For the shoe lovers throughout the Bay Area who have had a few pairs of sneakers they weren’t able to grab when they still were still “hot” on the shelf, Soul Supremacy might be the right fit.
Sole Supremacy, located in Newark, Calif., right outside of the NewPark Mall, is a unique store that gives shoe enthusiasts an opportunity to buy, sell and trade dead stock sneakers.
According to “vintageclothing” at about.com, dead stock can be referred to as “usually forgotten stockpiles from warehouses” that are “often still in its original packaging or has its original tags.”
Sole Supremacy was created by childhood friends Derrick Lew, Tony Nguyen and Robert La.
“I’ve been best friends with Rob since high school,” said Lew. “Tony is the cousin of one of my good friends and I’ve known him since he was a kid.”
Lew, a CSU East Bay alumnus, got into the shoe industry about three years ago selling some of his old shoes through a website he designed.
Lew is an avid shoe collector and has been collecting shoes since he was in middle school.
“I’ve loved sneakers since I was in middle school,” said Lew.
With a mutual love for sneakers, Lew, La and Nguyen decided to develop Sole Supremacy. Lew already had his online business, so they put their heads together and created the current store.
Lew says that business has been great for Sole Supremacy and the company remains very active in the community. They allow many shoe lovers to buy, sell and trade their own shoes at the store.
According to Lew, he isn’t sure if he wants to expand his business in the future, because that would require him to trust others to run various shops at different locations for him.
“To me, it’s not all about making the money and expanding; it’s about enjoying life and having a store within a good community and a solid place to do business,” said Lew.
The sneaker industry has become very popular among males in the United States. Sole Supremacy allows shoe fanatics who’ve missed a chance to purchase their favorite sneakers in retail stores, another opportunity to get the same shoes for a better price.
The market for dead stock sneakers is booming as people can collect different shoes when they are released, with the knowledge that one day the same shoes will be worth more than the original retail value.
