Josh Luber: The secret sneaker market and why it matters

“The resell market, we know, is $1.2 billion. Nike, including Jordan brand, accounts for 96 percent of all shoes sold on the secondary market. Just complete domination. Sneakerheads love Jordans. And profit on the secondary market is about a third. That means that sneakerheads made 380 million dollars selling Nikes last year. Let’s jump to retail for a second. Skechers, earlier this year, became the number two footwear brand in the country, surpassing Adidas — this was a big deal. And in the 12 months ending in June, Skechers’s net income was 209 million dollars. That means that Nike’s customers make almost twice as much profit as their closest competitor. How is that even possible?”