2024-02-10 06:30:02
You probably have at least one pair in your wardrobe: sneakers are essential! And some of them, rare and sought-after, can be worth several thousand euros. In Rouen, new stores are being created in response to a booming market.
Since August 2023, Julien Deschamps has been restoring sneakers in his Rouen workshop, L’Etabli de la Sneakers.
In the store where Michael Jordan figurines, paintings he made himself, and customized basketballs are displayed, he cleans the most damaged pieces, pampers the leather and gives a second life to the shoes, from the most basic to the most popular.
Since its opening, L’Etabli of Sneakers cardboard. The Beautiful Sneaker, Magic Sneaks… In Rouen, a few structures offer similar services, or even customization, to adapt to constantly increasing demand. Because sneakers today represent 47% of the shoe market in France… Total turnover: 9 billion euros.
“Some pairs cost several thousand euros, so obviously the ideal is to take good care of them“, notes Julien Deschamps. “When someone brings me slightly more classic pairs, pairs that the person appreciates, my goal is simply to take care of them and give them the second life they deserve.“
This 34-year-old enthusiast, with a sharp style, collects sneakers himself. He owns several rare pieces. His latest find: a pair of New Balance 574 Salehe Bembury equipped with a whistle, a limited edition “purchased at a very good price” on a second-hand clothing site.
Pop and colorful, all different, sneakers represent a means of emancipation for him: “Since I was little, I have always loved having different sneakers, expressing my style through my shoes. Clothes followed; it’s part of a style, a state of mind. Always have different pairs. And it would hurt me to be dressed like everyone else in the street!“
Sneakers are comfort. There is no age, no profession to wear them, everyone wears them. So obviously, this creates a much larger market, and more exchanges.
Julien Deschamps, manager of L’Etabli de la Sneakers
at France 3 Normandy
Seek to be unique, at all costs… And dare to adorn your feet with an explosion of color! On TikTok, videos of enthusiasts transforming the most basic sneakers into collector’s items are a hit. Some of them have several hundred thousand views.
According to a study by IFOP and eBay, in 2020, 1 in 10 French people aged 18 to 24 said they collected sneakers. This is the case for Théo, 21 years old. The young entrepreneur, who has just started freelance cleaning sneakers, has been collecting them since middle school. Today he has around a hundred pairs… And keeps all the boxes: “Sometimes, a pair, if you don’t have the box, that divides the rating by 6 or 7. So my partner and I have a shoe room!“
The pair of his dreams: the Nike Air Mag Back to the Futuretaken from the eponymous film, little gems that are worth it “around 15 to 20,000 euros“But passion is priceless and making the right bets can be very profitable: a practice called “resell“, resale, which can bring big returns.
video duration: 00h00mn09s
The collection of Théo, 21 years old. • ©DR
“You have to monitor the release dates of the pairs, on the apps“, explains Theo. “We are then placed on the waiting list, and either we can leave with the pair, or we are not selected. Reselling is not in my frame of mind, but I have already resold a few pairs. For example, a pair of Air Jordan 1 Travis Scott that I bought for 170 euros in preview and resold for 500, 600 euros. But if I had kept it longer, I could have gotten more for it.“
Problem: if the enthusiast manages to obtain the precious sesame, he does not necessarily leave with the right size. The law of supply and demand reigns in this market where the rarest sizes sell for more. When the rarity of the pair also causes prices to explode.
Finding almost impossible to find pieces to resell them at a higher price is one of the specialties of Maison 512, a boutique specializing in sneakers opened a year ago in Rouen. With his co-manager, Alexandre Ollagnier, Simon Passeman, both in their twenties and with the energy of seasoned business leaders, offer limited editions, from 150 to several thousand euros, and some exclusive models.
Imagine that a pair comes out Saturday morning, at 9 a.m., on the Nike website. You have to enter a draw, 60,000 pairs are for sale and 200,000 people want them. That means 140,000 people will be frustrated and willing to pay more to get it at the resell price.
Simon Passeman, manager of Maison 512
at France 3 Normandy
Simon Passeman also sometimes plays personal shoppers for customers in search of the Holy Grail of sneakers: “We can’t afford to have all the models and all the sizes in stock, so we give ourselves about 2 days to find the pair of their choice, regardless of the budget and the model, we set a price and we order it. .“
In the sights of collectors: new pairs, but sometimes released 10 or even 15 years ago. Collaborations, like with Travis Scott, style, and above all, a rating that will not collapse over the years. Maison 512’s biggest transaction: a pair of Jordan 1 Off White… At 4,000 euros.
Simon Passeman assures us, however: collectors, ready to empty their entire wallet for a pair of shoes, remain a small minority among the aficionados of the sneaker. “3-4 years ago, sneakers were a niche market. Now, it’s everyone who comes to buy their pair. This is why we offer cheaper pairs, to reach as many people as possible. We are targeting the entire population, not just enthusiasts.“
From Adidas to Nike, from New Balance to Fila, from Veja to Balenciaga, “over the past two years, sneakers have become 100% democratized“, he believes. “Everyone wants a pair, people are starting to wear them to go to work… They are more and more comfortable and for everyday life, it’s perfect. Now, we have customers from 8 years old to 60, 70 years old.“
A second branch of Maison 512 will open on February 15 in Rouen to meet demand. More classic, the retailers – Foot Locker, JD Sports and others Running – continue to flourish in city centers. Proof of an unwavering craze for a shoe that definitely gives wings to the feet.
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