Kicks for the soul

China's sneaker culture is booming and enthusiasts are struggling to cope with the intense competition for their coveted shoes, Alywin Chew reports in Shanghai.

To pragmatic people, sneakers are nothing more than casual, soft-soled shoes that are worn for sports or leisure.

To sneaker enthusiasts, or "sneakerheads", this footwear is so much more than just an everyday item - most view them as an ode to their passion, which happens to be China's national sport - basketball.

"I love sneakers because I've always been a big fan of the NBA," says Yalding Xu, a sneaker enthusiast who confesses that he once owned about 200 pairs of sneakers.

"In the beginning, most Chinese sneaker lovers fell in love with the footwear because of Michael Jordan and the famous Japanese anime Slam Dunk. The author of the comic, Inoue Takehiko, is also a huge NBA fan and he occasionally mentions Air Jordan shoes in the series."

Medy Zhu, another enthusiast who currently owns about 300 pairs of sneakers, cites his admiration for the legendary United States basketball player as well.

"I usually go for Air Jordan sneakers as well as the ones that were created as part of a collaboration between a famous designer and a shoe brand," he says.

"There are many wonderful stories and inspirations behind the shoes in the Air Jordan series. Most of the Air Jordan sneakers I own are 'OG Colorways', which means the shoes are released in the exact colors of the originals. Each shoe has a different story related to Michael Jordan's career."

There is also the camp of enthusiasts who view these shoes as investments. Just like the precious works that go under the hammer at Christie's or Sotheby's, coveted sneakers can command hefty prices. At the recent Shanghai Sneaker Con, which took place in mid-May, a pair of Air Jordan 4 Undefeated sneakers with an asking price of 180,000 yuan ($26,017) traded hands.

Released in 2005, this pair of sneakers was the result of an exclusive collaboration between the Jordan brand and US sneaker boutique Undefeated. There are only 72 pairs in the world.

"Sneaker Con is where you get to see the 'holy grail of sneakers'. Most of the time people only get to see such coveted sneakers online. This convention is where you get to see them in person," says Michael Ma, the CEO of Endeavor China, the organizer of the Sneaker Con event in Shanghai.

"Everyone brought their stock to the event. We even had one collector from Australia who brought 150 rare shoes, most of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world."

Founded in 2009 in New York by a bunch of sneakerheads, Sneaker Con is widely considered to be the premier sneaker event in the world and has been held more than 100 times in over 30 cities. Apart from shoes, the event frequently features high-profile athletes, celebrities and famous designers.

For the Shanghai edition, personalities such as former NBA player Stephon Marbury, Chinese tennis superstar Li Na and Chinese rapper Will Pan were in attendance.

According to Ma, the reception for the inaugural Shanghai Sneaker Con was overwhelming. The tickets for the event, which were priced between 200 and 300 yuan, sold out within just two minutes on the entertainment ticketing platform Damai.

"We had 17,000 visitors in total. We didn't actually plan on having so many people because we were initially looking at a two-day event over the weekend with a daily cap of 5,000 tickets," he says.

"We needed a visitor cap because Sneaker Con is not like a normal trade fair where people come, check out the products and leave. This is a very unique trading community. Sneakerheads come and interact with their peers and listen to the guest designers. If we didn't have a cap, the place would be overcrowded and that would affect the whole experience."

Buoyed by the success of the first event, Ma says his company is already planning to hold another edition in China at the end of the year.

"For the Shanghai Sneaker Con, we had 130 million social media impressions on Weibo alone. It just shows how passionate the community in China is," he adds.

A thriving resale market

The practice of reselling and collecting sneakers is believed to have originated in the US in the 1980s when the footwear became an intrinsic part of street culture. This subculture in China, however, is much younger, says Zhu.

"I think this culture only started to really pick up over the past three or four years. One of the main reasons is the growing popularity of sports, especially basketball. Also, more and more online influencers have started wearing them as a fashion statement," he says.

Ma, who formerly spearheaded the National Basketball Association's promotion efforts in China, concurred, saying that the NBA "has done much to cultivate this culture".

The NBA's influence is evidenced by how the Air Jordan series of sneakers has been one of the most popular in the market. Another popular line of shoes is the Adidas Yeezy, which was designed by US musician Kanye West. Launched in 2015, the variants of the sneaker are among the most commonly found on resale sites.

According to Xu, who was formerly a public relations manager for Chinese athletic brand Li-Ning, the sneaker craze has been a boon for local companies as well.

"I think that the popularity of Chinese sneaker brands is growing very quickly. In my previous role at Li-Ning, I saw how local brands have been investing big in sneaker culture education," he says.

"Recently, many talented Chinese designers have also been leveraging sneakers to tell local stories, and they have been very well received by sneaker lovers."

