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The Journal.

The Downfall of a $300 Million Sneaker King

The Journal.

The Wall Street Journal

Business News, Daily News, News

4.25.8K Ratings

🗓️ 15 November 2022

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Zadeh Kicks, founded by Michael Malekzadeh, was once the hottest sneaker reseller on the market. It offered some coveted, limited edition shoes for cheap – a dream for sneakerheads who wanted to flip them for more money. But now Zadeh Kicks has dissolved. WSJ's Inti Pacheco explains how sneaker giant Malekzadeh came undone. Further Reading: -The $300 Million Sneaker King Comes Undone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

In the last few years, there's been a hot new area to invest in.

0:10.1

Sneakers.

0:11.1

Companies like Nike and Adidas produce limited edition sneakers that sell out in seconds,

0:16.8

and savvy buyers can resell them for a big profit.

0:20.9

Our colleague, Inti Pacheco, has been writing about it.

0:26.2

By like 2019 and 2020, the market exploded.

0:32.2

With social media, people using Instagram, showing off what they got, you know, it became

0:39.0

more and more popular.

0:40.5

Both of a sudden, people start seeing sneaker reselling as a way to make money.

0:47.0

Quick.

0:48.0

It's very risky, but the profits could be really good.

0:53.4

I did make around $50,000 reselling sneakers.

0:56.8

The 85s?

0:57.8

Some Yeezy's?

0:59.8

45k for these.

1:03.4

You know, I only resell sneaker that live in California.

1:06.5

I have my own house, my own car, you know, saying, I can afford a healthy lifestyle, you

1:12.4

feel me?

1:13.4

But recently, a big scandal has rocked the sneaker resell market.

1:19.6

And collectively, people have lost millions of dollars.

1:50.6

Coming up on the show, the downfall of Zadekicks, one of the biggest sneaker resellers

1:58.8

in America.

...

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