COURTESY OF NIKE |
FIRSTSTEPS
Maher , now 21 , was born in Manhattan , and moved to West Orange when he was very young . “ My passion for sneakers and clothing came from my brother introducing me to basketball ,” he says . “ Watching games with him , I noticed all the different shoes the players were wearing .”
The first pair of shoes which really caught his eye were the Nike Zoom KD 4 ‘ Nerf ’ — Kevin Durant ’ s fourth signature shoe , a collaboration with the toy brand Nerf that was released in 2001 . The sneakers originally retailed for $ 125 , but have sold for as much as $ 1,850 on the resale market .
The most popular sneaker stores were all located in New York City , but when it was time to look for locations for his own store , Maher preferred keeping it local .
“ I knew Iwanted to open up in Montclair because they always had a great retail area , and most of my customers were from the town ,” he says . “ I wanted to make it more accessible to people in our area to be able to buy and sell locally .”
The Connect Clothing Store buys , sells and trades sneakers and clothing . “ We take new and used items because we know not everyone will be able to afford the brand new price . We try and have options for everyone ,” he says .
Before the store opened , Maher got most of his inventory from online platforms ( such as eBay ) or sneaker conventions ( such as Sneaker Con ). “ Now that I have the store , almost all the inventory comes from people walking in looking to sell or trade ,” he says .
While sneakers make up the majority ofMaher ’ sbusiness , the shop also sells a lot of clothing . “ Vintage clothing is one of our best sellers because of how cheap we are able to sell them , usually anywhere from $ 1- $ 60 ,” he says . “ A new Supreme T-shirt could cost $ 100 . For that same amount , you could buy five or 10 vintage tees .”
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PROFITS ARE A SLAM DUNK
It can be hard to remember that there was a time when sneakers were primarily for athletes and gym class . Now they are seen as collectibles and works of art that are featured on fashion runways .
Like many , Maher fell in love with them thanks in part to the athletes he looked up to ; Michael Jordan , LeBron James and Kevin Durant have been releasing signature shoes for decades . But recent collaborations with cultural icons like fashion designer Virgil Abloh and musician Travis Scott have taken sneakers to another level .
“ It comes down to how limited the release is ,” Maher says . “ The lower
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THE ONE THAT STARTED IT ALL The first pair of shoes that drew Maher ’ s interest were the Zoom KD 4 ‘ Nerf ’ — acollaboration between Nike and toy brand Nerf .
the number of pairs released , usually the higher the resale value .” Sneakers have clearly become a big business . According to statista . com , the worldwide sneaker market in 2020 topped $ 70 billion — more than double the value in 2012 — and is on pace to reach $ 102 billion by 2025 .
Thanks to shops like The Connect Clothing Store , the global sneaker resale market topped $ 2 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach $ 6 billion in 2025 , according to a recent analysis from Cowen & Co .
“ I wish some of the sneakers I wanted weren ’ t as expensive as they are , but it ’ s just how the game is ,” says Maher .
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