Peter Hajducek (standing) at the opening of the Budapest store.
Footshop says it aims to bring a new flavor of urban culture with its shop at Kristóf tér. The core idea of the company was developed by Hajducek in 2011, as a part of his university thesis. Starting with only a single employee and merely 50 pairs of shoes, the company now has stores in Prague and Bratislava as well as Budapest.
“I had a personal connection with Hungary ever since I bought my first pair of sneakers there when I was ten years old,” Hajducek told the BBJ when asked why he was opening a Budapest store.
“Otherwise, it was also a logical business step for Footshop as a company. After the opening of our second brick and mortar store in Bratislava, we saw a big opportunity in bringing not just new premium sneakers but also the Footshop spirit to Budapest and create a new striving, striking sneaker community.”
The breakthrough moment for Footshop came in 2015, when it joined the Adidas Consortium, which opened the door to selling limited edition Adidas shoes, thus attracting collectors.
In order to promote the artistic development of the sneaker and streetwear subculture in Budapest, Footshop says it is planning to maintain a permanent exhibition area in the store. For the opening, there were two exhibitions, one featuring a collaboration of Footshop and Dent Kicks Custom, the other being Rok’s Kicks on Canvas selection.
Creating a Hub
What are the expectations for the store, and might more follow elsewhere in Hungary?
“First of all, we would like to create a hub/space/shop where people can find more than a perfect retail experience but also where they can have fun, learn how to dance or go to an art exhibition,” Hajducek explained.
“We are an online retailer in the first place, which allows us to be an international store with 11 language mutations. Our brick and mortar stores are more about the culture we would like to spread around us with every new Footshop store opening. We for sure are planning to open new stores however we always aim for new markets.”
Apart from the exhibitions, the Downtown store will also feature rare collections, including Kanye West’s Yeezy pieces, Pharrel Williams’ Human Race collections, and shoes from Sean Witherspoon. Footshop is also planning to release its own line of shoes this year.
Aside from designer collections, the shop is also planning to offer classic well-known brands in order to satisfy clientele looking for more conventional streetwear brands, like Converse, Kangaroos, or Vans.
During the Budapest Central European Fashion Week 2018, the brand will present a collection designed in collaboration with LAFORMELA.
