Daily Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Independent Retailers Reveal Their Must-Have Sneakers For Spring 2016

From Bait to Renarts, find out which kicks these independent retails are the most excited about for spring.

By Peter Verry

Peter Verry

Senior News and Features Editor, Athletic and Outdoor

PeterVerry

More stories by Peter

Set Free Richardson on How His Star-Studded Documentary Celebrates 200 Years of Clarks Originals

Notre Dame Will Wear Gold Under Armour Cleats During the College Football Championship — and You Can Buy a Pair Soon

Unrivaled Opportunity: How Under Armour, Skechers and More Sneaker Brands Can Capitalize on the Women’s Basketball Movement

November 20, 2015 10:35 am

We asked five top independent retailers what sneakers they are most excited about for spring. What did they choose? Read on.

Peng Cheng
Owner, Bait
California, Oregon & Washington
“There are some [collaborations] we’re working on, but I am also excited about the Adidas Tubular Doom. That shoe is the direction the alternative-lifestyle sneaker look is going in, and it’s the perfect execution of it — it’s high-end, the next evolution of the so-called Y-3 trend.”

Omar Quiambao
Co-Owner, Commonwealth
Washington, D.C. & Virginia Beach, Va.
“The shoe I’m looking forward to is a collaboration between Japan’s White Mountaineering and Adidas Originals. One of the shoes they chose was an Energy Boost. It’s low-key on the branding side, but stands out because it’s all-navy leather — and they bound the edges of each panel with white. It gives off a futuristic, military, robotic feel, like the ‘Gundam’ comics from Japan.”

Watch on FN

Lester Wasserman
Owner, West NYC
New York, N.Y.
“Adidas Stan Smith. Even though we sold a ton of them this year, I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface. Any of the classic white Stan Smith shoes [are on fire]. [It helped that] there weren’t enough in the marketplace this year. Hopefully, it doesn’t overcorrect and there’s a zillion of them out this coming year, but I think Stan Smith is going to be an essential must-have.”

Affordable Celebrity Shoes — Adidas Stan Smith sneakers, $75.Courtesy of Nordstrom.

Ankur Amin
Co-Owner, Renarts
East Northport, N.Y.
“The Jordan Poster Collection looks pretty good, especially the Air Jordan 2 and the Air Jordan 12 Poster. The collection is all about the Jordan OGs and the new color-ups. The Air Jordan 12 is the standout in the Poster collection — it’s an all-black leather shoe. The line is probably the bulkiest collection from the Jordan brand that I’ve seen so far.”

Chase Ceparano
Co-Owner, Rise
Huntington, N.Y.
“Puma’s Ignite platform so far hasn’t really made its way in front of the consumer, but it certainly will. The brand has a bunch of executions happening with that collection, whether it’s performance product for the likes of a Usain Bolt or lifestyle executions that are happening with that technology. It’s all good stuff from what I’ve seen.”