China: overpriced sneakers the latest craze to hit the country

The latest craze to grip China is the high priced sneakers that are being manufactured by popular brands such as Nike, Puma, and Adidas. According to reports, people in different parts of the world have flocked to buy expensive sneakers that are often limited editions that are a collaboration between popular sportswear and fashion companies or rappers and athletes collaborating with popular sports brands.

"Sneakerheads"

China has experienced a sudden surge wherein "sneakerheads" having caused an increase in volumes of trade on online sneaker exchange websites, prompting a series of warnings from the concerned authorities about rumours that the profits generated from reselling of shoes have touched 5,000 per cent.

Hu's pure luck

An ardent fan of sneakers, Hu Huaiyuan, who travelled all the way to Shanghai to grab a chance to buy the latest edition of the Nike Air Jordans, stated that the sneaker market is not just a market for the fans anymore, merchants have also started venturing into this field.

Hu added that he had won a lottery to even show up at a Nike outlet along with 400 other people for the limited edition Air Jordans and paid a total of 1,299 Yuan for the pair of shoes. He further added that he was planning on selling the 1,299 Yuan pair for a much higher price on the online reselling platforms.

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'China's latest investment'

The craze of buying the limited-edition sneakers and selling them on the online platforms is resulting in growth for Chinese sneaker-trading platforms like Poizon, who according to reports generates 15 billion Yuan in a year and because of that Poizon and Nice have witnessed hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from both domestic and foreign venture capitals.

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The People's bank in China in the city of Shanghai released a warning in the month of October in relation to financial risks tied with excessive sneaker trading.  According to reports, China's secondary sneaker market generated more than $1 billion in 2019 and is considered to be one of the fastest-growing part of a $6 billion rich American market.

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(With inputs from agencies)