The Secret Sneaker Store: The pharmacist will sell sneakers worth $ 20 million

A former pharmacist who quit his job at Chemist Warehouse is set to make $20 million over the next 12 months after opening a designer sneaker store with more than 10,000 pairs of shoes.

Edwin Low, of Melbourne, bought what he described as a “rare” pair of sneakers for $500 from a seller on a Facebook group, but felt “dejected” when he opened the box and found the shoes were fake.

“The seller had a legitimate Facebook profile but when I tried to get a refund they immediately blocked me,” he told FEMAIL.

“I quickly told my friends and was shocked when they said almost anyone who buys sneakers on social media would eventually come across a scammer.”

After this experience, the now 31-year-old opened the Secret Sneaker Store in 2017 – an outlet that protects customers from buying counterfeit sneakers online and gives them the opportunity to choose from more than 1,000 limited styles from Yeezys to Jordans to Nikes.

“My very traditional Malaysian parents thought it was crazy to leave my steady job at Chemist Warehouse to pursue my dream of opening a sneaker shop,” Edwin said.

A former pharmacist is expected to make $20 million in sales over the next 12 months after opening a designer sneaker store with more than 10,000 pairs of shoes

The store resells limited edition sneakers to protect customers from buying counterfeit sneakers online and has over 1000 limited edition styles to choose from

Before launching the brand, Edwin admitted that he “didn’t have any money” at first because he was fresh out of college

He used all of his savings as a pharmacy student, Uber driver, and airtasker moving lawns to get the business up and running.

“My parents still think I’m crazy – but at least now they’re bragging to their friends that I’m successful and crazy!” said Edwin.

Before launching the brand, Edwin admitted he “didn’t have any money” because he was fresh out of college.

“I figured I would need at least 400 pairs of shoes to start, so instead of buying inventory, I figured why not try to help people sell sneakers,” he said.

“But I wasn’t sure if this concept would work or not, so I hired a few people to help collect sneakers from friends and family.”

Since 2017, the 31 employees have authenticated more than 100,000 pairs of limited edition sneakers, and prices range from $150 to $14,500 for a pair of Nike x Louis Vuitton Air Force 1

Another challenge in building a business from the ground up was reputation, as Edwin knew it would be difficult for customers to trust his brand with their expensive sneakers from the start.

From there, he opened a pop-up shop for a week to test the concept after receiving sneakers from salespeople – and it was a huge hit.

“People were lining up to buy and sell shoes, and sometimes before we could even put the sneakers on the shelf, customers would ask us the size and if they could buy them,” he said.

In that week alone he turned over $16,000, which was an enormous sum at the time.

Today, the Secret Sneaker Store spans three locations in Melbourne, Sydney and Chadstone

“Everything we resell goes through a rigorous authentication process, where shoes are marked with our tamper-evident authenticity label to mark them as legitimate,” Edwin said. “There is no room for error because our reputation depends on it.”

Today, the Secret Sneaker Store spans three locations in Melbourne, Sydney and Chadstone.

“Everything we resell goes through a rigorous authentication process, where shoes are marked with our tamper-evident authenticity label to mark them as legitimate,” Edwin said.

“There is no room for error because our reputation depends on it.”

Since 2017, the 31 employees have authenticated more than 100,000 pairs of limited edition sneakers, and prices range from $150 to $14,500 for a pair of Nike x Louis Vuitton Air Force 1.

In addition to employees, the store uses a technology known as “sneaker botters” to not only certify the authenticity of the sneaker, but also dictate how much the shoes will sell.

The store also has around 700 resellers per month.

The store also has around 700 resellers per month

When asked how to tell if a sneaker is real or fake, Edwin said there are usually a few key indicators — although this always changes as scammers keep up with tweaks in design

When asked how to tell if a sneaker is real or fake, Edwin said there are usually a few key indicators — although this always changes as scammers keep up with tweaks in design.

Edwin said the details his team always pays attention to are differences in color tones, quality of stitching, smell and how the number on the shoe matches the box.

“It’s a real game of cat and mouse because the scammers also keep abreast of the changes to the boots,” he said.

In store, customers can browse hundreds of products from Jordan, Nike, Yeezy, Fog Essentials and New Balance.

In store, customers can browse hundreds of products from Jordan, Nike, Yeezy, Fog Essentials and New Balance