New Zealand is a small but beautiful country. From the geographical landscape to the overall lifestyle, New Zealand is the perfect place for wearing sneakers, especially the sporty type. Its small size makes it a great place for people to build tight-knit communities and bond together over similar interests.
These reasons alone make New Zealand the perfect place for sneakerheads. Not only is it a great location to get in touch with other sneaker enthusiasts, but the close-knit nature of the country also gives streetwear brands a lot of opportunities to grow quickly.
Understanding New Zealand’s lifestyle
Work-life balance is one of the most defining characteristics of New Zealand. Money, while important, isn’t the be-all-end-all goal. Instead, a lot of importance is placed on spending quality time with yourself and the people you love. New Zealand puts a lot of effort and thought into making everyone’s lives convenient, nice, and easy.
In fact, according to HSBC’s 2017 Expat Explorer survey, New Zealand came sixth in the world when it came to a good work-life balance. Moreover, the city of Auckland was also ranked as the third best city in the world for quality of life.
“New Zealand’s natural environment and subtropical climate, stable political and social environment, and good medical and health services are the top three contributing factors for Auckland retaining third spot in the global rankings.”
Apart from the great work-life balance and leisure lifestyle, New Zealand is also known for its gorgeous scenic outdoor beauty. There are plenty of great views and places to visit to take your breath away.
This environment sets up a country that is full of active hikers and outdoor lovers. These factors alone play a huge part in how the apparel and sneaker culture are in the country. And with streetwear taking over athleisure, it comes as no surprise that more people in New Zealand are beginning to take to the charm of the culture.
New Zealand’s sneaker culture
As mentioned earlier, the small population coupled with the leisure lifestyle makes New Zealand a great country for the sneaker market, and in turn a great community for sneakerheads. Whether it’s walking, hiking, or strolling outside, there is no denying that New Zealanders love their sneakers.
The love for sporty, outdoorsy sneakers is even more popular, which is why brands like New Balance seem to do so well there. In fact, when the release of New Balance 574S back in 2017, an insurmountable amount of people came out for the event, with massive lines awaiting to grab their hands on the latest drops.
This was proof alone that with the right excitement around a sneaker, the community comes together and pulls up. According to Dan Tupara, a collector from New Zealand, the sneaker community has been growing and changed quite a lot over the last few years.
“We’ve seen a lot more variation in people’s ages and backgrounds participating in the New Zealand sneaker scene. The conversations have changed and the number of those taking part in it and coming to our events has grown.”
The future of streetwear and sneaker in New Zealand
New Zealand is a hyper-localized market with a tight-knit community of footwear lovers. When one brand gains popularity in the NZ community, it is bound to blow up across the nation, which is what makes the market extra interesting to invest in. New Zealand’s beautiful living conditions pave the way for a small, yet devoted group of sneakerheads.
Brands like New Balance and Nike are some of the more favoured brands, as they have offerings that are specifically befitting the New Zealand outdoor lifestyle. With the culture of streetwear growing more and more, it’s only time until New Zealand catches onto the waves of hype. Although it may not be as big as other countries like Japan and Australia, there is definitely a lot of potential in the New Zealand sneaker market to come.
