SARAH WONG

I
 ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During it’s beginnings, Streetwear was a subculture whose

members prided themselves on partaking in a movement that
existed outside of mass-produced garments and high-end
designer labels. However, over recent years Streetwear has
become increasingly exposed to the mainstream market, with
the demand for Streetwear items rising significantly.

Rather than succumbing to the traditional supply-and-demand

model, Streetwear brands thrive off of exclusivity, and limited,
hyped product releases. With the demand heavily outweighing
the supply, a secondary market for Streetwear grails was
created.

The main focus of this study is to identify advancements within I would like to thank my Dissertation Tutor, Juliet Teksnes,
the Streetwear resale market and to explore the future of and my Course Director, Alison Rapsey, for their guidance and
Streetwear reselling. encouragement throughout this Dissertation.

Interviews, questionnaires, observations, and a focus group Thank you to Yaz, Michael, David, Jack, Montana, and the
were conducted for this study and were used to gain an insight members of staff at Intruders, for furthering my insight into my
into Streetwear’s so-called, underground economy of reselling, topic area and strengthening my research through interviews.
from both those within and outside of Streetwear Culture.
And a final thank you to all the participants involved in the
The conclusion can be drawn that, the Streetwear resale questionnaire and focus group.
market has resulted in the creation of various brands and
businesses that profit from the secondary market in addition
to the resellers themselves.

Brands have begun experimenting with fairer, more impartial

processes for product releases, in order to eliminate loopholes
that resellers have been taking to obtain stock. This strive for
fairness and heightened regulation is a shared aim with that
of reselling platform, StockX, who is predicted to dominate
the Streetwear resale market. The popularity of this platform
signifies how consumers are beginning to favour a safe,
regulated method of reselling and that this could be the future
of how the Streetwear resale market operates.

Word count: 6,583

II III
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 | THE STREETWEAR RESALE MARKET 1

1.1 | Contextualising the Streetwear Resale Market 5
1.2 | Drop Culture 7
1.3 | Hypnotised by Hype 8
1.4 |Who are the Consumers Buying into this Hype-Market? 12

CHAPTER 2 | ADVANCEMENTS WITHIN STREETWEAR RESELLING 26

2.1 | Consignment Stores 30
2.2 | Bots and Add-to-Cart Services 31
2.3 | Proxies 34
2.4 | Events 36
2.5 | StockX 40
2.6 | Reselling Platforms 43
TITLE PAGE ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
II III CHAPTER 3 | BRANDS VS THE RESALE MARKET 48
I
3.1 | Amending the Drop 54
3.2 | Nike Take Back Control 58
CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES 3.3 | Yeezy 66
V VI VII 3.4 | The Reselling Cycle: The Ticket Resale Market 70

CHAPTER 4 | THE FUTURE 74

GLOSSARY OF TERMS INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY
4.1 | Consignment Stores 77
VIII X XII
4.2 | Resellers 79
4.3 | Influencer 81
4.4 | Journalists 82
4.5 | Brands 83
4.6 | Consumers 85

CONCLUSION 89

RECOMMENDATIONS 91

LIST OF REFERENCES 93

BIBLIOGRAPHY 100

IV V
 LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES

Table 1: Primary research interviews XV Figure 1: Bart with Supreme money gun X Figure 56: Michael, AKA The Camp0ut 81
Table 2: Coding XV Figure 2: Supreme queue XII Figure 57: Matt Welty 82
Table 3: Hypebeast consumer 16 Figure 3: Drop queue 6 Figure 58: adidas logo 83
Table 4: Sneakerhead consumer 18 Figure 4: Wealthsimple billboard 7 Figure 59: Fucking Awesome logo 84
Table 5: Established Resellers 20 Figure 5: Off-White x Nike graphic 8 Figure 60: Consumer 85
Table 6: Nickel-and-Dime Resellers 22 Figure 6: Sneaker chart 9 Figures 61 and 62: adidas Consumer 86
Table 7: Event observation 36 Figure 7: Off-White Hypebeast 11 Figure 63: Bape consumer 87
Table 8: Reselling platforms 44 Figure 8: Ari Petrou 15 Figure 64: Sneaker campout 89
Figure 9: Jaysse Lopez 17 Figure 65: Air Jordans 90
Figure 10: Momokickz 19
Figure 11: ldn_hype 21
Figure 12: Release line 23
Figure 13: Reseller’s trunk 27
Figures 14-17: Consignment stores 29
Figures 18 and 19: Bot graphic 32
Figure 20: Drop line 33
Figures 21-26: Sneaker Con and Crepe City 35
Figures 27-32: Sneaker Con and Crepe City 38
Figure 33: Josh Luber’s TED Talk 39
Figure 34: StockX Warehouse 39
Figure 35: StockX London Launch 39
igure 36: Louis Vuitton x Supreme 43
Figure 37: Reseller and car 45
Figure 38: Supreme bogo stack 49
Figure 39: Kermit x Supreme 51
Figure 40: Louis Vuitton x Supreme queue 53
Figure 41: Nike x Off-White Blazer 57
Figure 42: Off-White x Nike Blazer graphic 60
Figure 43: Nike graphic 60
Figure 44: SNKRS App functions 61
Figures 45-48: Yeezy graphics 65
Figure 49: Remove your Yeezys 67
Figure 50: Need tickets 69
Figure 51: Supreme bags 71
Figure 52: Bape queue 75
Figure 53: Montana, Intruders-London 77
Figure 54: David, AKA “Mr. Off The Wall 78
Figure 55: Prime Order’s stock 79

VI VII
 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Reseller: noun Bot: noun

1. A reseller is a company or individual that purchases goods with the intention of selling 1. A software application that runs automated tasks allowing for extremely quick
them rather than consuming or using them. transactions to be made during an online release.

Hypebeast: noun Deadstock: adjective

1. An individual that wears whatever brand or style might be trending at the time. Their 1. A new, unworn item that is in its original state that it was in when purchased, in its
outfit choices are mainly to impress others. original packaging.

