In 2022 there was an 8 percent inflation rate increase. Brands across America are suffering the loss of business and people are wondering if they should still buy from favored name brand companies.

Before last year, there had been an annual inflation rate increase of about 8.54 percent annually according to the US Inflation Rate Chart. Students here at Triton have experienced the question of whether or not they should stay loyal to some of their favorite brands, or find new ones that are more affordable. Some of Triton students favorite brands include Lululemon, Nike, Ugg, Converse, and Crocs. 

“I don’t really buy Nike anymore unless it’s shoes because they are such good quality,” said junior Sadie Clifford. “I know that people base what they buy on the price sometimes and how expensive it is … for me I stopped buying Uggs because they became too expensive.”

Junior, Molly Porter-Crean, personally owns merchandise from all these brands. “It doesn’t matter if their prices went up a little bit, as long as their clothes still last,” said Porter-Crean.

The root of inflation is caused by too much demand relative to supply. According to the Harvard Business Review article written by Andrew Abel and Ben Bernanke, “Inflation occurs when the aggregate quantity of goods demanded at any particular price level is rising more quickly than the aggregate quantity of goods supplied at that price level.” 

These name brands have been affected by the inflation rate increase. Lululemon is a very popular athletic wear brand all around. While their clothes are expensive, they are of very good quality. Today, the average pair of leggings from Lululemon is about $98. Over the past couple of years, this brand has claimed to be slowly raising its prices on select products due to the inflation rate and not being able to purchase the resources needed to produce said products at the same price. Overall, the prices on some items have gone up 10 percent. This being said, while the prices for the consumers are rising, the annual revenue of the companies are also rising.

Along with Lululemon, Nike, Ugg, Converse, and Crocs have seen an annual revenue increase as well. Nike’s revenue went up 14 percent since last year, sitting at a total profit of $12.4 billion. Crocs, a popular footwear brand, had experienced the inflation rate as well, and their costs had gone up 7 percent. This left them with an overall revenue increase of about 42.6 percent last year. Ugg, known for their slip on boots and slippers, was a pretty expensive brand before inflation had come into play, and since then their costs have risen 25 percent to 35 percent yearly over the past couple of years. As a result of this cost increase, their revenue has also been decreasing by 20 percent yearly. Converse, another popular shoe brand, is seen all around Triton. Worn by students and teachers, these suede, leather, and cotton canvas shoes are also being affected by the inflation brought to the U.S. these past couple of years. The original “Chucks” style has increased their price to be $20 more than the original pairs. Fortunately for converse, because it is worn by such a large diversity of people, their revenue was never affected and it was increased to about $2.3 billion in 2022. 

Proven by many students here at Triton, people buy their clothes from brands that are reliable and are worth their money. Inflation does affect the quantity of items purchased by some consumers, but these consumers still stay loyal to these companies and continue to see the quality of these clothes increase. 

Clothing isn’t the only thing being affected by the increase of inflation. The world runs on money and being able to produce products that people need to live. One of the biggest problems produced by inflation is the erosion of income. According to the International Monetary Fund, unevenly rising prices reduce the purchasing power of some consumers; erosion of income. This inflation also affects the purchasing power over time for recipients and payers of fixed interest rates. 

This isn’t the last time we are going to see inflation take a toll on companies and consumers, but hopefully we will be able to find a way to survive around it in the future.