affordable work boots to this day
@@JJ-mh3hb they are slipping in quality as of late.. I can attest to the downfall over the past six years. First two pair lasted two summers each!! Then it was horrible.. not even one season they were trashed. The job didn’t get harder.. the material quality is weighing. Gotta keep the profit the same but not go past $350 a pair (I’m 🇨🇦) I’m just gonna spend the $900 🇨🇦 and get some “Nick’s Boots” handmade bespoke. And repairable in almost any state of wear
I've worn Timberland and similar type shoes way before they were considered 'fashionable'. I always got the low shoe style, not the high tops or ankle boots. I always had two pairs. Being a carpenter/welder, I'd wear one pair to work and one pair to kick around in. When my work pair would get too worn out, I'd throw them away and buy a new pair and use my dress pair as my 'new' work shoes !!!
But now that I'm retired, I usually kick around in Native Shoes, "Jefferson" style.
I bought two pairs of crocks recently. crocs are comfortable!
I own a pair and I love them. comfort never goes out of style
Growing up 🗽Tims were always on feet never know when you had 2 rumble but now any good quality boot will do 💖💛💚
8:27 - 8:34 ABSOLUTELY. And Tim’s were a must growing up in NY, my high school years 1998-2001. I had plenty 🥾😌
I have the biggest love/hate relationship with crocs. I have had pairs since '06, never really liked any of them but they were always worn as slippers or in and around the lake. I also gave Birkenstock a far share of chances but I never found them comfortable. Those Timberlands though, I bought my first pair in 2000 and have always had at least one pair in rotation since.
I got a pair of the classic Timberlands for my 69 year old mother, she actually rocks them well with her skinny jeans. She absolutely loves them.
Im a 54 years old English man and have only within the last 5 years or so started wareing Timberland boots but a close friend since we were 12ish has been a fan of them since his late teens so at least 35 years . I guess he may well be wearing them for another 35 years.
UGG boots are also another big cult...Great video!
Local cobblers make Birkenstock sandals in Nigeria. And they look perfect when compared with the original. And here it's super cheap even with the problems of inflation.
hahahahaha omo naija
The reason I wear Birkenstock shoes and camper shoes is because they are very wide from the front. Other shoes suffocate my wide paw feets and there are many people like me who can suffer from rashes and pain by wearing narrow shoes.
Me2
I’ve been in high school in Cameroon, Africa in early 2000. If you didn’t wear a timb at that time, you were nobody. Yes! Even in Africa.
I finally owned one. My friend sold me his timb. It wasn’t new, but who cared? I felt like a king…
Same in kenya
Back then as a South African kid, we could only dream about having them
No wonder Africa remained poor and most countries in East Asia became rich. They don’t buy into all these hype
It's why uniforms save money and save life. We wore uniforms until high school graduation with white canvas shoes. The only responsibility was to keep everything cleaned & hope there's no holes
Crocs are also huge in the black community now! I’m from NYC and it’s crazy to see how many people wear them these days
Amazing. I've always know them to be the most reviled form of footwear in the world.
@@vice.nor.virtue agreed...
My teenager has a pair of timbs and a pair of crocs lol
@@jeanb3908 ladies and gentlemen we have discovered the worlds first x-man
It's apparent culture yes black one hip-hop and urban makes for great business💣🖤
Got my first pair of all black half cut leather Tim's when I was going to school , not many ppl had Tim's then or even knew or could afford Tim's 😏Aunt bought them and sent them for my 14th birthday to me in Barbados 🤗lasted about 6 or 7 years 👍👍💯💯Love Birkenstock Slippers also😍 🤔
The fact is this Timberlands is the Nike of boots simple and plain! A certain consumer that buys Air Force Ones is more than likely to buy at least one pair of Timberlands!
I love wearing crocs in the house, especially after a nice shower. It’s heaven on the feet. And they’re kind cute. Pug cute.
I'm trying to make the word "goot" a thing. It's a portmanteau of the words goofy and cute.
"omg Britney I love my yellow crocs they're like super goot! lol"
I've been wearing Timberland boots since 1997!...We made them just like all the other brands in the culture. When Hip Hop adopts your brand its over with lol. Same thing with Polo, Hilfiger, Nautica, Nike
I agree. I bought all those brands in the late 80's. When hip hop adopted them, they were dead to me....
@@madbug1965 and why is that?