While Li-Ning is still generally known for their affordable sportswear, some of their sneakers come with a hefty price tag. The purple Li-Ning Way of Wade 2013 sneaker - the company has a lifetime contract with NBA star Dwyane Wade - is currently listed on the Chinese resale platform Nice for 16,999 yuan.

Telling the fakes apart

From the 1990s up until a few years ago, most of the reselling in the US was through e-commerce platform eBay and classified advertisements websites such as Craigslist. But as fakes started to proliferate in the market, doubts about the authenticity of the shoes sold online grew, resulting in the emergence of online sites like StockX, GOAT and Stadium Goods. Besides connecting sneakerheads with resellers, these sites also provide authentication services.

Over in China, the app Poizon ranks among the most popular e-commerce channels for sneaker purchase and authentication. Besides shoes, users can also find streetwear, watches, mobile phones and even toys. Other sneaker sites include Nice and UFO, a platform launched in December 2018 by Chinese streetwear fashion group Yoho!. UFO raked in more than 1 million yuan in sales revenue on the day of its launch.

To sneakerheads, authentication is crucial because it is hard to tell the fakes from the real products these days. In fact, even authenticators at Poizon have been duped before, according to Chinese portal Jiemian.

Some of the things sneakerheads look out for when verifying a pair of shoes are the quality of the box and whether the SKU (stock-keeping unit) number on the box matches the one inside the shoes. The most obvious sign of a fake, according to sneakerheads, is the price. Those being sold for significantly lower than the market rate are almost always fakes.

Being knowledgeable of the sneaker scene and not falling prey to hype also helps, notes Zhu.

"There is no such thing as an Adidas Yeezy x Off-White collaboration but you'll find such fake shoes on the market," he says.

"Unfortunately, some people buy these sneakers simply because they're blinded by the hype. Most of them don't know the stories behind the shoes or the inspiration for the design."

One sure-fire way to ensure that a sneaker is genuine would be to buy from the brand store or authorized retailers. The problem is that the highly sought-after shoes, or what Zhu calls "quick strikes", are often sold out within hours of their release.

Quick strikes are those that are released in limited numbers, updated classics, country-specific releases and those that feature a collaboration between a renowned designer and a shoe brand.

The upper hand

Getting quick strikes from the authorized stores is also difficult for regular consumers because of the magnitude of the scalping problem.

According to Zhu, many of the people who queue outside the stores for limited releases are huangniu, or scalpers, who are well aware of the resale value of such sneakers. Take for instance the Jordan 1 Retro High Travis Scott, which was created in collaboration with US musician Travis Scott. Although the shoes retailed for just $175, its average trading price on StockX is nearly six times the original at $970.

Well aware of the scalping situation, Nike has taken measures to ensure that sneakerheads have a fair chance of getting the shoes they want. For example, customers are only allowed to buy one pair of limited release items. The company also offers online balloting through their SNKRS app.

However, scalpers have the manpower and technology to get an unfair edge, says one Nike employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

For example, scalpers would usually pay a large group of ayi, or middle-aged women, to queue for the shoes. When the shoes are released through an online ballot, scalpers rely on bots that can considerably increase their chances of winning bids. Last October, technology website CNET reported that even consumers can get a leg up in getting the shoes they want by paying to use a bot called CyberAIO.

"We once realized that many of the new sneakers released went to scalpers as multiple orders were being delivered to the same mailing address," says the Nike employee.

"When such an incident occurs, we immediately blacklist the address. It's a cat-and-mouse game."

The Nike employee also says that authorized retailers have resorted to implementing their own measures. Once, a store announced that only people wearing Air Jordan 1 were allowed to buy the new releases.

"You should've seen the queue - a whole bunch of ayi in the queue were wearing Air Jordans!" he says.

A pricey passion to have

But if scalpers always have the upper hand, what can true sneaker lovers do to get their beloved shoes?

According to the Nike employee, only sneaker enthusiasts who are willing to pay the retail price should get their friends to help with the online ballot. Another way would be to brave the queues on the day of the launch.

Xu suggested finding a trustworthy reseller on Taobao who offers lower mark-ups.

"I know of some stores that allow you to pre-book a pair of shoes before the release. The price they charge is usually about 100 to 500 yuan more than the original price - it's much lower than what you see on the resale platforms," he says.

"Or you could just not buy the limited releases that are very expensive," he adds. "Even if you wear a very expensive shoe, everyone would still think it's a fake. Someone wore a pair of Nike Air Mags to the Shanghai Sneaker Con. Everyone thought they were fake. Alternatively, you could quit this hobby. It can be really expensive."

But for sneakerheads like Zhu, giving up this passion is simply out of the question.

"If you truly love something, you will spend money on it," he quips.

"How much have I spent over the years? I have never kept track of this. I don't think I want to frighten myself," he laughs.

Contact the writer at alywin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Global 06/14/2019 page15)