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How could we not like Australian sneaker store Hype DC? Basically a retail version of the Springwise philosophy (‘we search the globe so you can have it first’), Hype provides sneakerheads with the latest models, all the latest styles, in 9 stores in Sydney and Melbourne. In their own words: “the fact is that the funky footwear business is still driven from outside of Australia. We are about bringing the latest styles from London and Europe and making them available here, and first!” As simple as that, yet it’s a proposition that Springwise believes should be spelled out more often by other merchants and entrepreneurs: from our travels, we know that the wish to ‘stay on top of what the rest of the world is doing’ is consistently rated highly by savvy consumers from Hong Kong to Dubai.

Opportunities

Obviously, a sneaker store is nothing new, but Hype DC cleverly turns the whole limited edition craze and global quest for the latest and greatest into a well designed, extendible concept that would work well worldwide. And of course there’s more than a hint of CURATED CONSUMPTION in here, which our sister publication TRENDWATCHING.COM will discuss in its upcoming August newsletter. Springwise would not be surprised to see a chain of stores offering the latest in lifestyles, with dedicated corners for goodies from leading metropolises like New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney. So, which global purveyors of ‘cool’ will build the next ‘Hype’, ‘Fad’, or ‘Craze’?