KBS Proposal

Each year millions of shoppers run out to stores and make purchases for their fashion needs. The U.S. apparel industry today is a $12 billion business and the average American family spends $1,700 on clothes annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is about 3% of the family’s income. For the Sneaker Culture that is number is unreal. The Sneaker Culture is a culture that is led by the appreciation and thrill of owning sneakers. The top tier consumers and influencers of the culture are called Sneakerheads. Sneakerheads range from all over the spectrum. Some get in the culture as little as 10 years old, while other don't get to embarrass it until they are 18 years old.

Current survey of Sneakerheads in the world

A Sneakerhead is defined by the dictionary as a sneaker enthusiast. To the culture a Sneakerhead is known as a person that not only stays with the newest sneakers but also the most exclusive sneakers. However, since about 2012 with the emergence of social media, there have been a lot of posers and trolls in the culture. This has caused a backlash and up roar from Sneakerhead because the shoes they once had near and dear to their heart are now gone. Prices have sky rocked out of control (retail prices are an average of $200), releases are limited (only 200 pairs in a region) and people are just stocking shoes. Sneakerheads are very disappointed and the culture is slowly dying. The culture may be dying but not dead, to provide a lifeline and save the culture we have invented Kicks S.K.O.O.L.

Each year in November and December you can count on three things. The mall will be crowded for Black Friday sales, Christmas sales and Sneaker releases. Exclusive, top of the line sneakers demand increase every hour as the year comes to a close. As that demand increases so does the pressure from parents to provide and fulfill their children’s holiday wishes. This leads to very early mornings, long lines, packed stores, clueless parents, sold out shoes, fights and the list goes on and on. To sum it up, the shopping experience becomes horrible. Not only does the shopping experience changes, you become frustrated that the shoes that you been wanting and waiting for ALL year have become completely sold out in every store you have contacted. After that news you receive another punch to the gut and to your pride because you find out that those shoes are now being resold sold online for 125% more than retail. If fact Forbes reported that, the secondary market for sneakers is almost as impressive and well executed as the primary market. Estimated to be worth more than $1 billion, the sneaker resale market is fueled by the excitement created by an intentionally low supply of each sneaker release.  With this knowledge as a parent or a Sneakerhead the following questions begin to flow through your head:

1. Are the employees lying about having my size?

2. How did they sale out so fast, no one every buys these?

3. Can I find them somewhere else in this mall?

4. Did my friend get them for me or have access to them?

5. Are these shoes really worth it?

Above is the change in resale percentage from Jan-April 2015 -2016

Below is the change in resale profit from Jan-Apr 2015-2016

Kicks S.K.O.O.L. is the answer to all the problems above. Kicks S.K.O.O.L. (Sneakers Knowledge Onsite Online Locator) is an Expert System for shoppers (mainly the sneaker heads). The way the application will work is very simple. When you first open the application you will need to set-up an account, with your name, location, favorite sneaker (s), and username. You then will have a series of 8-15 questions that you will have to answer. After you answer the third question an image will appear and continue to appear until you either see the shoe you want or see something similar. The questions will range from sneaker brands, release dates, size, locations and color way. Once the questions are answered, the application will present 5 shoe options (3 sneakers that are 90-100% accurate from your answers and 2 sneakers that are 80-89% accurate). The information will then become saved in your profile archives. We guarantee these results based on of teams knowledge of what the current field of sneakers are being offered.

You may be thinking, “Where will we gather our information from?” Our data will be gathered from a list of sources that are out there from the sneaker culture. We will have links to “SneakerNews”, “Unlaced”, “Kicks on Fires” and “Adidas Confirmed” to name a few. As the application continues to grow we will be able to partner directly with the brands for exclusive information on their products.

Since this is a mobile application we will have no problem with our role out. We will make it available on Android market and Apple App Store. We plan to launch the application worldwide on January 2019. However, the worldwide release will only provide the calendar options, this release is to inform and build anticipation to the sneaker culture. To use the sneaker “search” and “buy” options you will need to be in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia. We want to start in a controlled area to test how effective it was. We choose these locations because that is the year the NBA All Star Game will be in Charlotte, North Carolina. With all the revenue and traffic that will be flowing in and out of due to the game we plan to have a great turn out. Every year the topic brands in basketball (Under Armor, Nike, Jordan, Adidas, and Anta) release an All Star sneaker for their athletes. January is also the beginning of the sneaker conventions. Due to other application and website that are on the market that are solely devoted to just the release date, we can continue to build our calendar from there. With a few partnerships with local boutiques in the area (Bull city sneakers, The Athletes Foot and Social Status) we can start our GIS (Geographic Information System) maps there and begin to roll out store, prices and details of the sneakers.

We will update the application on a daily basis. This is to inform the culture on new events, release dates, contest and anything they need or want to flourish. By June of 2019 we plan to have influencers’ blogs as an officer partner of the application as well as magazines that focus on sneakers (Complex fashion, Eastbay). Combined with sneakers brands, companies and other avenues that sell sneakers (boutiques) we will update the release dates biweekly, unless a QS (Quick Strike) happens, and month for the contest, blogs, and other features.

As the application continues to grow we plan to reach out to artist such as Wale, DJ Khaled and Kanye West for their exclusive release dates in exchange for interviews and advertisement of their work to be displayed on the site. By March of 2020 we plan to launch the social media aspect where sneaker heads will be able to chat among their selves, as well as trade, buy and sell their shoes. All shoes will go through an authentic check before sell and PayPal accounts are a must to prevent fake transactions. With the co-sign of these artist above that is a minimal of 40 million followers who will just download the application.

In conclusion, Nike’s line of Jordan sneakers alone, which retail for around $100 to $200, boasted $2.6 billion in US sales in 2014, according to SportScanInfo. With athletes such as LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Serena Williams and Chris Paul all about to retire within the next four to five years and the wave of athletes (such as Kawhi Leonard, Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving and Mya Moore) all come in the sneaker busy will continue to grow. The Retro Jordan series aren't going anywhere and only new Retros are coming out. People are getting older and the culture is getting bigger. Kicks S.K.O.O.L is the perfect application for all ages, and demographics. Kicks S.K.O.O.L is just like any other level of school, a place to learn, teach and grow. This application will allow the Sneakerhead culture to not only survive but also provide a reliable place where the culture is protected and respect.

References

1. Weinswig, Deborah. "Sneaker Culture Fuels $1 Billion Secondary Market." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 18 Mar. 2016. Web. 28 July 2017. <https://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahweinswig/2016/03/18/sneaker-culture-fuels-1-billion-secondary-market/#657937847911>.

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