Ask an ordinary Pinoy Gen Z what fashion item he would mostly buy if cost were not an issue and the most likely answer is a pair of authentic, even rare, sneakers. Be it a pair of Air Jordan, Nike Dunks, or Yeezy (a brand that is fast becoming popular in the local market), sneakers have exploded in popularity in recent years, creating their own culture and becoming one of the most interesting communities in the local fashion scene. With so many Pinoy sneaker heads — from aficionados, collectors, and influencers, to celebrities — embracing the sneaker culture now more than ever, Ox Street, a Singapore-based sneaker focused marketplace, has decided to expand its presence to the Philippines so Filipinos can connect with its rapidly growing base of buyers and sellers across the region.
With this, sneakerheads in the country can now get fresh new kicks and sell pairs of authentic and rare sneakers on the Ox Street platform which is present in more than eight markets across the region.
According to Ox Street CEO and Founder Gijs Verheijke, the Philippines, by far, has the deepest cultural connection and love for sneakers of all the markets in Southeast Asia, partly because of our renowned passion for basketball. “Market growth is also strong. A big driver has been millennial and Gen z Filipinos starting to earn more and spending some of their earnings on getting the sneakers they have always wanted,” he adds.
To buy and sell sneakers on the platform, one has to register at www.oxstreet.com for free. All sneakers sold on the site are guaranteed authentic – items posted on the site are shipped to an Ox Street authentication center by sellers and carefully checked by experts before they are shipped to the buyer.
Aside from this, what makes Ox Street different from other online buy-and-sell sites is that “it’s a ‘social marketplace’, which means Ox Street has a marketplace foundation, but a bigger vision for how gaming, social and content can work together to keep people coming back, and aggregate demand in our space,” explains Gijs.
To further strengthen its proposition in the region, Ox Street last year joined forces with the Carousell Group, the leading online classified ads group in the Greater Southeast Asian region.
“We started Ox Street to bring a more seamless experience to buying and selling in these categories, and it’s very exciting that we can now continue building our vision for this space on a much larger scale,” Gijs said.
More than expanding its market, Ox Street also aims to prioritize and value Filipino consumers’ comfort and self-expression by providing automatic size conversions, a feature that proves how much Ox Street values gender inclusivity. “Ox Street focuses more on style and self-expression. I just feel that sneakers give such good insight into someone’s personality, and what colors they go for. It’s much more interesting to see what type of sneakers someone chooses. There’s definitely more to sneakers than their value,” Gijs added.
With the expansion of Ox Street in the Philippines, Ox Street aims to break boundaries and build a shifting platform, especially for Filipino Gen Z to discover, buy, sell, and flex their sneakers and street wear of choice.