Morgan Keldsen Part 2 | Growing The World's Most Iconic Streetwear Brands In Asia

In this episode of The Negotiation, we continue our conversation with Morgan Keldsen, a renowned international business development and retail expert. With a career spanning over two decades, Morgan has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Stüssy, Nike, Converse, and Vans. Today, he offers his expertise to organizations in the athletic and fashion lifestyle space, helping them navigate the complex business landscape of the Asia-Pacific region.

For brands without existing relationships in the Asian market, the episode provides tactics and strategies to help them enter the market successfully.

This episode starts off by taking a deep dive into the history and growth of Stüssy, a popular streetwear brand that Morgan worked with, helping them in APAC. We explore how the company transformed from a wholesale-focused business to a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model by tightening its distribution. The conversation also touches on the significance of choosing the right collaboration partner in Asia and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the fashion and lifestyle industry, which, among other things, exposed companies who suffered from poor relationships - especially in Asia, where so much of the world’s supply chain is managed. We then hear from Morgan about his experiences navigating the pandemic while working at Vans. Finally, we discuss the potential of the metaverse as a marketing tool in Asia and the future of consumer behavior in the APAC region. Enjoy!

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

● Introduction to Stüssy and its origins as a skate brand

● How Stüssy focussed on tightening the brand's distribution and moving away from wholesale to a DTC-forward brand

● Tactics and strategies for brands entering the Asia market without existing relationships

● How important it is for brands to allow consumers to feel your personality or soul

● Brands Collaborations in Asia and why they resonate in the region

● The Covid-19 pandemic and how it exposed companies that had poor relationships

● Market Authenticity

● The future direction of consumers in Asia.

● APAC region: macroeconomic and geopolitical evolutions that are affecting the relationships between different markets

● The metaverse as a marketing tactic