The producer talks about how he’s elevating his partnership with Snipes through a new store.
DJ Khaled is not your average sneaker executive. Aside from the sneaker business being another side hustle for the mogul and Grammy Award-winning hip-hop producer and artist, he also is choosing a unique location to set up shop and merge his different businesses.
Snipes is opening a first-of-its-kind storefront with Khaled, who was named Chief Creative Officer of the company in 2019, that will include features like his personal office, a working recording studio that consumers will be free to use, and a hub for We The Best product collabs and restocks.
Located in Khaled’s hometown of Miami, the We The Best x Snipes store will showcase a shopping experience through the lens of the artist across the location’s 6,000+ square feet.
“It took us about five years to get to where we are today because of how special this location was,” said Khaled, who personally scouted where the storefront would be built before 2020.
The hip-hop producer says he drove through a hurricane on South Beach until he found the right storefront around 2018.
“The building had a shape that felt like a star, the superstar of the street,” he recalled. “It was a superstar and you know I know a superstar when I see one because I’ve worked with many of them.”
Snipes CEO Sven Voth remembers facetiming with Khaled while the producer was standing in the midst of the hurricane to show the exec the potential space. Voth says the We The Best x Snipes store doubles down on the company’s presence outside of its normal retail doors.
“I always say we are an entertainment-driven event company with a little bit of retail,” said Sven Voth, Snipes CEO. “We wanted to create a hangout space for the community, so we want to give something to the community. And it’s, not focused on retail, it’s a lot more than that.”
Through the years, Snipe’s presence has energized communities within sports and music with events such as the New York Liberty’s season opener this year with exclusive merch and artwork, a skatepark and VIP stage at Rolling Loud in Miami in 2022, and being the main partner for Made in America in 2019 with co-branded merch.
Of course, special We The Best x Jordan Brand restocks are lined up for the store’s grand opening.
Collabs such as the We The Best x Air Jordan 5 “Crimson Bliss” and We The Best Air Jordan 5 “Sail” are confirmed to be available exclusively at the store as a restock and other special drops are planned throughout the rest of the year at the store. Snipes declined to mention further specifics, but Khaled is keen on hyping up what’s in store.
“We’re going to pull up with some things,” Khaled said. “I want to be able to get some of the fans out there with, so expect a lot of sneaker surprises, but also prizes in general.”
However, you may not only need to be in Miami for the We The Best x Snipes retail experience in the near future. The retailer says they are already exploring repeating the concept in other locations across the world. Until then, the We The Best x Snipes store opens to the public in Miami today.
