👉 Background: Sneakerboy is a luxury retailer selling suuuper high-end footwear. We're talkin' Alexander McQueen, Golden Goose and (ofc) Balenci-ussys. It launched in 2013 and has stores in Sydney and Melbourne 👟.

👉 What happened: There have been some red flags around Sneakerboy for a little while now... They were locked out of one of their stores thanks to a rental dispute, Adidas took them to court in 2021, and their IG comments are full of customer complaints 🚩.

👉 What else: Now, administrators have been appointed to Sneakerboy and its parent company Luxury Retail Group. Why? Well, it really ain't the best time to be a discretionary retailer right now.

What's the key learning?

💡Discretionary retailers are companies that sell goods or services that are considered non-essential by consumers... But they’re pretty desirable in the good times.

💡 Sneakerboy is the epitome of discretionary retail, 'cos noone really needs a pair of shoes that are worth a month's rent. It's the opposite of a non-discretionary retailer like a supermarket ('cos everyone needs to eat).

💡Discretionary retailers generally only make sales after consumers have spent money on their basic needs. In fact, discretionary spending dropped 10% in May, so it's no surprise that many retailers in this category are feeling the pinch.

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