Can this online sneaker store from Hong Kong compete with StockX and Goat? Sneaker Surge co-founders on their booming business and benefitting from a Chance encounter

The co-founders of Hong Kong-based shoe retailer Sneaker Surge had two choices amid protests and Covid-19 – shut down or go online. They chose the latter

Business is booming, with company growth of 160 per cent in 2019 and 252 per cent in 2020, despite competition from rivals like StockX, Goat and Stadium Goods

Reading Time:5 minutes

The Sneaker Surge showroom in Hong Kong. The co-founders explain why they love selling shoes and how they compete with platforms like StockX and Goat.

Published: 6:15pm, 17 Jan 2022

Hong Kong-based shoe retailer Sneaker Surge has had an interesting few years that stretch back to 2019 and the citywide anti-government protests that made it difficult to stock local shops.

“We had to close up shop or go online,” says co-founder Ravine Mahtani. “[We had to] say we are no longer in the sneaker business or say, OK, we know it is going to be a hard road – let’s go online with whatever inventory we have left and see what happens.”

Sneaker Surge chose the latter – and it has not looked back.

“We’re really excited for the next few years and we’re really open,” Mahtani says. “I was always very close-minded that we need to just buy-sell.” And of the future? “Let’s see what happens, let’s explore alternatives.”

Ravine Mahtani and Mira Uttamchandani are the co-founders of Sneaker Surge.

Mira Uttamchandani is Mahtani’s wife and the co-founder of Sneaker Surge.

“As we built the supply chain [during the protests], the pandemic hit,” she explains. “We went from being heavily business-to-business to needing a new way to shift these sneakers. We didn’t shift fully. The pandemic really helped grow our business.”