Hidden away far from the typical central spots, up in the northern district, Vibe Official store is located somewhere in Jalan Pemimpin industrial area. Quiet surrounding with a cozy space accompanied with pretty minimal white space, massive line up of heats on the racks. We caught up with the man, Ismath Backer.
– How did the whole Vibe Official shop happen?
The idea of having a shop sparks when we started reselling to fund and purchase our personal pairs and soon it turned into a business and we kept growing. Thanks to our wonderful loyal customers and thanks to sneaker event such as Sole Superior which boosted our customer base. Customers started to request for us to open a physical store so they could regularly head down to purchase sneakers and hang out with us. This idea grew when we got ourselves a warehouse space to store our sneakers and apparels for our online sales. We wanted to open a store but also at the same time keep the prices affordable for customers as such we opened a warehouse concept store to provide private shopping experience. In addition, that’s one of the reason we named our store as Vibe as we wanted to have interaction with our customers as well sourcing them some great sneakers.
– How long have you been in reselling sneaker business?
I have been in reselling sneaker business for around 3 years.
– What does it take to flip?
We see which are the pairs that is in demand and with affordable resell pricing as well , we believe customers should feel happy with their purchase at all times .
– On a sidetrack, what is your favourite personal pair?
My favourite personal pair got to be the Off-White Vapormax Black and I personally love Off-White collab’s with Nike especially.
– 10 years down the road, how do you think this business will still be relevant?
Honestly, I’m not sure of how it’s going to be, but we are confident that both streetwear and sneaker culture won’t fade off and there will always be a market for this business but perhaps a more affordable one for buyers.
– There’s a growth in sneaker reselling in Singapore over the years, what is the market like right now?
Growth in sneaker reselling is a never ending thing over the years as there is always new sneakers dropping every time but the market is favouring buyers instead. They are now very affordable compared to years back and the fact that the reseller market is currently stagnant but it’s doing pretty well.
– Have you come across sellers trying to sell fakes?
Yes, I have came across once, there was an incident that a seller tried to sell us few pairs of Travis Scotts x Fragment x Air Jordan 1 Low and what they did was mixing up the pair with a fake on the right side and the authentic one on the left side and vice versa for the rest of the pairs. We were vigilant enough to notice it and that’s why I always recommend my buyers to not fall for lower prices and always get someone to legit check the pair before buying.
– Which pair is the most sellable one?
Dunks are currently dominating the market as everyone love and prefer it as it’s both comfortable and affordable .
– What is your wish for the sneaker scene community here?
My wish is that, the sneaker scene remains united and help out each other and spread positive vibes always.
Visit Vibe Official ,
41 Jalan Pemimpin, #02-02B, S577186 (Appointment basis, please check with store)
All images by Suave Cartel Media
Interviewed by Young Son
Suave Cartel Media Original Series, “Behind The Brand”
suavecartelmedia.com 