Sneakers are serious business — with collectors flocking to outlets whenever new limited edition trainers hit the market. Nowhere in Manchester is this culture more visible than at KershKicks. The Northern Quarter store operates on a buy-sell-trade basis, allowing customers to grab a pair of the most sought after designs and deadstock footwear from big sports and casual wear giants, alongside more exclusive brands, make money on their own, or swap for a fresh look. Depending on what you’re after, prices run from standard tags around the £50 mark, up to the “I’m never wearing these” bracket, somewhere in the thousands.
Or, to put all that in the company’s own words: “KershKicks is one of the first sneaker stores of its kind in the UK, providing a huge inventory of sneakers and clothing which has sold out elsewhere. It is the best priced high street sneaker store in the UK, making it the most popular destination to shop for grails which have most recently released, as well as collectors items dating back to the early 2000s.”
Also operating an online operation, KershKicks — named after founding brothers Sam and Ben Kersh — caused a significant stir when they set up a brick and mortar shop in Manchester’s original epicentre of cool some time ago. In the years since, the retailer has built up a huge following among local and visiting shoppers, and like the Scottish branch in Glasgow, the address has become a go-to destination for those in search of statement shoes you’re unlikely to find elsewhere on the high street. And, this being the Northern Powerhouse — a regular stomping ground for music and sports stars — it’s not unusual to find famous faces perusing the shelves in a bid to cop rare and exclusive high tops, slip-ons, deck shoes, athletic, synthetic, sustainable and generally eye-catching footgear. You get the point.