Are sneakers the next big investment opportunity? StockX’s Scott Cutler, CEO of the online collectibles marketplace, thinks so
- StockX is tapping into the growing sneaker and collectibles resale market, matching buyers and sellers for a fee
- It operates authentication centres, including one in Hong Kong which has seen business grow tenfold in a year
If you need further proof that sneakers have become one of the hottest globally traded assets, on par with commodities like gold and coveted luxury products such as Hermès bags, you just have to look at the incredible growth of online marketplace StockX, which in April 2021 announced a US$3.8 billion valuation.
Founded in 2016 in Detroit, Michigan, by a trio of sneaker aficionados, StockX is the go-to marketplace for rare sneakers and other collectible items such as toys, gaming consoles, trading cards and streetwear – basically anything that millennials and Gen-Z kids are into these days.
The way StockX operates, however, is different from marketplaces like Amazon and Farfetch. Its business model is based on the principles of the New York Stock Exchange, where current CEO Scott Cutler used to work before moving to ticket resale company Stubhub, auction site eBay and eventually to StockX in 2019.
StockX lets buyers place “bids” – the maximum amount they’re willing to pay – and sellers place “asks” – the minimum amount at which they’re willing to sell. Transactions happen if the bid is at least as high as the ask, and StockX takes a commission from each sale.
From hot items like a pair of Dior Jordan 1 sneakers that can sell for up to US$10,000, to more affordable ones in the low hundreds of dollars, StockX has been one of the main drivers of the burgeoning sneaker reselling economy.