Proxy: noun Brick: adjective

1. An internet tool designed to hide a user’s IP Address so users can act anonymously 1. A term used to describe an item that is not popular/struggle to sell on the resale market
online. and tends to make little profit or even a loss.
2. A person(s) that has been paid to purchase product on another’s behalf.
verb: Proxying Cop: verb
1. To purchase. Past tense: Copped
Drop: verb
1. When a limited amount of exclusive, hyped items is released for sale. Flip: verb
Example: “There’s a Supreme Drop on Thursday.” “When are the Yeezys Dropping?” 1. To Resell an item. Past tense: Flipped

VIII IX
 INTRODUCTION
AIM
To investigate the ways in which the Streetwear resale market has
advanced and evolved, and to explore the future of Streetwear reselling.
OBJECTIVES
To contextualise the Streetwear resale market and to assess the impact
of brands using hype, exclusivity, and ‘drop culture’ for product releases.
To determine how the Streetwear resale market has evolved, by
identifying key advancements and innovations specific to this sector.
To investigate how brands are reacting to developments within the
Streetwear resale market, and to analyse their relationship with
resellers.
To explore the future of Streetwear reselling, through the perspectives
of various industry experts.
Figure 1 X XI
Drop, Cop, Flip: The Holy Trinity of Streetwear Reselling.
This trio of terminology is almost offensively oversimplifying the process
that Reseller’s undertake on a daily basis, but it’s words like these that
have become commonplace amongst Streetwear enthusiasts, with the
process behind them having the ability to transform opportunist teens
into adolescent entrepreneurs.
Unlike the traditional supply-and-demand model that most retailers
practice, Streetwear brands have mastered the art of the ‘Drop’. This
is where exclusive, hyped items are released in extremely limited
quantities, resulting in the demand being significantly higher than the
supply. The fortunate few that manage to ‘Cop (Purchase)’ items from
a release are then presented with the opportunity to either keep them
or to ‘Flip’ them, Reselling the products at a premium price tag to those
who missed out.
The increasing demand for hyped Streetwear is a contributing factor
to why the Secondary Market is reported to be growing nearly 24 times
faster than retail (ThredUp, 2018), with the resale market for sneakers
alone being estimated to be worth over $1.5 billion (Sagner, 2017).
The intense buzz surrounding the secondary market has triggered
developments of apps and businesses that aim to assist in the buying
and selling of Streetwear. From the creation of a Streetwear stock
market, to the controversy of computer bots, the resale market is
constantly discovering new and innovative ways to get a hold of coveted
Streetwear items. Streetwear Brands are monitoring the resale market
closely, with some even devising preventative methods to reduce
stock being sold to resellers. This poses many questions as to what the
relationship is between brands and the secondary market.
Streetwear reselling has become a present-day phenomenon but, like
with most things, there are both positive and negative implications.
It is important to take into consideration multiple perspectives
when undertaking research. Resellers, consumers, fans, brands, and
businesses will each have their own take on reselling, and it’s by
analysing these diverse attitudes that will attribute to predicting the
future of the Streetwear resale market.
 METHODOLOGY

SECONDARY RESEARCH
Books

A key book used in this study was: ‘This is Not Fashion:

Streetwear Past, Present, and Future, by King Adz and
Wilma Stone, 2018’. The book explained the roots of
Streetwear and how Streetwear Culture has evolved
since it’s beginnings, providing key historical context.

Market sector reports

Market Sector Reports communicated both qualitative

and quantitative data, the ‘ThredUp Resale Report,
2018’, provided key figures and statistics on the resale
market, whilst ‘The Gen Z Equation, 2018’ report by
WGSN highlighted Gen Z’s involvement within the
Streetwear resale market.

Online articles/ Websites

‘Complex News’, particularly a number of articles written

by Matt Welty, were used in this study, providing up-to-
date insight into Streetwear and the resale market.

Video content

The ‘Sold Out: The Underground Economy of Supreme

resellers’ documentary and Josh Luber’s TED Talk on
‘Why Sneakers are a Great Investment’, were a highly
informative introduction to the Streetwear resale
market, providing context and background.

PRIMARY RESEARCH
Figure 2
Focus Group

Through a variety of primary and secondary research methods, A focus group was conducted with 3 female participants
the researcher obtained both qualitative and quantitative data aged 20-21. The aim of the focus group was to gage how
much someone, who was not involved with Streetwear
on the Streetwear resale market. Culture, knew about the Streetwear resale market.
A total of 7, semi-structured questions were asked
(Appendix G).

Limitations

▷▷ Small sample size- findings may not be

representative of the population.
▷▷ There was a bias as only females aged 20-21 were
used.
▷▷ Questions did not divulge into specifics of
Streetwear but were kept general however, key
terms were explained if they needed to be.
XII XIII
Questionnaire Interviews
An online questionnaire composed of 6 questions was Qualitative data was collected through interviews.
released on social media platforms, Facebook and Participants were selected based off of their role within
Instagram, during initial stages of primary research. the Streetwear resale market (Appendices A-F).

The questionnaire was created using Typeform and

collected 100 responses from an age range of 17 or
under- 41+. The researcher was aware that information
surrounding the Streetwear resale market was not
common knowledge and so created the questions with Limitations
that in mind, making the survey more generalised. The
survey was conducted to gage the public’s stance on the ▷▷ Interviews conducted through email did not allow
resale market (Appendix H). for free-flowing conversation however, participants
were open and responsive to any follow-up
emails/questions.
Limitations
▷▷ The interview with the Anonymous employees at
▷▷ Survey questions were generalised so that both Intruders, London was impromptu and therefore
Streetwear and non-Streetwear consumers could was not recorded correctly, only briefly noted.
answer, and therefore did not go into specific ▷▷ Those interviewed may have been bias due to
detail. their profession.
▷▷ Small sample size- the website used, Typeform,
Table 1
only allowed 100 responses to be viewed.

▷▷ The survey could have been longer and present

more engaging and open questions.
Data analysis
▷▷ Bias- 77% of participants were aged 18-23 and
therefore is not representative of the population. A code was created to analyse the results from the qualitative data collected through primary research. Table 2
summarises the coding used to represent the core themes and phrases from the qualitative responses within the 6
Observations/ Events/ Photographs interviews and 1 focus group conducted by the researcher.

The researcher attended Sneaker Con and Crepe City,

annual reselling events in London, to make observations
and take photographs of the resale market in-person.
The researcher also made involuntary observations
and took photos at Supreme, Intruders, and Presented
By | Crep Protect. All stores were based in London and
were chosen for observations due to the roles they play
within the resale market.

