Article: Death Of The Independent Sneaker Store

If you know me, you know that I *heart* kicks for real. You also know that I prefer small boutique stores and I certainly don't enjoy looking like everyone else. This Sneaker Freaker article really interested me and I feel compelled to share with the 3 1/2 people that read my blog.

In South Africa, the market is as small as a pin head, it's not easy to run an independent store that does more than break even. I think too many store owners adopt methods from overseas that can't fully work in S.A. We have to think of ourselves as 1000 steps back in terms of streetwear culture (that goes beyond chucks, dickies pants and spotties) in S.A. We are not a developed market in terms of individuality etc. and Joburg and Cape Town and Durban (where applicable) are easy enough to penetrate into when you're dealing with a handful of people, but when you're trying to get mass reach, that's when you walk into a brick wall.

Read more of the article here.