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Since its debut in 2005, Telfar has adhered to the egalitarian slogan "Not for you — for everyone." Founder Telfar Clemens' tagline is put to the test by the company's most recent project, a live pricing model that bases cost on customer demand.
The company's upcoming collection, which is slated to debut on March 27 at noon EST, won't have fixed retail prices. The price of an item will instead depend on how quickly it sells.
Each product in the range will begin at the wholesale price, which is what a stockist pays when buying goods from a manufacturer in bulk. Up until it reaches MSRP, this introductory price will gradually increase (the amount a garment would be sold for in a store). If an item is sold out before it reaches MSRP, the discounted price will always apply.
For instance, if the wholesale price of a hoodie is $100 and it sells out at $110, it will cost $110 in all upcoming Telfar collections. The collection's quickest-selling and therefore most well-liked items are guaranteed to be the most affordable thanks to this unconventional business model. Naturally, this is the opposite of traditional brand strategy, where the most popular items are usually marked up.
“Many brands use price as a barrier to entry,” Clemens said in a recent interview. “I never wanted that for my brand.”
A press release by the brand expanded on this by saying: "Telfar Live disrupts existing notions of supply and demand, scarcity and value perception — proposing a new mathematics for Black cultural innovation: Cool people ≠ rich people — therefore — cool clothes ≠ expensive clothes."
