If Nick Diamond sells his line to Karmaloop so be it but the way I see it is Streetwear was built upon being uncorporate and niche, exclusive as you will and I have heard Nick is picky about who sells his line (this is all hear say but he likes to sell to mostly skate shops but their are always exceptions).
I personally think Crooks sold out for the big check, most companies gauge there success by how much they make such as a LRG or Artful Dodger yet some can contain there growth and keep there exclusivity by offering a premiere product at a higher then normal price point but the quality is worth the money.
Use Stussy as a for instance.....they became the sell outs and have now pulled there rains back in and yet they still sell to Karmaloop but you wont find everything that Stussy makes on Karmaloops pages and what will be found in a store wont be found there either.
This is the reason you don't see lines like, Maharishi, Neighborhood, Visvim, Stussy(still pretty exclusive), Original Fake, HUF, Addict, Supreme, Undftd and companies as such.
Also if you look at it this way it's is a fine line to stay exclusive, be profitable and build quality into your products. The easier battle is to become a mass production company and ride the wave while you can.
Think about it.....Whate happened to(and these examples do not only cover streetwear) Starter, Z cavarichi, Rockawear, Echo, Airwalk, Cross Colors......where are most of these companies now? Either in every store in the world, or being knocked off by sweatshops or out of business. Exclusivity is done correctly can make you a decent chunk of change (probably not as much as selling out) and still hold a demand for your product.
Also keep in mind Karmaloop is cashing in which is great for them but this will also create a backlash in this industry as to more people that don't want Karmaloop to sell there product because it devalues there name........do you really think LRG is gonna be banking forever? Every market has it's ups and downs. So if your a business minded person that wants to cash in on Streetwear before it goes to sleep for the next 10 years then follow there company profile and if not keep supporting the people that are interested in supporting the boutiques and not the Karmaloops of the world.
FYI Barneys was sold to the largest Investment firm out of DUBAI for 854 Million dollars and their #1 idea was to become the high end Streetwear and mens clothing retailer in the US. Also remember companies like Barneys have done so well because of companies like Karmaloop.
Karmaloop will become the Circuit City's of the world and Barneys will become the high end home audio/video Stores of the world.
It's like this you can either run a sprint or run a marathon. I personally would rather run a marathon.
Just my 2 cents.
