StockX announces European expansion with UK hub

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 12, 2018

StockX, which describes itself as “the world’s first stock market for high-demand consumer goods such as sneakers, streetwear, watches and designer handbags,” is expanding to the UK and Europe. 

The company, which is a guaranteed publicity-generator due to musician Eminem, model Karlie Kloss and actor Mark Wahlberg being among its investors, is a platform to buy and sell luxury consumer goods “by the same methods as the world’s stock markets”. And it “guarantees 100% authenticity for each and every item bought and sold on the site.”

Further underlining the importance of the resale sector, the website and app is already one of the fastest growing start-ups in the US, with more than 8 million people claimed to be using the platform every month, resulting in more than $2 million per day in sales. The UK/Europe launch will also see Europe’s first authentication centre, based in West London, and a replication of the annual Detroit-based StockX Day in the UK capital.

The company sees a huge opportunity on the other side of the Atlantic. In the UK, the trainer resale market alone is worth an estimated £200 million a year and roughly 20% growth is predicted as sneaker culture becomes increasingly mainstream.

So, to the company’s operating model. StockX “uses a stock market-like approach to provide users with a live ‘Bid/Ask’ platform, which connects buyers and sellers using the same authentic, transparent and anonymous methods as the Stock Exchange,” it said. “This allows for full transparency and real-time pricing data on the true value of consumer goods. Buyers and sellers are able to see real-time pricing on products and either buy or sell immediately at the lowest listed price, or place a bid that individual sellers can accept, or place an ‘ask’ that a buyer can later accept.”

The company believes it has a unique offer and said it gives consumers in Europe “access to a wide range of otherwise difficult to purchase high-demand consumer products for sale.”

Its most popular brands at the moment include Yeezy, Jordan, Adidas, and Nike in the sneaker category, as well as Supreme, BAPE, Palace, and Kith in streetwear. Major luxury names Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel are also popular, as are Rolex and Omega, among other timepiece brands. 

The most expensive product sold on StockX to date was a Louis Vuitton Trunk for $70,000, while the extent of the Yeezy sneaker popularity can be seen from the fact that the brand accounts for 20% of all sneaker sales and has an average resale value of $350 a pair. But Jordan is strong too. In fact, the five most popular items last month were the Pine Green Jordan 1s, the Yeezy 700 Wave Runners, the Court Purple Jordan 1s, the Yeezy 350 V2 Cream Whites, and the Yeezy 350 V2 Butters. 

Co-founder and CEO Josh Luber said: “We are constantly looking for ways to improve the StockX experience and we are excited about the first step of our global expansion, starting with the UK and Europe where we know there is already a thriving and dedicated sneaker, streetwear and luxury consumer goods community. It is our ambition that StockX will completely revolutionise e-commerce in the UK, giving consumers access to a huge number of otherwise inaccessible products with the guarantee of complete authenticity and the opportunity for consumers to grow their own portfolio of products.”