Expansion Team
Sneakersnstuff has been rapidly growing its global retail footprint. Here’s where it’s headed next.
Sneakersnstuff’s owners have big growth plans mapped out.
Twenty years ago, Erik Fagerlind and Peter Jansson established Sneakersnstuff on a flight from Sweden to New York. But today, when they board a plane, they’re likely scouting new locations. Since opening their first retail store in their native Stockholm in 1999, the duo has branched out to five doors. Next year, they’ll open in Venice, Calif., and possibly Tokyo and Seoul, South Korea, with longer-term goals to enter Hong Kong, Barcelona, Milan and Chicago. China and India are also on the wish list. In the near term, though, the 3,450-square-foot Venice storefront will launch in January, a year after Sneakersnstuff made its debut stateside in New York’s Meatpacking District. “We have a consumer base in these cities, and it’s good for us to have brick-and-mortar so they can actually see us so we’re not just another online retailer,” Jansson explained. Known for its collaborations and selection of streetstyle favorites, the boutique merchant has quickly grown, thanks to strong financials. Since 2011, SNS has grown an average of 38 percent annually, and sales have acceler-
ated more this year, with gains of 85 percent.
Sneakersnstuff also has backing from Nordic investment fund FSN Capital, which contributed an undisclosed amount in May. According to the retailer, the funds will aid experience-driven e-commerce platform efforts, administrative functions and the development of local creative
content with new store rollouts.
Regardless of where Fagerlind and Jansson head next, their brand partners are confident SNS will succeed. “Globally, they’re one of the top retailers right now,” said Leo Gamboa, product manager for Reebok Classics. “They’re one of the best with communication and content creation. And the way they manage consumers, how they raffle and sell product, it’s done properly and is fair. It separates them from other retailers.”
But as a small player in a large, competitive sneaker marketplace, SNS faces a fair number of challenges. “Brands are not set up to have a business planner in our [channel],” Fagerlind said. “They’re set up for the likes of Foot Locker, JD Sports. And as this segment grows, it’s difficult for us to get information from them three weeks before a drop — like, ‘You’re going to get X thousands of pairs for the next launch.’ How do you prepare the warehouse for that? The logistics are a nightmare, for sure.”
The store, in a sense, also competes with its vendors. Traffic at SNS is driven largely by powerhouses Nike and Adidas, who have their own retail expansion plans that impact where Fagerlind and Jansson can open doors.
“You’re aware of the key cities for Nike and Adidas. They have them because they influence trends in other cities in the world,” Fagerlind explained. “So we’re a little bit opportunistic in what cities can come first. We need the product from them, so in a way, we need to work with them.”
But successes in new territories have earned SNS a degree of trust among industry heavyweights.
“When we did London in 2014, it was difficult because we didn’t have any relationship with Adidas and Nike there. [But] they were superhappy with the outcome,” Fagerlind said. “And when we said we wanted to do Paris, they embraced that idea. After they saw Paris, they asked us to come to Berlin. [Our success] changes what we mean to them over time.”
While their footprint is growing rapidly, the retail founders have no plans to become a massive chain. “There’s a limit on how many stores a company or brand like SNS should have,” Fagerlind said. “And it’s probably around 12 or 15 globally.”
“Globally, [Sneakersnstuff is] one of the top retailers right now. They’re one of the best with communication and content creation.” — LEO GAMBOA, REEBOK