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Stadium Goods Sets Sights on London With Browns Pop-Up

The partnership between is part of a month-long focus on streetwear and sneaker culture, dubbed “Sneaker Beast,” at the retail boutique’s east London store.
Stadium Goods' SoHo New York store | Source: Courtesy
By
  • Tamison O'Connor

LONDON, United Kingdom Browns is putting the latest acquisition of parent company Farfetch to work, installing a Stadium Goods pop-up inside its East London location.

The peer-to-peer streetwear marketplace, which Farfetch acquired in January in a deal that valued the business at $250 million, will sell rare sneakers and sought-after streetwear pieces via a month-long concession at the luxury boutique.

The most coveted items — think the Adidas x Pharrell Williams x Chanel collab or the original Nike x Yeezy Red October — will be displayed in Stadium Goods' signature Trophy Case, with prices ranging from £290 ($380) to £27,500 ($35,800). Product will also be available on the Browns website.

The partnership between Stadium Goods and Browns is part of a month-long focus on streetwear and sneaker culture, dubbed "Sneaker Beast," at the retail boutique's east London store. New brands like Chinatown Market will be dropping in store from May 15, alongside exclusive product and anticipated collaborations such as Adidas x Raf Simons Ozweego and Asics x GMBH.

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Browns has seen triple-digit growth in the sneaker category over the past year, said Chief Executive Holli Rogers.

“There is no denying that it’s an integral part of fashion,” she said. “It has been for quite some time and it will not go away.”

Farfetch acquired Browns in 2015, and has used the store to test new retail concepts and technology. The marketplace has a growing business providing services to third parties, including Chanel and Harrods.

The pop-up marks Stadium Goods’ first physical retail activation outside the US. Currently, it’s flagship store in New York’s SoHo is its only permanent brick-and-mortar location.

"I see this as an incredible exercise in building our brand and building trust in the minds of consumers in the UK," said Stadium Goods Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive John McPheters. "It definitely opens the door for other opportunities and we see the UK and Europe as a huge market."

London is a huge market for sneakers and streetwear. It's one of these cities that we've been looking at for a long time.

The resale market, while still a sliver of the overall global sneaker space, is booming, with an estimated value of between $1 billion and $2 billion. It’s especially popular among millennial shoppers, who will drop hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars for limited-edition, hard-to-find pieces.

The UK is an attractive market for streetwear-focused resale companies, with sales of £200 million ($260 million) last year, an increase of more than 20 percent, reports Bloomberg.

“London is a huge market for sneakers and streetwear. It’s one of these cities that we’ve been looking at for a long time,” said McPheters. “A tremendous amount of sneakerhead taste is being driven from London. It’s definitely one of the homes of the movement.”

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Stadium Goods’ arrival in London closely follows that of rival marketplace StockX, which opened its first headquarters outside the US in the UK capital in October and earlier this year voiced plans to open a London store.

Related Articles:

Why Farfetch Acquired Stadium GoodsOpens in new window ]

$12,350 For a Pair of Adidas?Opens in new window ]

Stadium Goods' John McPheters on the Streetwear Resale OpportunityOpens in new window ]

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