OXFORDSHIRE, United Kingdom — The term “disruption” often evokes the likes of Amazon and Airbnb — innovative business models and software that have completely changed consumer behaviours. But what if disruption lies in a format that has existed for over 100 years?
For Josh Luber, who co-founded StockX with Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert in 2016, the next big shift in luxury isn’t e-commerce or rental, but a marketplace that functions in the same way as the New York Stock Exchange.
Speaking at BoF Voices, Luber unpacks the machinations behind StockX, an online marketplace for streetwear, sneakers and — most recently — watches and handbags, where transactions between buyers and sellers hinge on the “true market price” of the product.
Much like buying shares in Nike on the stock exchange, the going rate for a pair of Air Jordans on StockX is the function of a centralised ticker price. “Retail is antiquated,” says Luber, who believes that the “extraordinary supply and demand curves” of luxury and streetwear goods make them suitable for trading in the same way commodities and assets are.
So what comes next for this “new form of commerce?” Beyond simply being a legitimate resale site, StockX plans to be the home of exclusive product launches — or, to use Luber’s words, “a true IPO.”
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