Limitations

▷▷ Photographs inside the Supreme store are strictly

prohibited, although observations were still made,
no photos were able to be taken inside.
▷▷ Observations derive from the researcher’s
perspective, so the researcher must ensure to not
be bias when reporting observations.
▷▷ Cultural bias- all events and observations were
made in London, UK and may not be representative
of the entire Streetwear resale market.
Table 2
XIV XV
 I RES PE CT T HE
HUSTLERS,
U S T H E GR IN D ER S,
PL
AND TH E SE LLE RS

XVI XVII
1 2
 : key
timeline moments
wear
street

2017
2013 Supreme collaborated
Rapper, Kanye West, with Louis Vuitton
Early 2000’s signs with adidas
Birth of the ‘Sneakerheads’, 2017
1984 passionate sneaker fans 2006 2013 Nike collaborated with
Basketball player, 1993 became apparent when Consignment store, Virgil Abloh founded Off-White to produce
Michael Jordan, signs NIGO founded BAPE Stussy began collaborating Flight Club, opened in Streetwear brand, ‘The Ten’ sneaker
with Nike in Japan with Nike New York Off-White collection

1982 1994 2005 2008 Late 2000’s- 2015

Shawn Stussy began James Jebbia founded Kevin Ma began the Kanye West Early 2010’s adidas drops the
selling screen-printed skatewear brand, Streetwear news and began heavily Birth of the first Yeezy
T-shirts at his surf Supreme, in New York blog website, ‘Hypebeast’ influencing ‘Hypebeasts’
shop in California Streetwear 2015
with his unique Late 2000’s- Reselling platform,
style StockX, was founded
Early 2010’s
The Streetwear
Resale Market
gains popularity

Figure: Refer to ‘Timeline’

3 4
1.1 CONTEXTUALISING THE STREETWEAR RESALE MARKET

Over the past decade it has become increasingly evident that Streetwear’s most
noted brands- like Supreme, Palace, and A Bathing Ape (Bape), have expanded
beyond the skater-boy consumers they once attracted. With the international
Streetwear industry estimated to be worth over $300 billion, Streetwear is
reported to have hit the mainstream (Lea, 2017).

Streetwear brands are notoriously known for their exclusivity, with their
limited-supply of products selling-out in seconds after their release. With an
ever-growing legion of followers there has been a surge in demand for these
limited items, but brands are not succumbing to the pressure. With demand
outstripping supply, the secondary market was conceived. The secondary
market, specifically the Streetwear resale market, offers disappointed
individuals a second-chance at buying the Streetwear grails that they missed
out on however, this comes at a premium price-tag (Davies, 2018).

“It’s worth whatever a fool’s willing to pay for it”

(YouTube-Complex, 2015)

Once products sell-out, their retail price-tag becomes irrelevant. A consumer’s

thirst for a hyped item is inevitably what will determine a product’s resell value.
The resell prices of rare Supreme pieces can be increased as much as 1200%
above the original retail price (YouTube-Complex, 2015). Latest reports claim
that the resale market is set to grow from $21 billion to $41 billion by 2022, with
reselling culture set to outpace fast fashion by 2027 (ThredUp, 2018). The resale
market for sneakers alone is already estimated to be worth over $1.5 billion
(Sagner, 2017).

This evidences the rapid financial growth and surge in popularity of Streetwear’s
secondary market and implies that it will continue to grow.
Figure 3

In a survey, when asked if they would be willing to purchase an item from a

reseller if the item they wanted had sold-out, 55% of participants said it would “Reselling is basically the same business as selling drugs, it’s
depend on the price. This further evidences that individuals are open-to and crazy to think about it…like a lot of people are coming out of
would consider purchasing from the resale market (Appendix H).
prison and they’re like “I’m going to resell, because it’s basically
what I was doing before, but now legally and there’s loopholes to
get around it, and it’s cash-in-hand.”

-Montana, Intruders.
(Appendix C)

5 6
 1.2 DROP CULTURE
Whether individuals are buying items with the intent to
wear or sell, it all starts with the drop, a drop is where new
and exclusive items are released in limited quantities.
Traditionally, drops would possess a ‘first-come, first-serve’
policy, supplying determined individuals with a motive to
queue outside of stores overnight or even for up to a week
before a drop (YouTube-Highsnobiety, 2018).
Supreme are notoriously known for their drops, every
Thursday at 11am they release a new range of highly-
anticipated products which consistently sell-out. Their
store in London was threatened with closure after queues
became ‘too raucous’, resulting in an alternative queueing
system being put into practice (Conlon, 2018).
7 8
1.3 HYPNOTISED BY HYPE
Hype is a force in which controls the way individuals interact with brands, it is
ever-changing and, in most cases, temporary. Brands use marketing to build
hype around products, sportswear brand Nike call this ‘Demand Creation’ and
invested $3 billion into this in 2017, showcasing how crucial the element of
hype is to brands (YouTube-Highsnobiety, 2018).
Figure 4
Supreme is an example of just how busy drops are becoming
due to the surge in the popularity of Streetwear, “Brands such
as Supreme or Palace have mastered drops where limited
Figure 5
product releases cause people to make impulse purchases
that they normally might not have made if there was not this
constant now-or-never in the back of their heads.” Says Luke Through observation the researcher found that many resellers use polls on
Miles, creator of Restocks, an app that notifies users as soon social media to establish how hyped a product is prior to a drop. This will then
as product drops (LSN, 2017). indicate which products/colourways are the most hyped, meaning it will be the
most sought after, and therefore possess a high value on the resale market.
However, drops more commonly occur online now, opening
up to a wider geographic of consumers that may not have This emphasises the importance of hype within the reselling community,
access to a physical store. showing how hype heavily impacts on the resell value of a product and therefore
determines which items resellers will try to get a hold of.
The anticipation built around drops and the products that
are being released is frequently referred to as ‘hype’. And
it’s this hype, that is driving the Streetwear resale market
forward, and keeping brands on the cutting edge of cool.
 m o st
o p 10
T ita ble
prof from
kers 018
snea mer 2
Sum
Figure 6

9 10
 1.4 WHO ARE THE CONSUMERS BUYING INTO THIS
HYPE-MARKET?

Through both research and observation, the researcher has identified

four main consumer types who are buying into the hype and exclusivity
of Streetwear.

12
Figure 7
 P EB E AS T S
HY
W E K N OW
UT C H EA ’ ,
ABO ES
B U Y SH O
DON ’T
E SS T H E Y
UN L
PO PU LA ’

13 14
 Table 3 (Owen, 2018)(Spencer, 2018)

Figure 8 16
 Table 4 (YouTube-Highsnobiety, 2018)

Figure 9 18
 Table 5 (YouTube-UNILAD, 2018)(Forester, 2016)

Figure 10 20
 Table 6 (YouTube-Complex, 2018)

It’s the infiltration of Nickel-and-Dime Resellers that has pushed the Streetwear resale
market to evolve and forced Established Resellers to develop new ways to cash-in on
the prospering Streetwear industry.

