Stephen Green (https://twitter.com/PDXStephenG) is the Founder of Pitch Black and one of the top minds in the investment and venture capital community. His Ted Talk is must see tv and his insight into all things Portland is expanding beyond the Northwest to every state because of his passion for helping entrepreneurs.
This morning as StockX announced their unicorn status (1 billion dollar valuation) Stephen tweeted me and I said, “Shoot me some questions.”
He did so and I tried to keep it short, but here are the questions. Use the time signatures to click to each discussion point:
1. What does this mean for retailers? 2:13
2. When/who will there be a company actually of the “culture” step into this space? 6:36
3. Does this mean anything to Amazon? 8:27
4. When (if) does Lebron and crew come in and blow up the spot? 8:53
5. What questions aren’t being asked? 9:34
Additional Thoughts:
Josh Luber is no longer the CEO of StockX. The company brought in former eBay exec Scott Cutler. In my book I made it a point to establish that the amount of money StockX is spending on advertising is considerable. I don’t have their numbers, but the company is running television ads and a constant barrage of Google Ads. They run social media ads and they have invested heavily in media with YouTube and their blog. In the book I also discuss the shortcomings of StockX and that they had to eventually either launch brick and mortar locations or expand into other areas beyond watches, sneakers and bags because their system is flawed in regard to returns and listings.
The addition of an eBay exec seems like a natural fit as Luber stated in the e-mail… but the reality is StockX has been the biggest disruption to eBay in their sneaker sales at the premium end. StockX however isn’t disrupting eBay’s top selling shoes which are all adidas: https://crazylister.com/blog/top-selling-items-on-ebay/
This means that Cutler will more than likely implement strategies that allow more of StockX’s sales to take place at the retail end which will undoubtedly affect the digital sales of retail outlets from Dick’s to urban accounts like DTLR. There is a much bigger picture taking shape here that needs a detailed analysis. I repeat again what I said at the end of the video, third party retail as resale shouldn’t exist as it does… especially as a billion dollar company. This is an important point for both brands and retailers.