About 39-years ago a smallish Mediterranean looking young man came into my shoe store and introduced himself. His name was a very memorable one too, Matt Sleeper. I was just 21-years old. I remember he said I'd probably never heard of the brand he represented, but they were in the midst of a big push into the national marketplace and he was barnstorming the South placing the brand. I told him I was aware as I'd read Rolling Stone magazine since I was 13 and had noticed their advertisements in most issues. I saw the core things they were doing: moccasins and boots. These two were kind of New England things. For instance, Dexter had been making loafers for years and had several years earlier introduced their Italian influenced Alpine hiker named "Sitka". The company leveraged the all-leather waterproof boot segment with their original "wheat 8 and 6-inch boots". They were in the midst of invading Sperry's "Top-Sider" lock on boat shoes with their own take on that shoe which was simply a better shoe. They also further leveraged the moccasin segment with a kind of "super moccasin" that had 3-eyelets, leather linings, and then then game-changing idea of putting the same amber colored Vibram Montagnabloc lug soles as were on the "Wheat Boot". In short order, Timberland owned the waterproof boot segment and at the same time were putting up serious sales in their boat and non-boat moccasins. Other brands like Herman Survivor and Sperry suddenly found their sales divided and going downward. I still sell Timberland and the work-oriented Timberland Pro brands as of 2023.
I still wear my timberland mudlarks - best shoes ever! Nothing beats having solid ground on broken terrain, it is like the hard soles prevent foot fatigue. I can never wear another soft soled shoe, causes instant shoe pain!
@@MeteCanKarahasan good point. I am a third generation shoe retailer. My grandfathers both died long before I was born. I still work in our separate shoe repair shop (it was the beginning of our shoe business) and repair shoes four days every week. Mu father used to say that tennis shoes were going to ruin people's feet. I know now why hje said that long before they become so unmiversally worn on a daily bass. What you are saying is why. You need solid support betweem the ground and your feet which athletic shoes that put flexibility and as much "mush" for cushioning as is possible. Good for some things, but never intended for all-day wear.
@@AudioFileZ thank you!
When I was in high school ( early 80’s) we all wore Timberlands, everyone wanted a pair of “sh*tkickers”…they were nicknamed that because farmers wore them in New England…
I had Hermans Survivors which were Timberlands main competitors then. Hermans are junk now almost forgotten
Gotta agree. I still love my Tims!
"Rough like Timberland wear, yeah
Me and the Clan, and yo the Landcruisers out there" - Raekwon
Now I suddenly want to buy me pair of Tims.
I love the endless customization options for Crocs, I got into them when jibbitz first became really popular. I was like oh, I can really make these shoes my own! I have a quirky sense of style so I love going on Etsy and similar sites and finding really off the wall Crocs charms. A lot of my customized Crocs are conversation starterss 🐊
New Balance is a brand that is becoming increasingly relevant in sneaker world. Under amour also enjoyed some success!
IMO, Made in USA or UK New Balances are quite coveted.
New Balance shoes are so niiiiiice! Also yeah they're well trendy!
When u talk of " cult" shoes and you don't include Dr Martens🤦🤦
Exactly!
in the 80's Timberland was my choice + couple other brands Late 90's 2000 Merrell's felt like Im flying which since they become the only Brand still today =Amazing!!
You won’t catch me in crocs, but some timbs? That’s another story!💥🔥
The hip hop boost the price up so fast in 90. From a $20 to $100 in a year when it was introduced to hip hop.
Birken is the best sandal for me! I suffer plantar fasciitis due to other cheaper sandal
“Timbo’s on the toes I like the way it’s going down”
-Q Tip
O My God
Timberland boots and Carhartt jeans
-Mr.Cheeks Lost Boyz..
The color is wheat not yellow. Never in my whole life of wearing Timbs have a heard anyone call them yellow. Also, if people don't like the Croc clogs, they make other shoes like sneakers and sandals. I always hold out hope that videos that talk about Crocs would mention the other products.
Exactly! Wth calls them "yellow?"
I remember buying the Crocks Chukka Boot. That was a wild time of my life.
Butter
The called them the Yellow Boot on the streets. I even seen Timberland advertise them as the Yellow Boots.
They go by butters, yellow boots, wheat, but whatever you call em i swear that color goes with everything.....except dress pants in which case you'll get punched!! Lol.
So many shoe manufacturers just don't make shoes for people who are not a D fitting, I'm a 5E. I can get some 4E shoes to work depending on design. I also have high instep and thick feet with prominent 2nd and 3rd toes so pointy shoes are out. We spend a great deal of our lives on our feet so shoe manufacturers need to cater to people with out of the norm feet but there is no profit in that. Thank God for Propet, who do offer shoes to fit those with awkward feet.
I bought a new pair of Timberlands 2 days ago
The Crocs-Timbs hybrid is crazy
You forgot some of the minimalist shoe brands like Xero, Vivo and Splay.
im in love with timbo boots 😎
Got Timberland on my feet right now.
I owned 6 pairs of butter and I loved them. If you going to own a pair of butter boots, don't cheap out and buy knock offs like Lugs or other low-quality brands.