Figure 11 22
 In summary, the Streetwear resale market thrives
off of the exclusive, hyped releases that brands are
frequently orchestrating. With items releasing in
such limited quantities, the resellers are able to
take advantage of the Hypebeasts and Sneakerhead
consumers who are willing to pay a premium to flex
or collect the latest Streetwear items.

Figure 12

23 24
25 26
 The business of Streetwear reselling runs much
deeper than simply buying and selling, it has
significantly evolved from the times of deals in
alleyways and shifting stock on eBay. And with a
business comes the tricks of trade, of which reselling
is no exception.

Figure 13

27 28
 2.1 CONSIGNMENT STORES
A consignment store is defined as, a shop that sells second-
hand items on behalf of the original owner, who receives
a percentage of the selling price (Google Dictionary, 2018).
These are the type of stores that are opening as a result of
the Streetwear reselling phenomenon.
The researcher interviewed Montana, Manager of London-
based consignment store, Intruders, about how a
consignment store functions, “How the store works is there’s
consignment, cash-out and our own stock. So, there’s 3
different types of stock that we have” (Appendix C).
▷▷ Consigned stock are items that do not belong to
Intruders, individuals leave product with the store and
receive payment for them when they sell, with Intruders
taking a 20% fee.
▷▷ Cash-out stock are items that are directly brought from
individuals, usually on drop days, where Intruders will
pay upfront for new releases, “we’ll buy them off them
for a reasonable amount, usually just over retail, but if
it’s [the product] hyped then we’ll pay more.”
▷▷ Their own stock is stock that they have acquired
themselves.
Figures 14-17
29
Although each consignment store will have their own unique
practices, most will operate in a similar way to Intruders.
Consignment stores offer resellers an alternative avenue
to sell their items, or in some cases resellers acquire so
much stock that they open-up their own store, as seen with
Manhattan-based consignment store, Cop vs Drop, which
was opened in 2014 when its founder was still attending
high school, (YouTube-Complex, 2015) further evidencing
the significant involvement of Generation Z within the resale
market.
In 2016, New York-based consignment store, Stadium
Goods, received a $4.6 million capital raise from various
venture capital firms. A year later, it was announced that
they had made a deal with Nordstrom (an American chain of
upscale department stores) to open a location inside their
New York Menswear section (WGSN, 2018).
This indicates that both Streetwear and it’s resale market
have been acknowledged, by large, mainstream companies,
as a fast-growing industry worth investing in.
30
 2.2 BOTS AND ADD-TO-CART SERVICES

On drop day, the traffic to Supreme’s website can increase as much as 16,800%, Add-to-Cart services are a variation of bot however, instead of paying a one-
and with drops happening online more frequently, resellers have had to get time fee and having to download software, users choose the item they want
tech-savvy to ensure that they’re still the first ones who cop the latest release, from a drop, pay for the item as well as a fee, and allow the service to do the
introducing the bots (LSN, 2017). rest. If unsuccessful, users are refunded.

In the context of Streetwear, a bot is: a software application that runs automated Add-to-Cart services are typically used by genuine consumers in order to avoid
tasks such as, automatically filling-in payment and delivery details, allowing paying inflated resell prices, as the overall cost of the service can work out lower
for extremely quick transactions to be made during an online release (Sagner, than what the item would resell for (YouTube-TonyD2Wild).
2017).
Add-to-Cart services display a more personalised approach compared to
computer bots, and their popularity amongst genuine consumers highlights
that consumers are turning away from resellers and finding their own means of
“I think it’s a major advancement for reselling. One, because it’s sourcing Streetwear items.
way easier for people to get things but also, because the kids
want the shoes or Supreme or whatever, they’re learning code
and learning how to use bots…that’s a mad transferrable skill”
-Montana, Intruders.
(Appendix C)

Bots are a “one-time purchase”, those who programme bots sell their software
to individuals, who can then download and use the bot for multiple product
releases.

Bot programming has proved to be a profitable profession, in 2015, the creator

of the ‘RSVP Sniper’ bot obtained $250,000 in sales during the release of the
‘Supreme x Air Jordan 5’ sneakers (Christian, 2017). Similarly, the teenager
behind the bot, EasyCop, reported that he’d earned almost $300,000 in sales
in 2016 (Schwartzberg, 2017). The extreme profits earned by botmakers reveals
how popular bots are within the Streetwear community.

However, in a survey 48.5% of participants said that they would not/have not
used a bot to purchase from an online release, with a further 37.4% admitting
to not knowing what a bot was, indicating that mainstream consumers are not
familiar with these recent advancements within the resale market (Appendix H).

As some software can be unreliable, users opt to take precautions by purchasing

a variety of bots, as found when the researcher interviewed employees at
Intruders, who also work as resellers, “A bot must be used to even stand a
chance of copping from an online release,” demonstrating the significant
impact bots have had on online drops, they self-proclaim that they “own most
of the bots on the market, totalling upwards of £1000 worth” and have admitted
to even reselling bots, “It’s mad that people are reselling the tools used to buy
the products to then resell” (Appendix D).

The high profits reported by botmakers highlights not only the popularity but,
the normalisation of the use of bots. The selling and reselling of bots signals yet
another way that individuals are profiting from the Streetwear resale market Figures 18 and 19

and highlights the lengths at which resellers will go to, to source new stock.

31 32
 2.3 PROXIES

Due to demand, products that are limited in supply are sold 1 per person,
hindering resellers who are looking to build-up their inventory. To overcome
this, resellers have equipped themselves with proxies for both instore and
online drops.

For instore releases, resellers will pay premiums to trustworthy individuals

to queue and buy specific items on their behalf, these people are known as
‘proxies’ (YouTube-UNILAD, 2018).

Online, proxies are a software created to be used in conjunction with bots,

providing users with numerous IP addresses (a unique address which identifies
a device using the internet) allowing them to appear as multiple people,
permitting them to purchase more than 1 of a chosen product during an online
drop (AIObot, 2018).

The conception of Proxies highlights how resellers have detected loopholes

and are bypassing quantity restrictions brands have put into place, and further
demonstrates the complexity of reselling and just how much preparation is
invested into securing the latest items.

Figure 20

“The problem with proxying is that there’s only a certain amount

of stock, you’ve got a problem when you’ve got a lot of kids behind
those people [proxies] in the queue, and they’re going to get in the
shop and there’s going to be no stock left.”
-Palace Skateboards employee
(YouTube-BBCRadio1, 2017)

33 34
 2.4 EVENTS

Reselling events have arisen from the growing enthusiasm for the Streetwear
resale market, now they have become annual traditions, filling convention
centres worldwide. The researcher attended two resale events in London,
Sneaker Con and Crepe City, and made observations of what the resale market
was like in-person.

