The story of sneaker culture: From niche obsession to multi-billion dollar reselling industry

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Sneaker culture’s long road from niche 70s obsession to a multi-billion dollar reselling industry

Ask anyone who’s into sneaker culture, and they’ll all agree on where it was born: New York.

Years ago, you might have noticed people camped out outside the Foot Locker on Toronto’s Yonge Street for a chance to buy a limited release of a new shoe and resell it online. Today, that system has largely ended in favour of online raffles, in which you sign up for the chance to purchase one of a few hundred special edition shoes. Some might actually wear them, but many will resell those shoes online and make thousands of dollars in profit.

By the 80s, the culture behind sneakers started to further commercialize worldwide. Nike signed with Michael Jordan in 1985, and Shops began to offer rare and in-demand sneakers by the 90s, and the advent of the internet meant entrepreneurial individuals were beginning to make a business out of reselling shoes.

Still, there weren’t many options for buying limited-run sneakers. You could try your luck on eBay auctions or you could travel to legendary brick-and-mortar shoes stores like Flight Club in New York and LosWhen venture capital money started flowing to dedicated reselling platforms in the mid-2010s, there was a belief big money could be made by facilitating the sale of rare shoes.

“We’ve always believed that there’s future where people can buy and sell without even taking possession,” says Schwartz, who points out that people don’t buy shares in a gold company to hold a piece of gold. They just want the value and the ability to day-trade to maximize their profits.

 

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Belgique Dernières Nouvelles, Belgique Actualités