Social Companies that protect their brands

mixmastermo

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Not sure if you all have heard about this, but there are some companies that go to great lengths to protect the value of their brand. The idea is that consumers will pay more if they feel that certain brands come with a level of prestige and/or quality.

I used to work at a supermarket a while back- one of the buyers there was able to procure Tommy Hilfiger coats at a steep discount from an overstocked distributor. He proceeded to re-sell these coats in the store at prices significantly lower then their sticker price. Not long after, an agent from the Tommy Hilfiger brand spoke to our management and told them to cease and desist- as the supermarket was not an authorized reseller for the brand. The last thing they wanted was their merchandise being sold at a place like that, where it gave the perception of low value.

I had also seen a video where Jay Leno- possibly the world's most famous car collector does not own any Ferraris. He explained that you can't just go to a Ferrari dealership and pay for the car you want- you have to go through a process, where they check your background, take you out to dinner, try to establish a relationship with you, etc. all just so they can decide which car they want to sell you and under their very specific terms. THIS IS JAY LENO

The details of purchasing a Ferrari are here:

https://www.themanual.com/auto/what-to-know-about-buying-a-new-ferrari/

2. No alterations to the vehicle whatsoever​

Ferrari takes excellent satisfaction in manufacturing and selling immaculate vehicles. Even VIP clientele who tour the Maranello factory can have everything tailored to their specifications for a cost. Considering this, it’s surprising to some that the brand refuses to accept modifications that could disguise their vehicles as something else. They are prideful in their designs, so they don’t tolerate others trying to customize “perfection.”

This means that if you decide to buy a Ferrari, you are prohibited from touching the engine or performing any bodywork modifications, using non-approved paints, or concealing or removing the Ferrari badge. Additionally, any repairs or maintenance must be completed by Ferrari using only genuine Ferrari parts; if not, the guarantee will be null and void, and you may be banned from purchasing Ferrari vehicles in the future. Yikes!

Ferrari also has a history of suing its customers


I bought 2 BMWs from the same dealership and the sales/service guys know me. One of them told me that once you get to their higher end models, like say M5 or M8, they don't just look at your credit score to approve the purchase- they look at the work you do, the current car you are driving, among other things. They told me that once they refused to sell someone an M6 even though his credit score was near 800 and he was able to cover more than half the cost of the car with his downpayment. The reason? He was a contractor and the car he drove to the dealership was a beater he didn't take good care of. The concern was that he wouldn't take care of the M6 and BMW didn't want beat up M6s on the road for the world to see.

Supposedly Tesla has some strange policies for Cybertruck purchases as well.

Anyone know more or have heard about any of this stuff?


Here's the Jay Leno video in case anyone wants to see

 
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You’re not allowed to print on and sell/promote new era 59fifty hats without their approval. It’s their flagship hat and want to make sure people aren’t throwing weird ish on it. I really wanted some for my brand but had to settle on Yupong flexfit 210’s, they’re pretty dope.
 
Lots of brands can only be bought from authorized, and personal dealers. Stihl and Deere until a few years ago, but the better models are still only available at dealers. All of the “high end” archery gear like Hoyt and Mathews can only be bought from authorized dealers as well.
 
Lots of brands can only be bought from authorized, and personal dealers. Stihl and Deere until a few years ago, but the better models are still only available at dealers. All of the “high end” archery gear like Hoyt and Mathews can only be bought from authorized dealers as well.
That’s a good one. You might be able to buy a Deere riding mower at a box store but the real ones that’ll last you a lifetime are at the official dealer 30 miles away in the country
 
Harley is like this with their merchandise. They don’t license out to anybody. If you’re buying something with that bar and shield on it, you’re getting it from Harley for 2 or 3x the price.

They’ve fully dived into letting motovloggers and influencers promote the bikes though. They’ve always been about customizing your bike to your individuality. They protect that logo with a death grip though
 
You’re not allowed to print on and sell/promote new era 59fifty hats without their approval. It’s their flagship hat and want to make sure people aren’t throwing weird ish on it. I really wanted some for my brand but had to settle on Yupong flexfit 210’s, they’re pretty dope.
Was not aware of this. How the heck would they enforce this though? I mean, there are so many hats that look like it.
Ford did something similar with the Ford GT. A bunch of rules about who could buy one and what the owner could do with it. They actually sued John Cena when he broke one of the rules.

Was not aware of this, thanks for sharing, great example. Makes sense that Ford would want to protect the GT
For its reputation as a kid-friendly/family-friendly company, Nintendo is ruthless when it comes to taking down ROM/emulator sites and other unauthorized modifications.
Not a great example. Downloading ROMS for free and playing them on emulators is illegal after all. In fact, I believe in one of the most recent cases, an emulator distributor effectively gave instructions on how to illegally use their software and play ROMs on them.

What I'm talking about is companies like Ferrari deciding who can buy their cars, what cars they are qualified to buy, and prevent them from modifying them even after purchase. With these kinds of restrictions, technically, you don't really own the car..

That being said, there are stories from the NES days where Nintendo put all kinds of restrictions on developers, and I believe they controlled the supply of the cartridges.
Harley is like this with their merchandise. They don’t license out to anybody. If you’re buying something with that bar and shield on it, you’re getting it from Harley for 2 or 3x the price.

They’ve fully dived into letting motovloggers and influencers promote the bikes though. They’ve always been about customizing your bike to your individuality. They protect that logo with a death grip though
Great example- I knew this about Harley but didn't think of it when I was creating this thread.
 
Harley is like this with their merchandise. They don’t license out to anybody. If you’re buying something with that bar and shield on it, you’re getting it from Harley for 2 or 3x the price.

They’ve fully dived into letting motovloggers and influencers promote the bikes though. They’ve always been about customizing your bike to your individuality. They protect that logo with a death grip though
Some of the high end watch manufacturers are the same. Rolex, Breitling, etc.
 
In late capitalism you see this less and less as most shareholders are there to cash out eventually not to build a legacy. People who care about building a legacy or a "brand" tend to be founders and their descendants. Nowadays branding is basically bullshit meant to safeguard short term profits.

Costco and Arizona Iced tea are really the 2 that come to mind.

The NFL has done a great job protecting their brand which has been in serious hot water. Whenever the NFL sees a long term threat they make the neccessary adjustments for self preservation. Something the rest of humanity could really learn from. When others find themselves in the same situation they just cover shit up and/or hire assassins and plot their eventual departure when shit really hits the fan.
 
Ford did something similar with the Ford GT. A bunch of rules about who could buy one and what the owner could do with it. They actually sued John Cena when he broke one of the rules.

The whole "they want you to drive it" part is hilarious considering the things break down constantly
 
Harley is like this with their merchandise. They don’t license out to anybody. If you’re buying something with that bar and shield on it, you’re getting it from Harley for 2 or 3x the price.

They’ve fully dived into letting motovloggers and influencers promote the bikes though. They’ve always been about customizing your bike to your individuality. They protect that logo with a death grip though
Not just the logo, the orange color too. They have a patent on that specific shade.
 
Dior will need to work hard protecting their $60 products
 
For its reputation as a kid-friendly/family-friendly company, Nintendo is ruthless when it comes to taking down ROM/emulator sites and other unauthorized modifications.

I mean the developers of the games that created that image aren't the lawyers that tarnish it. It's a whole separate wing of the company. It's not like Miyamoto and Iwata were out there sending cease and desist letters.

On a related to the topic note isn't the one of a kind Wu Tang album that Martin Shkreli once owned an example of this. They even had a clause in the sale contract that the band members and Bill Murray could perform a heist and take the album back at any time or something like that.
 
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