– Unfortunately, I see several bad sides to it, says Hanna Helsø.
(Milk & Honey): Sneakers have made a class trip in recent years. From being associated with sports and leisure, to being taken into the heat of the fashion houses.
Now no one raises an eyebrow that the world’s most luxurious brands have sneakers in the range with a price tag of up to 10,000 kroner. At the same time, being a sneaker collector has gone from being a subculture to becoming mainstream and a hobby.
Also read: Burberry and Riccardo Tisci love working with Norwegian Nikoline Mekjan
Resale or resell of sneakers, often referred to as flipping, meaning that you buy very special variants to hopefully resell for a higher price, is often part of that game.
For a long time it took place on closed forums or niche websites, without the sneaker giants seeming to want to take part in it, but that is no longer the case.
In recent years, for example, Nike has bought into apps and sites for resale, such as GOAT, StockX and Stadium Goods. Recently it became known that the giant is also launching its very own platform for resell in sneakers, called Nike Refurbished.
What do Norwegian sneaker experts think about the development? And what is the status of resell of sneakers in 2021?
I think the development will continue
The founder of Pharma in Bergen, Helge Reyes, believes the resale industry has become more formalized and professional in the last couple of years.
– There has been a higher level of the smaller players in everything from photoshoots to the store side of it all, when it comes to shipping and payment methods. COVID-19 has probably also contributed to this in the last year, he says Milk & Honey.
He has embraced Nike’s new concept, and believes the development will only continue.
Also read: Rawdah Mohamed takes a hard line on his own industry: – They hate talking models
– What has previously been a kind of “dark” side of the industry, will only get more attention and become even more relevant. We often see in the store that parents and grandparents come to us with a screenshot from StockX or Finn.no of the sneakers the children want. Then we have to start the whole storytelling about resell to them.
He himself does not do much with this.
– I make a living by running a shop and selling sneakers in our shop, says Reyes.
– If something comes up that I think I’m really fat, I might check some resell pages just to have a look. But I rarely pay resell rates. I can sign up for some raffles here and there, but if I am not picked out on any of them then that was not the intention, he adds.
Also read: Bella Hadid is criticized by Israel after the Palestinian demonstration
He thinks the trend of sneakers at luxury fashion houses will continue.
– Yes, because in the end, sneakers are shoes that are comfortable to wear. But I also think other categories will become more popular over time, as a kind of response to the great sneaker dominance that has been in the past.
He also agrees that sneakers have become mainstream.
– Then more people will also collect them. I think we will continue to look ahead.
Influences distance themselves
With several hundred pairs of sneakers in the closet, Hanna Helsø must be considered one of Norway’s largest collectors. She is also a sneaker influencer, with almost 80,000 followers on her Instagram account.
– It has gone from being a much smaller market where people wanted to help each other, to the majority now wanting to make as much money as possible. It has become much bigger and many more take part in this culture than before, she tells Melk & Honning about her impression of the development in the sneaker business as a whole.
She herself was bitten by the bacillus when she came across a website with sneaker news several years ago.
– Then I saw relatively little from this culture on social media, before I myself began to seek out special channels.
Today, sneakers are “everywhere”. On TV, in social media, out on the streets and at fashion houses.
– Some sneakers are sold out in seconds, and it takes effort to get the pairs you want. I think that makes many people get hooked. Either due to the feeling of mastery by getting the one pair you wanted, or that you get hungrier at the next drop because you did not get it.
Also read: Continued crisis for Norwegian women’s magazines
– Unfortunately, it has also become the case that many people buy shoes solely to make money on it, while previously there were more who bought to actually use them. That said, this culture has been more normal in the past in the USA, for example, but has fully come to Norway in recent years.
Helsø says she wished she could say that sneaker flipping was going to die out.
– But unfortunately I feel that this resell culture continues to grow. It can be easy money, which I think only attracts more and more people.
– Although I in no way think this is a good culture I want to support, I understand it. Unfortunately, I see several bad sides to it, which goes beyond me and others who only buy sneakers to wear them.
She even distances herself from buying shoes to earn on sale afterwards.
– That said, I’m starting to realize that something has to come out for me to get new in. But I still get an ugly feeling from the thought. I have done several times to look for or buy shoes on the resell market. It is extremely far-fetched to pay so much above the retail price for a couple and to then support this culture. The only positive thing about reselling is that you can get hold of almost any couple, you are willing to pay.
Helsø also believes that the luxury fashion houses have embraced sneakers for good.
– I also think people will continue to use sneakers for both everyday and party in the future. We have seen that it has been socially accepted in most arenas. And people really like comfort.
– We have also seen many exciting collaborations in recent years, which makes it easier for some brands and large fashion houses to reach new target groups. For example, Gucci which collaborates with The North Face or Prada with Adidas.
But when the pandemic is over and the world opens up fully, she thinks one will see that more people move away from both sneakers and tracksuits – for a short period.
– We have gone home for so long without seeing other people, so I think there will be a reaction in the fashion world with extra glam.
Have gone on some “bangs”
– It was five or six years ago that you started to see that something bigger was going on. It is still the last two, three years that the big changes have taken place, Fredrik Josefsson tells Melk.
He is a buyer at Yme in Oslo. According to him, the allocations in 2015 were still very tight for the stores. That is, each store received an extremely limited amount of the most popular sneaker models. At that time, maybe all Norway 24 pairs, which indicates that not very many pairs were produced in total.
– Then 24 people stood in line for 48 hours to get hold of the sneakers.
He estimates that half bought because they loved them and would use them themselves, while the rest would try to sell at a much higher price.
– Then the supply was low and the demand was high, which also meant that the price was high.
Now, however, he thinks things have changed.
– Ola and Kari Nordmann are keen on nice shoes, but not at any price.
– Now maybe 400 pairs of a popular sneaker model will come to Norway. That says a lot about the production volume. Then maybe 50 keen to buy to use, while 350 will sell on. Then you can not resell for the same high sum as before of course. And Ola and Kari are happy to afford to buy a shoe for 500 or 1000 kroner above the store price, in exchange for not having to stand in line or join a raffle.
Also read: Friends reunion reaps criticism: – Lack of diversity
He himself always buys sneakers with an intention that they should be used.
– But sometimes you make boom purchases and then there is no point in having the pair. It has happened to me maybe 10 times, which I do not think is so bad. I’m trying to sell shoes that I do not think I’ll use again. During the pandemic, you have also had time to go through what you have, try them and make room for new couples.
Josefsson says that he spends a lot of time on forums and apps for sneakers.
– So I have gone on some bangs where I have bought shoes for a five-figure amount. I often try to hear if the person is keen on trading against something I already have. Otherwise, it will be selling something in my own collection to finance new purchases. It’s a sickly expensive hobby.
He believes the reason why the luxury industry has chosen to include sneakers in its range is to make the brand available.
– It’s just like the accessory part of the business, such as wallets, belts, sunglasses, sneakers and perfume.
He thinks sneaker flipping will stay relevant for a very long time.
– Fashion goes in cycles, but sneakers will not go out of fashion for a long time.
Advertising
These are the coups you are doing today
–
