Around the world, sneaker stores of differing scale have begun to close shop. Boutique chain Sneakersnstuff announced over the weekend that its locations in Los Angeles, Paris, and New York would be temporarily closing. Ronnie Fieg’s Kith retail empire is closed for business, with no targeted reopening date in sight. The online shops of all these suppliers are still very much open for business. And so is the resell market.
While fears around the spread of COVID-19 have sent global stocks crashing, those who trade in limited-edition footwear have so far been mostly unaffected. StockX, the popular resell platform that treats sneakers as any other investment, closed the doors of its physical location in New York City but say there aren’t any significant change in volume or prices on individual pairs.
Stadium Goods, a New York City consignment store for high-end footwear that has more of a physical presence, is prepping for a drop in its in-person business after closing its SoHo store on Monday. Co-CEO Jed Stiller says that it hasn’t yet seen a change in online sales connected to coronavirus concerns.
Many independent resellers have found themselves possibly with an abundance of inventory sitting with them in their houses. The good thing about all this is that while people are sitting at home, they are browsing sites online shopping! This is the perfect time for sneaker resellers to capitalize on this opportunity and create profits for themselves. I personally have seen a better month than any other during this epidemic and I owe it all to people being bored in their houses and finding pleasure in online shopping. The hardest thing to deal with during all this is having to still meet people and buy shoes from unknown people who could have the virus and you would never know. There are definitely risks when it comes to keeping your online based business open during these times but if you choose to, you could find yourself with pretty great returns.
The Kick Kave 