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Business & Money

Shoe lovers camp out for new Kanye sneakers

Published: 8 Jun 12 10:39 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/41316/20120608/

Shoe enthusiasts have been camping on the streets of Stockholm in the hopes of snagging a limited edition pair of American rapper megastar Kanye West’s new line of sneakers.

The "Kanye West Air Jeezy 2", will be released at 2pm on Saturday at Sneakersnstuff, a shoe store in Södermalm, with each pair boasting a 2,599 kronor ($363) price tag.

Max and Patrick, who flew into Stockholm from Hamburg specifically for the event, are thrilled at the opportunity.

“This is the only shop we know of in Europe that’s selling the shoes in both colours – we’ve been camping here for two days,” they told The Local.

“While the Swedish sneaker scene is nowhere near as big as it is in Germany, we made the most of the chance to grab Kanye’s newest design here in Stockholm.”

Others have not been so lucky.

Arvid Landquist, an 18-year-old Stockholmer, was 26th in line and will miss out on the chance to take home a pair of the highly prized shoes by one place.

“I’m furious. The guy who was at number 17 went away for too long, he should be kicked out of the line. They only have room for 25 people. Now I am going to miss out, this is ridiculous,” he told The Local.

The store is only selling 50 pairs of shoes, and every customer has the right to buy two pairs.

According to a statement from the shoe store, there are only 3,000 pairs of the shoe available in the world, and some eBay sellers have already listed them for $4,000.

Meanwhile, store owners in at Sneakersnstuff are ecstatic about the interest in the shoes.

“We’ve been here for 13 years and this is the absolute coolest thing we’ve been in on. There’s not been such a big hype about a shoe for several years,” said store worker Olof Törnqvist to daily Aftonbladet.

“Some people collect stamps, while others like shoes. The fact that Kanye West is involved adds to it all too, of course.”

For 25-year-old Max from Hamburg, the chance to take home a pair of Jeezys will make the ultimate addition to his impressive collection.

“Yes, I guess you could call it an obsession. I’ve been collecting shoes since I got my first pair of skate shoes at the age of 12. I’ve sold a whole bunch of them, but I guess I own around 150 pairs now,” he said.

Oliver Gee
Follow Oliver on Twitter here

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Your comments about this article:

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11:17 June 8, 2012 by Shibumi
For real? 2 600 kr for sneakers? and traveling across Europe to wait in line for several days for them? WTH?
12:40 June 8, 2012 by HenryPollard
Sweden is now like Ohio. Well done, capitalism.
12:43 June 8, 2012 by smilingjack
swedes pay 1000kr for converse shoes. and just about EVERY one of you is wearing them. they are nothing. back home they were poor uni students shoes from 20 years ago. I reckon you could paint an american flag on dog poo and tell swedes it was rare and they would lap it up. you people should hang your heads in shame. capitalism yes. extremely gullible - absolutely!
13:46 June 8, 2012 by libertarianism
No more stupid than baby Estelle wearing a tiny 2 000 kr French coat. How many 1000+ kr pairs of shoes do you think we've bought for the king and his wife and their son and daughters and the daughter's husband and now their child and...

If, under threat of imprisonment, we're forced to clothe these people, they could at least have the decency to support Scandinavian designers.
13:50 June 8, 2012 by Mb 65
smilingjack All European countries are like this now. This is what destroys societies of today. The must haves one-upmanship. This is who these companies rely on to make huge profits. These people should get a life.
14:59 June 8, 2012 by azimov
The saddest of the sad people. Is Max actually Maxine?
15:45 June 8, 2012 by gpafledthis
Keep Oregon green - send Kr. !! thanks to all with more Kr. than sense !!
22:46 June 8, 2012 by dizzymoe33
For $353 dollars I can get my bad tooth pulled but hey lets all go stand in line for a stupid pair of shoes by a guy who is an idiot!! And we all wonder why this World is so messed up!!
04:31 June 9, 2012 by Eric1
What a joke. Seriously how could anyone in their right mind pay this for shoes that cost only a few dollars to make. I don't know but they are probably made in sweat shop by children in Asia.
09:45 June 9, 2012 by entry
What a bunch of @-soles.
12:36 June 9, 2012 by Svensksmith
Where do the unemployed come up with that much money for shoes? Oh yeah, your tax dollars. Socialism, ain't it grand!
13:15 June 9, 2012 by HenryPollard
@svensksmith

'Unemployed'? Are you adding fiction to this article to make it suit your agenda?

