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Jordans And Yeezys Have Reached Official Investment Class Status

CBx Vibe:SneakerHead” Jay Wise

By CultureBanx Team

  • Jordan and Yeezys made up the top 5 selling sneakers on StockX globally in 2020
  • The sneaker resale market has the potential to reach $30B globally by 2030

Urban street culture has always had an epochal influence on sneakers which has buoyed Jordans and Yeezys to be treated as a bona fide asset class product worthy of informed investment valuation, like any other commodity. Sneaker resellers have profited by selling short-term futures based on street sentiment. Hip-hop loves to talk about their limited edition sneakers that’s helped to create market envy in today’s $60 billion global sneaker market. Here’s why these coveted consumer goods have become tradable commodities with “sneakerheads” around the world regarding them as investment assets.

Why This Matters: Rappers have basically usurped athletes as the go-to tastemakers in the sneaker industry. Resellers of these kicks have used culture, community and technology to exploit a system that wasn’t quite ready for them. In fact, the top five selling sneakers on StockX globally in 2020 according to buy-side transactions were Nike’s (NKE +1.20%) Air Jordan 13 Retro Flint 2020, Air Jordan 1 Retro High Black Game Royal Toe, and three shoes from Kanye including his Adidas (ADDYY +1.86 %) Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Cinder, Zebra and Yecheil.

“The idea that sneakers are [also] now an emerging alternative asset class that can be bought and sold for both collection, price appreciation and investment,” according to a Cowen report.

Flipping sneakers has been a viable business proposition for decades with Cowen writing the resale market has the potential to reach $30 billion globally by 2030. The reason for this  is because major footwear brands regularly release sneakers often in relatively small numbers and to widespread anticipation. For example, Adidas only produces 40,000 pairs of each Yeezy release. Demand for limited sneakers goes as far back as 1985, when Nike dropped the Air Jordan 1, a culture-shifting sneaker that sold faster than the company could manufacture it, according to Bloomberg.

Situational Awareness: It’s important to note the limited releases that drive the resale market are not huge revenue drivers for the brands themselves. However, the potential to make money in the informal secondary sneaker market, with little oversight, has created a new breed of sneaker traders and investors alike.

CBx Vibe:SneakerHead” Jay Wise

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