The Chinese millennials making a killing trading Air Jordans, Adidas’ Yeezy trainers online
- The SoleFly x Air Jordan 1 in black patent leather rocketed in value by 6,600 per cent to 75,999 yuan (US$10,740) on the online marketplace Nice
- China’s trainer-resale market exceeds US$1 billion in value, according to Detroit-based trainer exchange SoleTrade, known as StockX
One of the hottest commodities in China right now is a pair of trainers.
The SoleFly x Air Jordan 1 in black patent leather rocketed in value by 6,600 per cent to a high of 75,999 yuan (US$10,740) on the online marketplace Nice after its release in December. Only 223 pairs of Nike’s retro high-top were made for sale, according to online magazine Sneaker Files.
The model is among the most profitable trainers traded on the exchange created by Beijing-based Nice App Mobile Technology. Such outsize returns are hard to come by, but they’ve nonetheless caught the attention of trainer-fans like Lei Xiaoming, 20, a mechanical engineering student in Huangshi.
Lei has collected limited-edition shoes for years but only started investing in them in April.
“Prices were surging so much I thought it would be a better choice to sell them rather than wear them,” he said. “It’s more exciting than trading stocks.”
Since then, he’s spent about 200,000 yuan buying more than 200 pairs – mostly Air Jordans and Adidas’ Yeezy line, a collaboration with rapper Kanye West. He’s earned profits of about 100,000 yuan by reselling some, he said.