Under socialism, children aren't reared by TV channels which fill their heads with the idea that they must buy shoes from over-priced American corporations so that they can win the respect of their peers.

That's capitalism, my friend.
15:41 June 9, 2012 by Svensksmith
No, that's advertising.
15:49 June 9, 2012 by Dazzler
Oh no! Evil corporations are killing people and raping our lands!!!! Wow.

When are you people going to grow up. Spend your money on what you like and how you like to. Dont feel bad about having more than someone else. You work for it, you invest, you prosper, you buy! Whatta concept!!!

Get off your ass and get yours.
17:04 June 9, 2012 by Smokebox
I don't get it the craze. In a year you will be able to buy them at ICA for peanuts??
18:25 June 9, 2012 by HenryPollard
@Svensksmith

Pedant.

@Dazzler

You'd assume most people read this site because they like Sweden, no?

But the values you espouse are directly contrary to everything that has made this country unique.
21:07 June 9, 2012 by Dazzler
@Henry

In general I guess you could say the folk that read this site like Sweden. I read it because I find the "news" quirky and sometimes informative.

As far as your comment about the stereotypical values Swedes have, I feel that's a generalization of an unfair nature. Yeah, I know of Jantelagen and find the concept appalling. As a newly granted medborgare, I am doing my damnedest to never fall into its zombie-esque hive-mind underpinnings.
03:10 June 10, 2012 by HenryPollard
A generalisation of an unfair nature? Not really.

Everything that makes Sweden unique; equality, social mobility, a highly educated populace, the orderliness, cleanliness, strong public services, the relaxed and equal culture, stems from the egalitarian principles of it's culture.

Without these things, Sweden would just be a much colder version of, let's say..the UK (but with better looking people, obviously).

Most people who appreciate Sweden enjoy the fact that much of it's culture is built on the idea that there is far more to life than money.

That said, since the neo-liberal virus struck Riksdagen in the 90s, this idea has been eroded (see above article for a trivial but pertinent example of this).
15:20 June 10, 2012 by towns
@ HenryPollard

Your post (#18) could not be more naively idealistic. Especially:

"Everything that makes Sweden unique; equality, social mobility, a highly educated populace, the orderliness, cleanliness, strong public services, the relaxed and equal culture, stems from the egalitarian principles of it's culture."

Because Sweden is the only country in the world with these principles and scores a perfect 10/10 on all of them, right? Well if you believe that then you really are a true Swede!

"Most people who appreciate Sweden enjoy the fact that much of it's culture is built on the idea that there is far more to life than money."

Sure, "everybody knows" there are no Swedes who care about making money, just like these "shoe enthusiasts" in the article I'm sure!!! "Most people" did you get that from Statistics Sweden? Or did you read a "Welcome to Sweden" tourist brochure?

Oh, I also wanted to draw attention to this:

"That said, since the neo-liberal virus struck Riksdagen in the 90s, this idea has been eroded"

"Neo-liberal virus?" Sounds a little too general, more like direct influence of American consumerism through Swedish media if you ask me. I remember when I first saw the shows Swedish tv gears at adolescents, exact same type of crud you find in North America.
09:24 June 11, 2012 by rise
The people queuing for the shoe have yet to discover what's important in life.
07:03 June 12, 2012 by Marc the Texan
A++ to the local for accurate photo depiction of this story.
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