A little over a year ago, a few months before moving to Dubai with his family, Kevin Ghassemi won a pair of Air Jordan 1 Retro High Royal Toe at a sale raffle.
Ghassemi, 17, who was in Stockholm at the time, paid the Swedish crown equivalent of Dh800 for the in-demand trainers and sold them the next day for Dh1,200.
“I didn’t really know much about sneakers, but my friends were obsessed. And when I realised I could make a profit out of it, I was hooked,” he tells The National. “I started entering as many raffles as I could and slowly started building a collection.”
Soon, the Instagram page @snkrbubble was born, where Ghassemi would post news and updates about trainers, and began to build a following.
By the time he moved to the UAE a year ago, Ghassemi was already entrenched in the world of trainer resale, an obsessive and fast-growing group Cowen Equity Research recently referred to as “emerging alternative asset class”. The company estimates that the resale market for trainers could potentially reach $30 billion by 2030.
In Dubai, Ghassemi found an even bigger community than the one in Sweden and, evidently with more cash to spare.
“Dubai is known for its luxury lifestyle and this is the perfect market for it. The amount of sneakers I’ve sold is an example,” he says. “Now there are multiple stores that have the sneaker drops and raffles, [so] it’s easier to get hold of a pair. That’s an advantage for me and makes it easier for me to purchase.”
Since January, Ghassemi says he’s made sales worth Dh600,000 from roughly 400 pairs of trainers, with a “six-figure profit”.
To make sure he’s on the right side of the law, he’s also registered his Instagram page as a commercial entity as well as the related website, snkrbubble.com.
“The Limited Liability Company allows me to do everything on a professional level and it allows me to trade with stores and sell at high quantity,” he explains. “Also, in case there are issues with fakes and payments not coming in, I have legal recourse. And people can’t use my name or replicate what I do.”
Ghassemi, who’s pursuing a diploma in business under the International Baccalaureate programme, says he set up the company with a little help from his father, who runs an online marketing firm.
He admits it’s not been easy to get the company up and running.
“I’m the owner and founder and I’m the only employee for now,” he says with a laugh. “I also have to constantly talk to clients, purchase stock, update the Instagram page and build the website, while also studying.”
“But the advantage of a small company operating at home is that I have almost no operational cost besides purchasing and marketing,” he adds. “So it makes me unique compared to other bigger resellers. My prices are significantly lower than anyone else.”
The most valuable trainer he’s sold is a pair of Jordan 1 Retro High Dior which he bought for Dh18,000 and traded for Dh33,000.
The limited-edition collaboration between the Jordan brand and French fashion house Dior sold out in minutes when it launched in 2020, despite the not-so-pocket-friendly price tag of $2,200 (Dh8,079) for the high-top version, and $2,000 (Dh7,345) for the low. The shoes are now going for as much as $6,745 on reselling website StockX.
“I’ve sold five pairs of the Jordan Diors. A lot of people reach out to me and they know that I just cash them out instantly,” Ghassemi says. “Also my prices are very fair compared to the competition.”
He says he knows which shoes will sell well “based on experience”.
“Now that I have sold more than 400 pairs, I know what works and what doesn’t. I know which sizes sell more than the others. So it’s all about knowledge. It takes a lot of time and experience to understand what’s good and be able to meet the demand.
“The Jordan 1s are always the most popular, in any colour, as well as the latest Yeezys.”
Ghassemi is also well aware a booming marketplace will attract imitation products.
“There are a lot of fakes, and they’re getting better and better. The amount of fakes that are out there and how many people actually fall for it is crazy,” he says. “For me, it comes down to experience. I put a lot of time into a pair when it comes in. I have a UV light and I go through the boxes with great detail. And if there is anything suspicious, I take them to the store or to other experts.
“Since I started, I haven’t had a single fake come into my possession.”
Encouraged by his success with shoes, the young entrepreneur is now expanding his business to include rare watches.
“I have around 10 watches currently in the inventory, with prices ranging from Dh50,000 to Dh140,000. People that spend Dh30,000 on shoes can spend Dh100,000 on watches as well. So I have the customer base,” he says.
The plan, he says, is to grow that collection, and eventually include luxury cars.
“I haven't done badly considering it all started as a hobby, and I have many plans. But right now, I want to focus on what I’m good at, which is sneakers and then go from there. I am only 17 after all and yet to get a license,” he says.
His parents are fully supportive of his growing business.
“They were sceptical at first and wanted me to focus on my studies. But they are happy as long as I keep the balance between the business and school,” he says. "I get good grades and I am making good money. So it’s all about balance.”
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See 15 of the most expensive trainers ever sold:
THE%20HOLDOVERS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Places to go for free coffee
- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
- Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
- Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
More on Quran memorisation:
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Pakhtoons 137-6 (10 ov)
Fletcher 68 not out; Cutting 2-14
Sindhis 129-8 (10 ov)
Perera 47; Sohail 2-18
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
HOW TO WATCH
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%3Cp%3E-%20US%20Congress%20is%20divided%20into%20two%20chambers%3A%20the%20House%20of%20Representatives%20and%20Senate%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20435%20members%20make%20up%20the%20House%2C%20and%20100%20in%20the%20Senate%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20A%20party%20needs%20control%20of%20218%20seats%20to%20have%20a%20majority%20in%20the%20House%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20In%20the%20Senate%2C%20a%20party%20needs%20to%20hold%2051%20seats%20for%20control%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20In%20the%20event%20of%20a%2050-50%20split%2C%20the%20vice%20president's%20party%20retains%20power%20in%20the%20Senate%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203S%20Money%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20London%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Zhiznevsky%2C%20Eugene%20Dugaev%20and%20Andrei%20Dikouchine%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%245.6%20million%20raised%20in%20total%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
