Adidas Trying the Scarcity Trick with Stan Smith Shoes

For the last few years, classic sneakers have had a bit of a renaissance in the marketplace.  Leading the way has been the early Nike, Vans, and of course the iconic white and green accented Stan Smiths.  In 2012, Adidas stopped production and distribution of the Smiths, and shoe connoseurs took notice: New Stan Smiths were hard to come by.

The idea is to build up demand through scarcity and re-introduce the shoe in the right way to leverage the momentum.  Tennisopolis member Lendl Jr, who happens to own a fashion store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, just uploaded this picture of a mural that Adidas commissioned on Melrose.

One unique feature of the new Smiths is that customers can "Stan" themselves and create a custom tongue label of themselves that matches the original white and green image of Smith. #stanyourself images on Instagram.

More info from Business Week.