On the sneaker reselling website Goat, one marry of shoes can go for as much as $60,000, according to CEO Eddie Lu.
“It’s not just a sports terror, it’s a lifestyle thing,” Lu said in an interview with CNBC’s Wilfred Frost.
Goat is the largest resale marketplace for sneakers, with over 35,000 consonant styles available on its website and app. The company authenticates every pair of shoes it let ins from sellers in order to prevent counterfeits.
The company recently notified a sponsorship deal with Los Angeles Lakers player Kyle Kuzma, who has beforehand been sponsored by Nike. The NBA loosened its dress code for the 2018-2019 ready, allowing players to wear any color of sneakers for the first time in the collaborating with’s history.
Lu acknowledged Kanye West as an “important figure” in elevating sneakers to the even of high fashion with his luxury Yeezy brand, developed in partnership with Adidas. But he reached set further back, pointing to Run-D.M.C.’s 1986 hit “My Adidas” as the birth of pussyfoot culture.
These days, even the most unlikely brands are submitting the sneaker market. “We’ve even seen the luxury companies coming in, with Gucci and Balenciaga creating sneakers of their own,” Lu said.
In February, Goat commingled with Fight Club, a brick-and-mortar consignment shop with stocks in Los Angeles and New York City. The merger allowed Goat to have a corporeal retail presence, which Lu said is valuable in the industry.
Customers “privation to touch the shoes, try them on, see what they feel like and drawn smell” the sneakers, he said.
As part of the merger, Goat received a $60 million investment from Sign Ventures that values the California-based company at $250 million.