Sneaker and streetwear resale platform StockX revealed the opening of new authentication centers in Hong Kong and Toronto.
Along with the debut of its Portland, Ore., Authentication Center, the company has opened three locations this quarter, growing its global network by 50 percent.
The resale platform, which surpassed $2.5 billion in lifetime gross merchandise value this June, described its authentication centers as “critical nodes within the StockX supply chain network.” Along with advancements such as its proprietary All-In Pricing feature, it said, the additional locations enable lower fees, reduced shipping costs and faster delivery and payout options for local buyers and sellers.
Though Stock X customers in Canada and the Asia-Pacific region have had access to the StockX catalogue since 2016, the company said the new centers provide Toronto and Hong Kong customers access to an enhanced end-to-end customer experience.
“Planting a stake in the ground in these two fast-growing markets—each with a rich history and longstanding ties to sneaker and streetwear culture—represents a pivotal step in cementing our position as the world’s leading resale platform for current culture products,” StockX CEO Scott Cutler said in a statement. “This move enables us not only to meet the high demand we’re seeing in these markets, but to provide our global customer community with the highest level of service.”
The Hong Kong facility further expands the brand’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region, one of the company’s fastest-growing markets. According to StockX, sell-side transactions across the region increased 500 percent year over year in the third quarter. In Hong Kong, they jumped 1000 percent, it said.
Sales from Canadian sellers grew by more than 150 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period last year. The Toronto location marks the company’s first non-U.S. authentication center in North America.
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Worldwide, the platform said it saw a record 25 million monthly visitors in the third quarter.
With the addition of the Hong Kong, Toronto and Portland locations, StockX’s global network now includes nine authentication centers. The diversity and liquidity of its global marketplace, the company said, allowed it to remain open throughout 2020 and achieve record-breaking sales.
In addition to global expansion, the resale platform said it remains focused on category diversification. Since launching with sneakers, apparel and luxury accessories, StockX has added collectibles, quickly expanding category that includes high-growth items like trading cards and electronics.
“Whether expanding our presence globally, exploring category diversification or rolling out innovative partnerships and product features, we remain committed to scaling in a way that authentically connects with customers in every part of the world,” Cutler continued.
In its second-ever snapshot report, released this July, StockX said May and June were its biggest buyer months ever, with the average resale price for its top 500 sneakers increasing 6 percent between February and June. At the time, StockX said it had 18 of its top 20 sales days of all time (excluding promos and holidays) in the second quarter.