When it comes to shoes, Derek Curry is an everyman.
“I’m that kid that looks at the wall and buys everything,” Curry, who is in his 40s, told BusinessDen.
His favorite is the Nike Air Max 1.
“I’m wearing Salomons now because the snow is melting and itap muddy, but I’ve got Asics, Nikes, New Balance,” he continued. “We basically have a collab with every brand, so I’m wearing all of those.”
The founder of retailer Sneaker Politics will be bringing that product mix and more to 2800 Walnut St. in RiNo, where Curry is set to open his first Colorado store by early fall. Politics will slide into 5,800 square feet in the former factory of Gold Star Sausage Co., whose sign is still perched on top of the building.
The Louisiana native opened his first store in his home state 20 years ago, and the business has grown to several locations between there and Texas. He moved to Montana four years ago after catching the snowboarding bug during the COVID-19 pandemic. Steamboat, Copper Mountain and Breckenridge quickly became some of Curry’s favorites.
“I was going to Denver all the time,” he said, noting that he also has a childhood friend who lives in the city. “And I’ve been spending so much time that I’ve met a lot of people and noticed a huge hole in the market.”
Curry said there are no “boutique” sneaker shops like Politics in the city. The closest thing to his outfit, he said, was Steadbrook in Five Points. But that now-closed streetwear shop was more clothing-forward.
Politics, on the other hand, has Nike Jordans and more at its core, with other clothing and accessories to supplement. As a specialty seller, when premium items release, Politics is one of a few stores that has them on hand.
“We have accounts with Nike and Adidas to where if Travis Scott drops a shoe, we’re one of 25 stores in the world that will get it,” he said.
Politics also has its own collaborations and private label items, something itap been delving into more in the past couple of years. Those small batch orders are something sneakerheads can only get through Curry’s stores. The switch was driven by pandemic-induced supply chain issues causing brands to cancel orders, leaving Curry scrambling to fill inventory.
Before then, the category made up around 10% of revenue. That percentage is now in the 35% to 40% range.
Politics’ most recently launched shoe was with Anta and Dallas Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving. As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, the brand is coming out with new collabs every month.
“We look at our calendar and have everything planned out versus hoping Adidas has a crazy collaboration,” he said. “Itap way more work and way more stress, but we get higher margins and control it ourselves.”
In Denver, Curry said the product mix will tailor to the outdoor, more technical lifestyle Coloradans are known for. He said shelves vary widely in each of his five stores, though sneakers are always at the center.
“I compare (Denver) to Austin, where people are more low-key and wanting quality over quantity,” he said. “With some of our Louisiana stores, people are getting dressed for the week and throwing their clothes away the next.”
The Denver store, where Curry signed a five-year lease, is the first where Politics won’t outright own the real estate. That led to a cheaper build-out cost of $500,000, for the company to add a fresh coat of paint, logos, racks, furniture and other cosmetic fixtures.
In Houston, where Curry will open a 2-story, 9,500-square-foot store next month, he footed a $5 million bill. The original store in Lafayette, Louisiana, cost $3 million, he said.
“Itap a lot of marbles and woods and bricks,” he said of the Denver store, which will have a 3,000-square-foot retail section. “And all the wood is old reclaimed wood from here in Denver, where they tore down old houses and kept big beams. Some of them are even railroad beams.”
Curry went to the University of Louisiana originally to become a financial adviser, which he cut short to join the U.S. Army shortly before 9/11. But the man who was “always into sneakers” later left the military and went back to school, picking up a job at national shoe seller Finish Line.
After seeing his Finish Line store hit $1 million in revenue within its first year, Curry thought the Louisiana market could use a more boutique seller. He opened the first Sneaker Politics in 2006, right as sneaker culture blew up.
“I put everything I had into this one store and we went from selling 24 pairs to having kids camping out for three days in front of the store” for big collaborations, he said. “It became this whole other industry.”
In the past five years, Curry said sales have grown 5% annually. Though he didn’t disclose specific numbers, he said business has never shrunk in any of its 20 years, although growth has been slower the past couple of years. He attributes that mainly to macroeconomic challenges causing people to hold onto their money tighter.
On the shoe side of things, there’s been a trend toward chunkier “Dad shoes” like Asics. There’s also been a wider variety of brands like Saucony and Salomon alongside the titans.
“Three years ago, it would’ve been Jordans all day,” he said of Politics’ best sellers. “And they still are king, but the market is more broad now.”
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