FOOT FETISH: Australia's Sneakerboy To Bring Luxe Kicks to SoHo

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SoHo is about to get a new place to buy fancy sneakers that may raise the game for everyone else who offers athletic footwear that will never touch a playing field or track. Australia's Sneakerboy is coming halfway across the planet to set up shop on the golden block of Mercer Street between Houston and Prince Streets in 2,000 square feet at number 170, formerly the home of Niko restaurant. Nestled among Marc Jacobs, two Balenciaga stores, Vera Wang and Versace, Sneakerboy will be perfectly situated to sell luxury sneakers from designers like Maison Martin Margiela, Pierre Hardy, Buscemi, Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Common Projects and many others whose "athletic" shoe prices start above $500 and go on to the stratosphere. Though the retailer counts special items from Nike, Reebok and Adidas among it offerings, it tends to favor the more costly collaborations with designers like Raf Simons and Rick Owens over your basic Sambas and Stan Smiths. The twist is that Sneakerboy's two Australian stores (pictured above) carry no stock on-site and check out customers via apps on their phones or iPads in-store. Whether or not the company will replicate this format in New York and ship customers their purchases all the way from Australia remains to be seen. A U.S. based warehouse seems a more likely prospect that might allow a faster rollout of stateside store/showrooms with a central distribution center. 
Though Sneakerboy will on the same block as some of SoHo's most exclusive boutiques, it is also only a couple of blocks away from New York's current top sneaker store, Kith NYC, which has just taken more space inside Atrium at Bleecker Street and Broadway as well as collectors' favorite Flight Club on Greene Street, but while those stores may dabble in designers, they tend to focus more on curated styles from the big brands for connoisseurs. Sneakerboy may be the city's first store to gather the exploding luxury sneaker labels under one roof which will either be a delight for extravagant shoppers or shocking depending on how much you think sneakers should cost. No opening date has been announced.

Designer Sneaker Company Coming to Soho With First North American Shop (NYObserver)