[New Word Dictionary] Sneaker Tech - Making Money with Sneakers

In May, Nike collaborated with the American ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's to release the sneakers 'Nike X Ben & Jerry's SB Dunk Chunky Dunky'. Photo by NIKE

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] In May, Nike collaborated with the American ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's to release the sneakers ‘Nike X Ben & Jerry's SB Dunk Chunky Dunky,’ which were sold to selected customers through a lottery at the retail price of 129,000 KRW. Three days later, these sneakers appeared on the resale platform XXBlue and were traded for 2.1 million KRW. The price increased 16 times in just three days. As sports brands led by Nike compete to release limited-edition sneakers, the resale market is rapidly growing, centered around consumers who want to own them. In June, the French fashion brand Christian Dior collaborated with Nike to release the ‘Air Jordan Dior,’ which was sold to 13,400 selected customers through a lottery at 3 million KRW, and recently the resale price reached 15 million KRW. Earlier this year, Nike also launched the sneakers Space Hippie, with the slogan ‘This is trash,’ revealing that they were made from space debris and released at 160,000 KRW. A few days later, the resale price soared to around 1 million KRW but is now trading in the 300,000 KRW range.

Sneakertech is a newly coined term combining sneakers and investment, referring to the method of purchasing limited-edition sneakers and reselling them at a higher price to earn profits. The American sneaker resale platform StockX analyzed the sneaker resale market size in 2019 as 6.4 billion USD (approximately 7 trillion KRW). The company opened an offline store in Hong Kong on the 17th of last month and announced its ambition to target resale markets in China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Brian Ahn, CEO of Out of Stock, Korea’s first sneaker resale platform, said, “The sneaker resale market is currently growing insanely fast,” and analyzed, “It has entered a transitional phase, transforming from a limited fashion market where enthusiasts sought sneakers to a new financial market.” According to global research firm Cowen, the sneaker resale market is estimated to grow to 30 billion USD (approximately 35 trillion KRW) by 2030. An era is approaching where limited-edition sneakers attract more attention than IPO stocks.

Example

A: I saw you took a day off yesterday. Was something going on at home?
B: Did I tell you I won the Nike Sacai lottery last time?
A: Yeah, did it arrive already? I heard you resold it right away. How much did you sell it for?
B: Don’t be surprised. I bought it for 150,000 KRW and resold it yesterday for 800,000 KRW. It’s better than stocks.
A: Wow, that’s true sneakertech. I wonder if I could even wear the shoes after paying that much?they’d be too precious.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.