Look it’s always been Jordan’s, Air Force 1’s, Airmaxx, Timberland (Wheats), Adidas, and Reebok them Converse
I really miss the Crocs Mary Jane style. I'm an RN and I loved using it at work. I still have mine. They were cute and comfortable. The clogs are ugly. LOL
Most classic shoes: Air Force 1's, Dunks, Jordan 1, 3, 4, 5, 11, Timbs, Dr. Martin's, Crocs, Shell toes
I always loved crocs i have 20 pairs of platform crocs and every solid color of crocs and every animal print crocs and etc
I want to make it and I know how to do it but I hate waiting in the line...
I love timberland boots because it gives the confident feel i get which i supposed to feel in my kicks! And the brand name is the bomb. A hit since inception. I can see why it is so sorted after! But it simply don't need any random associates to, "🥁 drum up excitement"! For want of better words.
I will always have a pair of Birkens. 💁🏿💁🏿 I love them.
They should make an insulated version. Because it is not warm.
Timberland, Ugg's & Birkenstock are cool, strong, comfortable evergreens❤😊
I just purchased a pair of black timbs today lol !
I just purchased a pair of wheat aka butters. Also copped a pair of beef and broccoli..
I can't wait to see Xero shoes on a video like this.
Welllll....im 'guilty' of having all of these shoes😁. My Tims are not the OG brown ones, but a different design made for winter ❄. They did 'cost a penny' for sure, but SO worth it!! Birkenstock are worn every day (i cannot walk bare-foot inside so i need shoes/slippers of some sort, and bought my Birkenstock - black - some years ago. They are actually pretty worn down soooo perhaps i need to buy some new ones....ohhh so sad 😆) And crocs...yes, i have two pairs; one at home, pink with bling bling on them (lol) - and military green when im at our cabin (in the woods) 🥾🩴
2pac’s Brenda’s got a baby video was the first time i saw Timberland. He’s rocking the coat like 2 minutes in.
The power of black people...if only we knew how powerful we are as consumers
Skin color comparisons are for low iq people. Don’t be racist.
There's no power in being the consumer in consumerism.
@@lorahester7 it's a fact..didnt you watch the video when they mentioned the hip hop area made them profits that it changed their name to timberland etc
@@lorahester7 it's not racist when it's a fact. rewatch the documentary...I know you are blind or dumb. They mentioned it and had the black guy from fubu speaking on it. Even mentioned rap and hip hop. Not country music lol
@@tektraxm every heard of boycotting or the Boston tea party dummy lol
I’m still rocking my Timbs
Timberland boots are good for your feet and toes. I never had corns or back aches while wearing them.
Apparently Timberland didn't want to be associated with black hip hop culture in the 90s. I'm sure they don't mind now.
Why would anyone want to be associated with music that glorifies gangs, hoodlums, thieves, death, rapists, drugs and objectifying women? 🥴
That man ain't said nothing wrong imo.🤷🏿♀️
@@lauren6509 That isn’t all that hip hop has too offer, but sadly the most profitable. The industry doesn’t like to promote the positive side, and the consumer considers it wack, boring, and preachy. Either way Hip Hop and its consumers have catapulted so many of these brands into another level of success that they’d never imagined.
@@lauren6509 Wow. That is an extremely narrow mind to have towards hiphop style and culture. That's like saying all that female fashion does is create size 0 girls with bulimea.
I think you need to get your eyes checked luv, because you clearly have myopia.
The irony of Birkenstock turning down Supreme and Vetements to then collab with Dior a few years later, especially considering the two fashion designers’ influence on high fashion in streetwear and hip hop in recent years which even made that collab possible.
Edit: well that could be added on to what was mentioned about designer brands making their own versions and the Rick Owens collab
LVMH who owns Dior purchased birkenstock. That’s why you see Birkenstock collaborating with luxury brands. Birkenstock prices are rising as well.
I hate how these celebrities are making Champion popular over the last couple years.
Now the prices are getting more expensive, and the quality is going down.
Hats sisi huku Kenya tunavaa Timz, but maOdie wameiaribia jina. Kenyans gather here for discussion.
Tim's are working boots
Daymond John looks like Timbaland the music producer and he is speaking about Timberland shoes
What is that pair of Timbs at 10:28? They’re sweet
The power of the black dollar… we make everything flavor
I have 6 Timbs and they look great but comfort is Wack and as a guy who worked in mining I was introduced to work boots and I have really realized that there's a boot market,
I mean Crocs levels of comfort in a very good looking shoe made to feel like an extension of your foot.
I mean that even Timbaland makes work boots that are more comfortable than this popular one
They cost an arm and a leg though $300 to $1900 but they last forever if they don't have to go to work daily.
Caterpillar, Redwing, and so many more brands that go rugged for the big musculine look
Wheat Timbs ain't for working in, only fashion. These young boys recognize after a week of wearing Timbs, you need real work boots! Steel toe, comfortable work boots.