Table 7 (Researcher’s observations)

Figures 21-26

35 36
Reselling events, like the ones attended by the researcher, show similarities to
other established sub-culture conventions, such as Comic Con (a large-scale
Comic/Sci-Fi convention) similarities include:

▷▷ Attendees dress-up
▷▷ Buying/selling/trading of hyped goods
▷▷ Opportunities to meet special guests
▷▷ Discussion panels
▷▷ Being a place for fans to socialise
(MCM Comic Con, 2018)

This highlights how Streetwear reselling has created a strong, cohesive

community, like that of the large-scale fan communities, where conventions
and events are held to celebrate their shared passion and bring together like-
minded individuals. However, as of yet brands themselves are not officially
represented at these events, which could allude to them not approving of, or
not wanting to be associated with large-scale reselling.

Figures 27-32

37 38
 2.5 STOCKX
In 2015, Josh Luber gave a TED Talk on “Why sneakers are a
great investment” where he spoke about the growth of the
Figure 33
sneaker resale market, later that year, he launched StockX,
“the world’s first stock market for things” (Luber, 2015).
Primarily the company started out analysing data on
collectable sneakers but has since branched out to become
a stock market, a live market place, and an authentication
service for Streetwear items and Luxury goods (StockX,
2018).
StockX collects 8 million users a month, hosting over $2
million of sales a day, of which they take a 9.5% seller-fee
from each transaction (Welty 1, 2017). Whilst the majority of
sales derive from American consumers, continental Europe
and China account for 20% (Edgecliffe-Johnson, 2018).
In mid-2018, the company announced that they’d raised
$44 million of fundraising from investors such as, Steve
Figure 34 Aoki, Karlie Kloss, and Eminem allowing them to expand
worldwide, opening warehouses in London and across
Europe (WGSN, 2018).
Figure 35
39
In mid-2018, the company announced that they’d raised
$44 million of fundraising from investors such as, Steve
Aoki, Karlie Kloss, and Eminem allowing them to expand
worldwide, opening warehouses in London and across
Europe (WGSN, 2018).
StockX is one of the world’s leading buying and selling
platforms for Streetwear, it’s providing a middle-ground
between resellers and consumers, regulating the market
and normalising fair prices for hyped products (Welty 1,
2017).
It’s investments and expansion signify the company’s growth
in popularity, indicating that consumers are beginning to
favour buying through a safe, regulated resale platform as
opposed to buying directly from a reseller.
40
 BORN IN NEW
ORLEANS,
GET KILLED FOR
JORDANS

41 42
 2.6 RESELLING PLATFORMS

“Nowadays people will rob you over a $150 sneaker” (Gage, 2017). In 2015,
GQ reported that an estimated 1,200 people die every year over sneakers (GQ,
2015). The anxiety and fear of hand-to-hand reselling (meeting in-person to
resell products) resulting in violence has been a contributing factor as to why
reselling has moved online.

Now, there are various online/app-based reselling platforms, like StockX,

providing a safer, more-convenient method for users to buy and sell Streetwear
(Welty 1, 2017).

Through both observation and research, the researcher found that resellers
preferred using social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, to resell,
“Personally, I only use Instagram. It’s the best way to reach out to the right
people, using hashtags on every post,” reseller, @sup.collector, reported.

It can be assumed that the preference for reselling over social media is due
to the reseller having complete control over their content and profits, with
no third-party fees to pay. Its gives resellers an opportunity to create a loyal
following and to brand both, themselves and their business.

Table 8 (Welty 1, 2018) (Mickiewicz, 2017) (Rakestraw, 2018)

Figure 36

43 44
 To conclude, the Streetwear resale market has
significantly evolved over recent years, and it is this
evolution which has allowed for reselling related
businesses, such as consignment stores, reselling
platforms, and bot technology, to flourish. Signifying
that it is not just the resellers who are benefitting
from the high demand of Streetwear.

Figure 37

45 46
47 48
 It is widely believed that if brands wanted to close
the resale market, they could. By producing higher
quantities of products, it eliminates the need for
resellers, so why haven’t they? Although brands
haven’t directly spoken out about their views on
the secondary market, many have put into action
methods to prevent resellers obtaining product
(Rakestraw, 2018).

Figure 38

49 50
 “I DON’T LIKE IT [THE RESALE MARKET] VERY MUCH
SIMPLY BECAUSE WE TRY OUR BEST TO MAKE OUR
CLOTHING AFFORDABLE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, AFTER ALL
SUPREME IS A SKATE BRAND… I MUCH PREFER IT IF
SOMEONE BUYS SOMETHING FROM US THAT THEY PLAN
ON WEARING AND NOT SELLING”

-James Jebbia, Founder of Supreme

(YouTube-Complex, 2015).

Figure 39
51 52
 3.1 AMENDING THE DROP
Streetwear brands and retailers are beginning to make
alterations to how drops are conducted, with the aim
of providing equal opportunities for consumers to buy
exclusive product and eliminating any loopholes that
resellers may use.
Streetwear retailers such as, END and Offspring, have
introduced raffle systems, where individuals enter an
online raffle to win a chance at buying the item that will
be dropping. Names are drawn and announced on drop
day, with winners having a limited timeframe to go to store
to purchase the product (Sneakersnstuff, 2018). “All the
stores are doing raffles now, even for products that aren’t
as hyped because, stores don’t want to deal with the hassle
surrounding drops” (Appendix C).
Louis Vuitton’s Miami location used a photographic queue-
system for their highly anticipated Supreme collaboration
in 2017. Security used an iPad to photograph each person
and their ID as they entered the queue. The order in which
individuals were allowed instore was determined by the
order the photographs were taken in. “Even if you skipped
and jumped in the front [of the queue], come morning
time when they are letting you in that store, if your photo
wasn’t on there [the iPad], you weren’t getting in the shop…
probably the most organised release I’ve ever been to”
-@SolestreetSneakerco (YouTube-Complex, 2018).
Figure 40
53
In 2018, Footpatrol used a roll-call system for the drop of
the 4D Runner sneaker, where prospective buyers had to
attend each roll-call at the store every 2-3 hours from 6pm
until 9am. “The previous ones they released resold for about
£2000, so everybody wanted them” (Appendix C).
Brands, such as Supreme, are attempting to neutralise the
use of bots and proxies for online releases by constantly
altering the framework of their website. Whilst other
ecommerce platforms have incorporated bot identification
technology, like Google Recaptcha, into their site (Oliver,
2016) (Christian, 2017) (Perez, 2017).
The experimentation in the execution of hyped drops
highlights how brands and retailers are striving towards
making releases as fair as possible, by developing new ways
to engage consumers and eradicating opportunities for
resellers to take shortcuts.
But, as identified within interviews conducted by the
researcher, brands have begun using these complex drop
methods for general, non-exclusive product releases
too, meaning the consumer’s path to purchase has been
elongated. This shows that the over-use of drops risk
becoming a consumer deterrent as opposed to encouraging
engagement.
54
 TELL ME H OW
YOU F EE L,
S FOR
NIKE BOY
REAL

55 56
 3.2 NIKE TAKE BACK CONTROL

Nike are estimated to make up 96% of

the sneakers available on the resale
market, what is often overlooked are the
methods Nike have constructed to control
and benefit from their domination of the
secondary market (Leach, 2018).

