Is Lavar Ball’s “Big Baller Brand” as Good as Dead?
The Big Baller Brand may soon be getting smaller. Lavar and Lonzo Ball made headlines when they bypassed major shoe brands and made a brand of their own. The result was a gripping, humorous, folk-like tale of a brand that toed the line of monoculture for all the wrong reasons, and just as its inception grabbed headlines, its demise is sure to do so as well.
Inception
Big Baller Brand, like the family’s patriarch, began with lots of flash, publicity, and headlines good and bad. It was different, expensive, and almost immediately trendy.
From $220 flip flops to signature shoes that cost nearly $500 dollars, the Big Baller Brand took advantage of the internet to make its presence known from the very beginning. However, just because people were talking about it a lot, it doesn’t mean that the brand was a success.
From initial rollouts of the site depicting Nike shoes to unfulfilled orders, Big Baller Brand showed the dangers of launching public products such as this without a plan. Long believed to be a ploy to increase Lonzo’s value for a larger brand, the brand seemed directionless and misleading. Now, just over two years later, it seems as though it soon could be no more.
Downfall
People predicted the fall of the Big Baller Brand almost immediately, and Lavar Ball let them know that he did not intend to let it fail. Two years later, however, it appears to be doing such that.
From Lonzo suing brand co-founder Alan Foster for $1.5M over what they claim to be a “fraudulent scheme,” to covering a tattoo that bore its logo. Lonzo, in particular, has been distancing himself away from the brand.
A recent clearance sale could be viewed as the final step in finally putting the brand to rest. Big Baller Brand, which prided itself on the high-priced fashion that it sold, recently started selling its products for as little as $5. This also included a package deal that included shoes, a hoodie, a shirt, and some socks for $100.
Considering that the brand got an ‘F’ rating from another BBB, the Better Business Bureau, this should not be a surprise. The other BBB stated that the Big Baller Brand received a pattern of complaints from customers who waited weeks and months for their orders and that many people received the wrong order after such a wait. To make matters worse, they claimed that Big Baller Brand did not get back to them when contacted about the concerns.
Confirmation?
Lonzo Ball has recently been seen publicly courting Nike. This is a possible sign that his brand will be no more. Add this to the fact that his manager was seen dumping BBB shoes into the garbage, and we might not need much more confirmation. As the current majority owner of the brand, this isn’t so much a case of the final nail hitting the coffin as it is a case of another final nail.
On a recent preview for the reality television show Ball in the Family, Lonzo and his father are seen arguing over the fate of the brand.
“The brand is demolished,” Lonzo tells his father.
His father seems to be the last person who has faith in the brand. But if all of these contextual clues tell us anything, any optimism he has will likely prove unfounded in the near future.
Death of a brand
We have likely seen the last of the Big Baller Brand in its current form. With Lonzo starting fresh over in New Orleans, it might be time to do so with his shoes, as well. The showy antics of the Big Baller Brand seemed fit for Hollywood. They should probably stay there for the time being.
Perhaps there is one last ploy to stay alive, but as of now, Lavar Ball seems to be the only one with belief in the brand.
