When Keyana Sapp, 31, went shopping for a new backpack, the brands he remembered as a kid were just not the same.
He researched the companies, from North Face to JanSport and Eastpak, and soon realized they were all owned by the VF Corporation after a wave of acquisitions in the 2000s. After a Reddit post he made about his discovery picked up traction, he started looking at other types of consumer goods – cookware, shoes, tools, clothing.
“It seems like that was a story that just repeated in every industry,” Sapp told the Guardian.
Time for corporations to create “premium” brands with same quality as before but at 10x the price. Once those get popular lower quality again and pocket the profits. When people start complaining about lower quality create new premium brands…
As far as backpacks go, there are plenty of companies that offer good quality at affordable prices. Just avoid the big brands and look at some reviews.
You realize this article is about big brands buying out companies with good reviews and lowering quality to increase their profits?
Yes. And at the same time smaller companies are created that offer better quality. I’m aware that these will eventually consolidate and become enshittified large corporations. But that leaves space for smaller newcomers again.