Figure 41

57 58
This is how Nike use spontaneous restocks in the months preceding a
hyped release to convert unsatisfied customers into sales:

A previously released sneaker, that was highly

sought-after and extremely limited, is chosen
for a spontaneous restock.

Due to how limited this sneaker was, it holds

a high value on the resale market, which
gains the interest of resellers.

Consumers who missed out on the previous

release also gain an interest at a second
chance at obtaining the sneaker.

Due to the sneaker being sold in such limited

quantities previously, consumers do not
hesitate at an opportunity to purchase it.
Figure 42 Figure 43

This demonstrates how Nike are utilising resellers for

Nike restock the sneaker however, this time
they release it in higher quantities. The
majority of people who attempt to purchase
the sneaker, succeed.
sales whilst simultaneously decreasing their profits on the
secondary market. However, it is believed that brands must
exercise caution when using this restocking method, as
once people notice the correlation between restocks and
declining resell value, they will not buy into it.

With genuine consumers satisfied, resellers

are left struggling to find a buyer for the
sneaker, and the resell value of it sharply
declines.

(Leach, 2018).

59 60
 In 2015, Nike launched their new app, SNKRS, with the aim of creating a fair,
digital method for consumers to purchase new product, that not even the bots
could infiltrate. The app has developed to further provide a unique shopping
experience for consumers.

For example, for the release of Virgil Abloh’s ‘Air Force 1 Low’ sneaker, the app
took users on an AR (Augmented Reality) scavenger hunt prompting users to
visit specific locations within a specified timeframe. Only when users are at
these locations can they then use the AR camera to capture a particular image
within that area which will then unlock the sneakers on the app allowing for an
early purchase (Espinoza, 2018).

The SNKRS App shows how Nike are attempting to combat the bots and create
a fair release process for all. Consumers taking a more exciting path to purchase
through the app evidences how Nike are encouraging consumers to interact
more with the brand, resulting in individuals feeling as though they are a part of
the Nike community, and therefore remain loyal to the brand. This shows how
Nike can capture the attention of a consumer through a drop on their SNKRS
app, and go on to potentially gain a loyal, brand advocate.

Figure 44

“Nike have cracked down the hardest on resellers, especially by

releasing products on their own SNKRS app”
-Anonymous employee, Intruders- London
(Appendix D)

61 62
 YEEZY, YEEZY,
YEEZY,
THEY LINE UP
FOR DAYS

63 64
 3.3 YEEZY
Yeezy sneakers. What were once a coveted Streetwear grail,
are now sitting in stock rooms for days after release. It is a
widely held view that the ongoing collaboration between
adidas and Kanye West may have peaked. “Every adidas
Yeezy release has drummed up massive hype, but it’s
starting to plummet as more pairs are being made and more
people are buying them just to resell and cash-in” (Welty 3,
2017).
The researcher spoke to Jack Powell, Customer Service
Advisor at adidas, who explained, “Adidas have been
increasing the volumes of Yeezys significantly, meaning that
the exclusivity factor has been lost slightly which is possibly
why the resell has dropped. However, they are still selling-
out… To me it seems Yeezys are losing some of the hype
they had before, so adidas are capitalising on it whilst they
can by releasing large numbers” (Appendix F).
The decline in hype surrounding Yeezys is an example of
what happens when brands release high-quantities of
product, this could explain why Streetwear brands are
hesitant to increase product quantities to meet demand,
although it may off-put resellers, it could also deter genuine
consumers.
Figures 45-48
65
Furthermore, adidas/Yeezy have used ‘product bundles’ as
a strategy to outsmart the resale market. When the ‘Yeezy
500 Desert Rat’ sneaker was released, the highly anticipated
$200 sneaker could only be obtained in conjunction with the
purchase of a hoodie and shorts- totalling $760. Although
the high-cost discouraged some resellers, the bundling
method was seen as an attempt from adidas to “take-back
profit” from those resellers who were not repelled by the
cost and would continue to resell regardless (Wolf, 2017).
It is apparent that adidas are actively trying to prevent
resellers from obtaining their products, as can be seen in their
purchase policy, which states that they reserve the right to
withhold sales from those suspected of reselling (NiceKicks,
2017). However, there is no denying the correlation between
the decrease in resell value and the decrease in hype and
sales of Yeezys. Whether this is causation or coincidence, it
highlights how what is happening in the resale market can
majorly affect brands.
66
 “On some of the older models, we will bring more
volume into it… But if you’re looking for the
innovation we are bringing in, we’re not going to
bring that out in volume. So, it’s still going to be
hard to get a very new Yeezy shoe from adidas.”

-Casper Rorsted, adidas CEO

(Destefano, 2018)

Figure 49

67 68
 3.4 THE RESELLING CYCLE: THE TICKET RESALE MARKET

Through research, the researcher identified similarities between the Streetwear

resale market and the event-ticket industry, from the use of bots to bulk-buy
tickets for hyped events, to the inflated resell prices. Resellers have profited
from yet another industry where demand outweighs supply however, legal
action has been taken to battle ticket touting.

▷▷ In 2016, President Barack Obama signed the law which makes using a bot
to purchase tickets or reselling tickets bought using a bot, illegal in the US
(Cheung, 2016).
▷▷ In 2018, the UK brought in a new legislation which prohibits the use of
automated software (bots) to buy tickets, those caught breaking the law
will face an “unlimited fine” (GOV.UK, 2018).
▷▷ In 2018, Ticketmaster closed its ticket reselling sites, Get Me In and
Seatwave, replacing it with a “fan-to-fan ticket exchange” a marketplace
where users can resell tickets at face-value or less (Kobie, 2018).

The developments within the ticket resale market could be used as an

indicator as to what the future of Streetwear reselling could be like. It prompts
the question of, could the changes witnessed within the events industry be
implemented into Streetwear?

