Charissa Ashley of Warped on Singapore’s Sneaker Scene, the Current State of Consignment Sneaker Shops, and More

Singapore based Warped is considered one of the greatest consignment sneaker shops in the world. The store carries everything from dead stock Vans to SB boxes with a terra hue. While the world’s top sneaker stores come and go Warped has built a foundation that’s as solid as sneakers made out of Tuff material. We sat down with the store’s owner to learn about their history, her opinion on Sneaker Consignment Shops, Singapore’s sneaker scene, and more.

EU Kicks: Your motto is “Just your average sneaker store, only crazier.” In what ways are you guys crazier?

Charissa Ashley: Walking into the store is just overwhelming with the vast number of shoes we have on display. It’s not just the quantity, we have quality as well, everything from orange box SBs, decade-old Pumps right up to Kobe Bryant Aston Martins.

EU Kicks: When did you know you wanted to open a sneaker shop?

Charissa Ashley: Singapore's really small, so when sneaker collecting started to penetrate into our shores, it saw only a big handful of enthusiasts. But this was only up until few years ago when we discovered that this community of sneaker addicts was in actual fact growing and was very widely educated on what goes on in the sneaker scene. But, I would say what attributed greatly to this was the opening of premium sneaker boutique called Limited Edt. It created a visual avenue for sneaker enthusiasts to feed their addictive hobby. What made it better was that Limited Edt fed these people with some dope drops. People queued up for days for the Tiffs. They would use forums as a means of sharing with fellow fiends their latest cops, what they're wearing, etc. It was inevitable that buying, selling and trading would catch up with the increasing numbers in the community. So one day we thought, “hey, why not open a sneaker consignment store to make it easier for sellers and buyers!?” It would also bring about more awareness among the general public, educate, and influence.

EU Kicks: How does it feel to be one of a few elite sneaker stores in Singapore and be among the top shops in the world?

Charissa Ashley: Psyched! But on a serious note, there can only be so many sneaker stores in a tiny country like ours, so the competition isn't tough. But when DIME contacted us and said we're ranked third in their Top 5 Sneaker Consignment Stores in the World list, we were ecstatic. I mean, we were up against the big dogs that’ve been in the industry for a long time. Really, this [very] proved that the sneaker scene here is pretty amazing, for example, my boy friend has a collection of about 500 pairs and counting.

EU Kicks: You guys have a large amount of dead stock kicks on consignment; many people dislike the idea of consignment shops because they resell sneakers at such high prices. What do you think of this criticism?

Charissa Ashley: Well, honestly I think they're the people who don’t really know much about the sneaker scene in the first place. There's far more to sneakers than being just mere shoes you buy to wear, or shoes that are limited editions or collaborations and what not. Much of the game has got a lot to do with economics and other factors like the different markets. Low supply + high demand=high price. It's really what keeps the whole thing going, if you ask me. If every limited edition or collaboration pair is so easily attainable and pretty affordable without one having to cut back on all the late nights or survive on bread and water, they will soon lose their novelty and every kid on the block will be wearing something limited edition or collaboration this and that.

Consignment stores and retail stores are very different. Consignment stores are where you might be able to find those Space Jams that you couldn't get to queue for. But because of all that hype and effort that went in getting that pair, you can’t expect to pay retail right? Man, it can’t be that easy. (Laughs) Think about it, reselling has been around for years. How much have you seen a pair of Michael Jackson concert tickets go for on eBay? It’s similar for sneakers. Sneaker consignment stores are just avenues for buyers to look for those Yeezys conveniently, to check the shoes thoroughly, to try them on, and also for sellers to sell their UNDFTD Superstars.

I don’t deny that prices aren’t cheap. There's really a price to pay for wanting to get your hands on that 500 pair worldwide release, right. Sneaker consignment stores are a convenient and tangible means for getting what sneaker fiends want. BUT! This doesn’t mean we can abuse our status. A lot of people assume that we allow resellers to jack up the prices simply because we can. That’s not true. Prices have to coincide with that market rate. That’s how it should be.

EU Kicks: What about people who say it feeds into a lot of hype and makes a lane for people who simply want to resell sneakers?

Charissa Ashley: Unfortunately, I agree to that, but you know, it takes all sorts to make the world and we can’t stop people from all that hustling. It’s a vicious system, if you will. It’s not a perfect industry where people consign their kicks purely because they're given up their collection/hobby or something, they're in it either 'for love or money.’ (Laughs)

EU Kicks: I would imagine that not many people come in daily wanting to drop $600 on the Lucky 7s, or Dunkles, How often do you guys sell a dead stock sneaker?

Charissa Ashley: Thing is, surviving solely on consignment won’t generate much revenue, so we get general releases to cater to the mainstream market as well. We wanted to not just target the niche but to also appease the masses. This way, it doesn’t make our store uninviting. We also have an account with Vans. On the consignment side of things, I have to say we've been pretty lucky in that we're the only sneaker consignment store here and one of the better ones in this region. It keeps us in the “to go to” lists for sneaker enthusiasts from around the world. We also have our online store and it makes it a whole lot more convenient for everyone. At the same time, we get our shoes moving off the shelves.

EU Kicks: There have been stories of other shops mistakenly selling fakes, how do you guys go about making sure all of the sneakers you sell are legit, and is it difficult?

Charissa Ashley: We make it a point to do a lot of research in this area especially for widely counterfeited models. Every time we go overseas, we check out areas where they sell fake shoes and scrutinize every detail. Each pair consigned to the store is checked to ensure authenticity. When you look at shoes every day, you're taking in all the details and soon, you'll be able to distinguish fake from real. My staff is also slowly trained to observe what people wear because this helps them in their learning.

EU Kicks: What’s next for the store?

Charissa Ashley: I would love to do a collab!