Walmart is betting on collectible sneakers to grow its market | kbnmart

Walmart Inc. has its sights set on sneakerheads.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer is teaming up with sneaker marketplace StockX to offer dozens of pre-verified shoes ranging from Nike Inc.’s Air Jordans and a Travis Scott collaboration to New Balance Athletics Inc. and Asics Corp.

Hundreds of products will be available on Walmart’s website next week, and StockX will handle product verification. The partnership could expand to tens of thousands of products, Michael Moser, vice president and head of retail at Walmart Marketplace, said in an interview.

Shoppers are “looking for that full spectrum of products from Walmart,” whether it’s staples or collectibles, Moser said, adding that Walmart is seeing healthy demand for coveted sneakers.

The partnership — the first between Walmart and StockX — is part of the retailer’s efforts to boost its online business to attract more spending from Amazon.com Inc. and other retail giants. Walmart said last week it would expand its product assortment on the third-party sellers’ marketplace to include used and collectible products, building on its offerings of refurbished electronics.

The deal marks StockX’s first with a third-party platform, CEO Scott Cutler said in an interview. The deal with Walmart will help StockX reach a new base of consumers, including those who may not be familiar with the brand, he added.

The secondary market for sneakers has cooled off since a boom began in 2021, when the sector became a hot alternative asset attracting investors and speculators. Since then, resale sites have been flooded with limited-edition sneakers released to the public by brands like Nike, Adidas and New Balance.

The two companies expect to expand into other categories such as casual wear. They declined to disclose financial details of the partnership.

Walmart’s online marketplace has emerged as a growth engine. It helps the company expand its assortment and price points, and offers brands like Cartier that aren’t sold in the company’s physical stores. The online marketplace also adds revenue to Walmart through related services like advertising and fulfillment.

Walmart’s online marketplace business, which began in 2009, is still smaller than Amazon.com Inc.’s, which began nine years ago. In 2022, Amazon had 2 million merchants selling on its platform. Walmart doesn’t disclose the number of merchants and offers hundreds of millions of items. Both companies offer a wide range of goods, in contrast to Target Corp., which has taken a more structured approach to expanding its marketplace business.