Figure 50

69 70
 In conclusion, Streetwear brands have become
increasingly aware of the resale market that they
have inadvertently created and are attempting to
combat resellers via a host of methods including,
experimenting with the way in which drops are
conducted, and manipulating the market with
random restocks. Brands are striving to create fair
opportunities for all to obtain products, which could
possibly mean taking inspiration from the event-
ticket industry and introducing laws and legislations
to assist in market regulation.

Figure 51

71 72
73 74
 Having explored the Streetwear resale market, both
past and present, the researcher collated interviews,
from primary and secondary sources, to investigate
how those within industry feel about the future of
Streetwear reselling.

Figure 52

75 76
 4.1 CONSIGNMENT STORES
Montana, Manager of Intruders-London, believes that
the Streetwear resale market will become too saturated,
“General consumers will lose interest because it’s a thing
of like, yeah this is the sickest sneaker I’ve ever seen in my
whole entire life but, what am I going to have to do to get
that” referencing the difficulty of obtaining hyped Streetwear
due to alterations in product drops and having to compete
against bots and resellers for online releases (Chapter 2.2).
Although, contrary to this, Montana continues by predicting
that people will continue to make money from the resale
market, although how much they make will decrease over
time, “everything’s an exclusive now, it’s getting to the point
where I don’t feel anything special anymore.”
Figure 53
77
Senior employee at consignment store Presented By |
Crep Protect, David, AKA “Mr. Off The Wall” disagrees with
Montana, “There will always be a demand for these limited
Streetwear items. Sneakerheads, like myself, will always be
invested in the latest items and want the coolest thing, and
that won’t change.” David connects the future of reselling
to the consumer type, Sneakerheads (Chapter 1.4) those
whose passion for Streetwear began before it became the
hype-market it is today, and as he alludes to, will retain that
passion in Streetwear’s subsequent future, “If the demand
from the core fans is there, there will still be a hyped resale
market.”
David believes that the market will change and adapt to
future trends, which Montana suspects is already happening
within the resale market, “I think a lot of the kids now, from
the resellers I know, are moving more into client based
or like personal shopping services… They are seen as
Figure 54 somebody who is able to get this, that, and whatever, via
the bots, via queueing up… they’re building a clientele and
have a steady profit.”
This suggests that resellers have already begun adapting
to the saturation of the resale market, by offering more
personalised services to a clientele, as opposed to using
online reselling platforms to sell to the masses.
(Appendices C and A).
78
 4.2 RESELLERS

Both, Yaz Ezoe, Owner of reselling site, Prime Orders, and

an anonymous employee at Intruders-London who also
operates as a reseller (for the purpose of this study will be
referred to as Reseller 1), estimate that the resell value of
Streetwear products will decrease over time, “Before you
could make good predictions on what will resell for good
profit, now due to too many hyped items releasing too often,
very few items hold market value.”

Although both believe that this will be due to the resale

market becoming oversaturated, Reseller 1 predicts that
companies, such as StockX, who are regulating the resale
market, will also contribute to the fall in resell value, “StockX
are taking over the market and driving down prices.”

Indicating that the growth in usage of online reselling

platforms, is decreasing profits made by established
resellers. (Appendices B and D).

Figure 55

79 80
 4.3 INFLUENCER
Sneaker collector and influencer, Michael D’Abbraccio AKA,
‘The Camp0ut’, expands upon how resellers are adapting to
the future of reselling, “We are already seeing a shift where
top sellers are creating accounts with tiers. So instead of
buying one hype item you can pay a retainer fee for multiple
items in a month, leaning toward premier clients.” This links
back to the idea of resellers offering “personal shopping
services” as previously stated by Montana (Chapter 4.1).
D’Abbraccio spoke of a “retainer fee”, which he described
as a “set dollar amount” that clients would pay monthly
to a reseller, granting them the ability to request products
from recently announced drops that the reseller would then
obtain for them.
D’Abbraccio agrees with Reseller 1 when it comes to the
advancements of reselling platforms (Chapter 4.2), stating,
that it will become difficult for resellers who do not adapt
to the changing environment, with reselling platforms
like StockX and GOAT forcing them to reduce their prices.
Reiterating how the developments of online reselling
platforms have significantly impacted on the profits seen by
resellers (Appendix E).
81
4.4 JOURNALISTS
As Streetwear journalists have been observing and reporting
on the Streetwear resale market, they have developed their
own views on what the future holds, Matt Welty, Associate
Editor for Complex believes that “As long as people are
willing to pay extra for sneakers… there are going to be
people there to profit off of it. It’s basic economics, and
it’s not going away as long as people want the latest and
greatest sneakers” (Welty 2, 2017).
This alludes back to the point made in Chapter 1.1 where
when demand exceeds supply, a secondary market is
created, so as Welty suggests, as long as the demand for
Streetwear remains, so will the resale market.
Adam Davies from Real Clobber Magazine has a differing
view, “At the moment the Streetwear resale market is
going through something of a boom, with more and more
frequent releases by brands… And with people hoovering
Figure 56 Figure 57 up everything in sight to resell for profits, something will
eventually have to give.” (Davies, 2018).
Whether it’s brands hosting fewer product releases, or
resellers becoming increasingly selective over the items they
buy, Davies insinuates that in order for the resale market to
resist a downfall, something will need to change.
82
 4.5 BRANDS
Prominent Streetwear brand, adidas, are already planning
how they are going to adapt to the growing market, as
reported by Jack Powell, adidas Customer Service Advisor,
“there’ll be a mixture of limited release and more widespread
releases to try and capitalise on the mainstream interest and
the exclusivity interest of the Streetwear market.”
He continues by saying, “Another area that plays a part is
collaborators such as Kanye, Pharrell and Pusha T, these ties
with important cultural figures is a key aspect of Streetwear
and adidas’ marketing plan, I think Yeezy is going to keep
being an important part, even with this reduced impact.”
Powell believes that adidas “will push to remain a key player
in the Streetwear market” despite the reported decline in
hype surrounding the Yeezy sneakers (Chapter 3.3).
83
A spokesperson for Streetwear brand, Fucking Awesome,
claims that Streetwear is cyclic, “Streetwear is going in
circles… We now have an oversaturated market, so with
that, a new group of twenty-somethings who have big ideas
and access to a computer will probably come up with their
own thing that will catch on to start the circle all over again”
(Vogel, 2007).
This insinuates that a young Millennial generation, who
would fall into the Hypebeast consumer type (Chapter 1.4),
will be the ones to restart this ‘Streetwear cycle’, and set the
future trends.
Figure 58 Figure 59
84
 4.6 CONSUMERS

During a focus group, a participant (named Participant 1 for

the purpose of this study), explained, “I feel like if people can
see that people are buying and selling stuff and making a
profit off of it, a lot more people will do it, because it’s just
an easy way to make money… Especially if there is new
technology, like bots, that can actually help them get stuff in
the first place, and all they have to do is sell them on. I’d do
it, if I could earn money off it.”