Actually Timberland and Tommy Hilfiget arrived in Hiphop around the same time and if they weren’t wearing Tommy it was Polo Ralph Lauren and Nautica those were the three large name brands that were worn on the east coast then Columbia boots came in the late nineties to give Timberland a run for their money 💰🧐🧐🤷🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️
As a Black German native that grew up in the U.S., a show about my two favorite shoes (ever) is delightful. :)
***Edit*** Birkenstock and Timberland to be exact.
Birkenstock devotee here 👋
I didn’t own Jordan’s but I did buy timberland school marm boots over and over once I became an adult. I’m now ok my 3rd pair of dr martens. I will invest. Not just buy.
Once Timberland popularity explodes, I got myself Red Wings
It is obviously the alternative to DR. Martins.
7:05
You should sell them! But that's MHO.
I don't watch films starring Mel Gibson
OR Liam Neeson anymore...
I have Redwings
Where is Dr. Martens?
Well-meaning people have given me crocs. I have given them away. You can't buy my most comfortable footwear. They are the old South African Defence Force PT shoes, khaki canvas-and-rubber trainers with a superficial resemblance to All Stars. Mine are are fifty years old this year and still going strong!
Sorry I have to boast: I do own Tim's, Birks not yet, howeeeevvver, I own 68 pairs of Crocs. A small.few are collabs. Dang, I continue to say how I need to buy stock in them.
SIXTY EIGHT PAIRS OF CROCS??! I think we need to have an intervention! This behaviour cannot continue!
This reminds me of the origin of the Mercedes G Wagon
Timberland
Birkenstock
Crocs
Blundestone
are the classic timberland boots really well made?
For work purposes, I have no idea, but as far as a casual everyday shoe, they hold up very well. Most NYers that where them for fashion buy fresh pairs for the winter, it gets us through the snow and rain. You don’t really need a new pair unless you want them to look nice, new, and clean.
They're all cheap Chinese crap now. I live like 2 miles from the Timberland headquarters in NH. Many of them used to be USA made and really high quality. There's several other brands that are similar price point who make much higher quality boots.
Used to be all handmade back in the 70s thru early 8's.....not no more....you can tell the difference. I had a pair about ten years ago and the entire sole fell off....bad glue job....timberland replaced them tho.....
@@patrickpaterson8785 My Tim Premiums are mad in the Dominican Republic nowadays...not china
I'll stick to my Docs!
Swartz was right. How in the world is it sustainable if shoe sales start resembling drug sales, cause there will be better drugs, or more hyped drugs.
They forgot to add white Nike air forces
Ofcourse Post Malone be wearing them crocs . He always look like he just got outta bed. If crocs were a person, it’d be Post Malone 💯
I wasn't aware that crocs were so popular these days. I thought there were two reasons, period, for wearing crocs: you're wearing them around the house where no one can see you, or you're a nurse in a hospital and you have the excuse that you wear them for work reasons.
Literally no other excuses for this footwear other than that.
Although I gotta say some of them influenza people were pulling them off quite well.
I have my Timberland boat shoes, and my Crocs, never had a chance to OWN a Birks, I don't know why, maybe she doesn't APPEAL to me, anyway being OLD school is COOL...still wear a Levis 501, and my Adidas Superstar, stay AWAY Nike...
Why is a 2-year-old video re-uploaded with no explanation?
They never said they don't ant to sell to black people.
They just said they want something that people will by for decades. Not just a fad, that will be over in a couple years.
This continuous mention of Wheat coloured boots as Yellow is very irritating!
I’ve never seen bright yellow wheat; I’ve never owned Tim’s that were the color of real wheat.
I Like them because I love 2pac and you didn't show him in these clips
Anyone else looking to buy shoes and why they clicked this
We grew up wearing or trying to get these so we have to watch
Yeezy is still the brand of all time 😎
no its not eww
Timberland has quality, durability and comfort. Birkenstock is.... comfortable as much as a sandal can be.... Crocks are well, plastic and as ugly as Birkenstock. I own Timberland, can't get through winter without them. Never bought Birkenstock or Crocks.
Me too. Love Timberland premiums for snow ,rain,sleet, great boot for new England weather. Kinda like the classic LLbean maine hunting boots. Never had crocs, or birkenstocks ,just no need for me. i like running shoes most of the year.
Crocs are ugly. But they're good for when you're cutting your grass. They're easier to clean the boots or sneakers.
They are very comfortable
I want to be unique and express my individual sense of style......by wearing the same ubiquitous brands as literally millions of other people 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Birkenstocks > Nike Slides and nasty Crocs
birken = Green Cross in Southern Africa
I like the Panama Jacks more. Timberland is uncomfortable.
Crocs are absolutely terrible on my feet.
Love my Birkenstocks though.
I love my birkenstock sandals
Wearing crocs means that you already gave up on life. You dont care abt nothing 🤣🤣🤣
Just joking. I love my crocs