The Shrinking Business of Sneakers

5 years ago, Nike and Adidas were at their peak. These legacy brands had evolved from low-margin apparel into high-margin footwear. Sneakers became assets with unprecedented appreciation and resale value. Brands earned record profits as stores were crowded, social media went wild over the latest drop, and pairs sold out within minutes. There was no rhyme or reason behind this craze. With so much money at stake, low interest rates, and insatiable demand, no one stopped to question why. That was, until people stopped buying.

Media dinosaurs and content farms have attempted to explain the fall of Nike and Adidas through age-old business tropes and boomer interviews for easy clicks. They push low-effort analysis that it’s because Jordans and Yeezys are unfashionable or that Nike simply made too many shoes. What these amateurs get wrong is that revenue is a lagging indicator - not a leading one.

The sneaker industry is a modern case study on not just how fast consumer markets can change, but also the importance of adaptation and expertise in business. If we truly want to understand the business of sneakers - we have to go into this world and see the hustle of the few who are left.

👟 LEO LU

📍 COURTSIDE HOLLYWOOD
6801 Hollywood Blvd Fl 2, Ste 277 Hollywood, CA 90028

👟 JUSTIN ASHBY

📍 LEGACY BOUTIQUE
1 W 34th St. Frnt 1, New York, NY 10001

0:00 Rise of Sneakers
2:58 Sponsor Break (Netsuite)
4:40 The Young Gun
23:13 The Grizzled King

[ModernMBA]

0:00 Rise of Sneakers
2:58 Sponsor Break (Netsuite)
4:40 The Young Gun
23:13 The Grizzled King

Leo & Courtside Hollywood: 
📍 6801 Hollywood Blvd Fl 2, Ste 277 Hollywood, CA 90028

Justin & Legacy Boutique:
📍1 W 34th St. Frnt 1, New York, NY 10001

[Hipsterjes]

Calling the financial reporters amateurs right off the rip ‼️ going to be a fire video

[TS]

Leo strikes me as a guy who'll be successful anywhere life takes him. I can sense his passion for sneakers but it's backed up by his shrewd business acumen. At 21 he should be really proud of himself

[spencerl-yfbg]

It's crazy that so many unemployed people in an uncertain economy thought it was a good idea to spend $400 on sneakers.

[erastal]

i dont have respect for the sneaker scene at all but that first guy with his dedication to learning the market is impressive. Even if the sneaker business eventually dies out, the skills he learn can be adaptable and will make him successful in any market

[alpinadreamin]

I happy to see this bubble burst! I hate resellers and miss the days of being able to just purchase sneakers w/o the added BS.

[peterpham]

This is better than Netflix produced videos. Bravo man. Amazing work

[dunnowy]

Dude, I like your channel before, when it was mostly you talking about charts and outlining business strategies.

But, this content, with ACTUAL business owners, takes it next level. This was genius. You deliver the same interesting content, but humanize it and that makes all the difference.

[davianoinglesias]

It doesn't matter how tough things get, that first guy will always be in the game. His is an art not just a business

[SlowMoebius]

No one is out here doing these industry specific exposes like Modern MBA. The level of depth in these videos is incredible. True journalism.

[redlinkgamer]

I love how much this video actually cared about understanding the market, and not just an assumption.

Great vid btw

[Marbeary]

Leo is 21 but haggles like my asian mom on the market. Great skill and will grow up very promising.

[tyk]

Totally blown away at the idea of a giant physical retail consignment store for rare kicks. Leo's Courtside model makes sense to me, but that Legacy system seems absolutely insane. Good on him.

[alexanderleshchenko]

Damn the oracle integration is the ultimate flex for a business YouTuber.

[incurableromantic]

This is really the most old-school kind of business imaginable - a stall where the skill-set is simply knowing your product and knowing the market.

You can imagine an almost identical kind of business operating in ancient Babylon dealing in furs or jewellery.

[akhilramesh]

This channel is a true gem and is highly underrated. As an engineering student aspiring to break into corporate strategy these videos genuinely teach me an incredible amount and make me feel like I’m not completely behind of business students applying to similar roles!

[jancovanderwesthuizen]

This entire sneaker culture seems mildly insufferable

The fact sales started declining when people stopped getting stimulus checks tells you pretty much everything

[Kyle-gnub]

Really cool that you got so much detail on the biz from Leo! Nice work man

[TheLegendaryFenix]

The sneaker head scene is like watching a bunch of middle school boys in Tapout gear learning to negotiate for the first time

[RudyG]

Havent watched the whole video yet but from there intro, there are quite a few parallels between the sneaker and luxury watch market