This demonstrates that Streetwear reselling has earned a

reputation of being an easy way to make money, continually
enticing those from a non-Streetwear background to get
involved, which can explain the rise in ‘Nickel-and-Dime
resellers’ entering the market (Chapter 1.4).
(Appendix G).

Figure 60

85 86 Figures 61 and 62
 In summary, in spite of those within industry holding
varying viewpoints on the future of the Streetwear
resale market, there is a consistent theme of
oversaturation. It is widely believed that Streetwear
and it’s secondary market will continue to capture
the interest of a broader, more mainstream audience,
meaning both brands and resellers will inevitably
have to adapt to the growing environment.

Online reselling platforms are forecast to dominate

the resale market, offering a form of safe, regulated
trading. Furthermore, it has been predicted that
Established Resellers who wish to continue profiting
from Streetwear must evolve their businesses in order
to combat the growing competition from both Nickel-
and-Dime Resellers, and online reselling platforms.
Some resellers have already began adapting to this
by offering personal-shopping services to their own
clientele.

Despite the range in opinion on the future of the

Streetwear resale market, it was acknowledged
by many, that no matter what, limited Streetwear
products, and hyped drops will continue to sell-out.
Whether a products resell value has been tainted
or not, the public will continue investing into these
items. It is what happens before the drop (with the
brands), and after the drop (with the resellers) that
will change.
Figure 63

87 88
 CONCLUSION
To conclude, this dissertation identified how the Streetwear
resale market has evolved, and how these changes will
impact the future of Streetwear reselling. Due to the recent
Streetwear trend within the fashion industry, Streetwear
Culture has been exposed to the mainstream market, where
individuals have discovered the profitable profession of
reselling. This exposure has attributed to the rise in demand
for limited, hyped products that are being purchased with
the intent to resell. The researcher identified 4 Streetwear
consumer types, Hypebeasts, Sneakerheads, Established
Resellers, and Nickel-and-Dime Resellers, who are buying-
into drop culture.
Through exploring the advancements within the Streetwear
resale market, it became prominent that resellers will go
to extraordinary lengths to source and sell their product.
The normalisation of the use of technology, such as bots,
evidences that the demand for Streetwear has gotten so high
that it is seen as impossible to purchase from a drop without
them. It also highlights the amount of businesses that have
developed as a consequence of the growth of reselling:
Botmakers; instore and online proxies; consignment stores;
reselling events; and reselling platforms such as GOAT and
StockX, have all profited from the resale market in addition
to the resellers.
89
The study investigated how brands are reacting to the
developments within the resale market. It was found that
many brands have altered the way they would traditionally
conduct online and instore drops, by altering the framework
of their website or reinventing the queue-system. Brands
have become experimental in their methods in order to
prevent resellers obtaining large quantities of stock, and to
create fair opportunities for all to have a chance at buying
the latest product.
The examples given on Nike demonstrated how they are
manipulating the resale market with random product
restocks and have combatted the bots by launching their
SNKRS app. Whilst the research into Yeezys revealed the risk
of what happens when brands release high-quantities of
product into a market which thrives on exclusivity.
The study also investigated into the developments of the
Event-Ticket resale market, many similarities were drawn
between this and the Streetwear resale market such as,
similar levels of supply and demand, the use of bots, and
inflated resell prices. Despite being from different industries,
the recent regulations and restrictions put into place for
ticket reselling could be the future of a more-regulated
Streetwear resale market.
By conducting interviews asking individuals their views Overall, this study has revealed that Streetwear reselling has
on the future of the Streetwear resale market it was found become a highly evolved market, with social, financial, and
that, most believe the market will become oversaturated technological advancements. It is a phenomenon that has
with resellers. This combined with the growth in popularity thus far been unregulated, and it’s the advancements that
of regulated reselling platforms, like StockX, are causing resellers use which bypass the regulations and restrictions
a decline in profits seen by resellers, as the increased that brands have put into place, that has inevitably left
competition forces them to reduce their prices. Streetwear striving for a more regulated and fair future.
It was predicted that resellers will transition into personal-
shoppers, in order to adapt to the saturated market, using
their skills learnt from reselling to obtain highly sought-after
products for clients. It was also discussed how brands need
to adapt to the increasing market in order to satisfy, engage,
and excite consumers.
It has been anticipated that, with an increase in resellers
going to extreme lengths to obtain products from drops,
genuine consumers will lose interest. The need for fair
product releases, within the Streetwear industry, has
been highlighted throughout this study, giving equal
opportunities to resellers and genuine consumers alike.
Figure 64
90
 RECOMMENDATIONS

▷▷ Following in suit of the ticket resale industry, a fan-to-fan exchange

platform should be created for the Streetwear resale market. This
new, start-up platform would operate just as a reselling one would
however, product prices would be capped at their original retail
price or less. This gives genuine consumers a go-to place to buy
or exchange products without the inflated price-tag and gives
consumers/resellers a place to sell or exchange products they no
longer want or to get their money back for items that have ‘bricked’.
There is wider scope for this to be a platform that represents
smaller, independent Streetwear brands as opposed to just trading
hyped products from popular brands.

▷▷ Adidas should search within the resale market for recruitment

opportunities. As Yeezys and other adidas collections are
decreasing in hype and desirability, adidas should look to resellers
to fulfil a consultancy role within the brand to advise on marketing
methods and drop details in order to regain consumer excitement
and engagement. A reseller would not typically be the first choice
for a consultant however, resellers are extremely knowledgeable in
their field and have access to inside-information and contacts that
adidas would not. There is wider scope for this to expand beyond
resellers, such as recruiting botmakers to assist and consult on the
online drops, and the make-up of the website.

▷▷ Nike should utilise their SNKRS app and “restocking method”

to recapture the attention and rebuild the excitement amongst
genuine consumers, such as the Sneakerhead consumer type. They
could do this by exclusively re-releasing retro models/colourways
of sneakers and garments on their app in higher quantities than a
drop would usually have. This would appeal to sneakerheads due
to the product’s nostalgic value, whilst the high supply of product
would deter potential resellers. There is wider scope for this retro
re-release method to be incorporated into the marketing plans of
other Streetwear brands.

91
Figure 65
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