|||-------RIP Goodfoot 2003-2010 / Goodfoot Appreciation Post-------|||

When I first heard about this, I thought it was a practical joke. Never did I think Goodfoot would close its doors.

I don't care what anyone says, Goodfoot = Toronto sneaker culture.

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I'd be willing to surmise that they folded due in part to the economy (can't buy kicks when you don't have/lost your job) along with the fact they might have expanded to too many locations ? Rent could not have been cheap for those other locations...
 
I never went by gdft much either...but every time I did there was something to remember...such as Matt throwing in a "special forces" t shirt in when I cop'd some dunks back in '03...or re-meeting Ace when I picked up a stash of 2001 retro's gdft had for sale few xmas ago...he even put a hold for other pairs that I couldn't purchase that day (try that now with a pair of 09 AJ11 SJ at FL
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the prices weren't outlet...but the quality was there...and it wasn't r@pe

my last purchase there was the neon AM95 from '08...should've went down when they had the SB sale 2 wks ago
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so where's Q now these days? holla
 
Originally Posted by jbv1

I'd be willing to surmise that they folded due in part to the economy (can't buy kicks when you don't have/lost your job) along with the fact they might have expanded to too many locations ? Rent could not have been cheap for those other locations...
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both seem likely - especially considering the high rent on Bay at the yorkville location. 
also, anyone think this could have anything to do with the success of the ransom x adidas collaboration? I am pretty sure it is turning into a full line rather than just a one off or once in a while collab? I see a potential conflict with selling nikes among other brands - directly competing with yourself is bad business. Just a thought....
 
I believe the demise of gdft was a combination of things with downward economy being the obvious.  But let's face it, collecting sneakers is played out.  It used to be underground like zoo york before ashton kutcher rocked it and before zellers sold it.  Disagree with me all you want, but take a look around the sneaker scene from around 2005-2006.  I go to Hong Kong annually for business, and HK is notorious for being on the cutting edge of trends.  The "sneaker street" there is dead.  They sell nothing but GR's and is no different from a north american FL.  Japan? Same thing.  The passion is gone in the land of the rising sun.  In fact, they can't even find passion in their other subcultures like tuner cars.  Old names like GReddy/Trust is out of business, let alone a piece of overpriced degraded piece of plastic.  The only reason why places like FCNY stays in business is because exchange rates for foreign customers and their selection of shoes favor them.  In US, people make comparable income to canadians yet a pair of varsity red VI's will cost only $160USD whereas here it'll cost you $220CDN.  Factor in conversion and taxes, it is still cheaper south of the border

Nowadays any joe schmoe can "collect" sneakers, just look at my other post on that w@nkster collector featured in the toronto star article.  Kids do it because Wales told 'em to get the copper foams.  When the new iPod nano comes out, nobody cares about sneakers anymore.  It is a commodity rather than a passionate art.  In fact it is so much a commodity that JB survives nowadays by being a caricature of its former self. 

And ask yourself, how many pairs of AJ11 concords or AM90's infrared do you really need?  Once a colorway has been retro'ed, the customers are satisfied.  People might post "I'll cop 5x", but in reality nobody does that - its called being practical.  (OK I buy doubles sometimes, but not 5+)  Once hypebeasts and resellers realize that nobody wants their TB3's and 09 SJ11's because everyone is hanging on to them for same resale reasons, they won't be stupid enough to cop multiples in future hyped up releases.  Consumers are stingy and won't get bit by the same marketing stunt twice.  Only couple brands in the world can treat their customers like $%%! and the customers still line up to cop their products
, one is Louis Vuitton and the other is Ferrari.  That is because their products are top notch, and JB aint nothing but some cheap fabric glued together in china. 

Forgive me for ranting, and I don't intend to start a flame war but that's just the cold harsh truth about sneaker culture as it stands in 2010.

Soon there will be ProLine betting on which sneaker boutique closes next in the good old T Dot.  Livestock? Stolen Riches? Solestop (which I've yet to see opened during their posted business hours)? 
 
jumpmantwo3: bitter/disillusioned much? j/k but seriously good post.

Not a rant IMO but truth. Brought to light & mind a lot of what is going down.

The shoe scene has been played out for a while now but like everything under the sun it's been done. People get bored. Collecting shoes? Done that. Next.

The death of sneaker culture was when it became mainstream.

For myself I "collected" shoes before it was even fashionable to an extent but that's just me.

Hopefully local stores can find that equilibrium between charging their boutique prices/turning a profit/staying solvent enough to keep Toronto in the sneaker culture.

Otherwise if all the other remaining stores shuttter their doors & close up shop local NTers & shoeheads will have to revert to online sales/cross border shopping. Which most do I'm sure anyways.
 
jay z said it the best..."On to the Next One"

I started collecting around '98...so when I rocked the IV cements ppl in their and1 tochillin slip on's were like *+% are those?! it doesn't happen anymore

jbv1...am I bitter? yeah...bitter the fact that my hobby (as well as yours and others on this forum) has gone down the drain...anyway ppl like us will be here...need some old heat? got anything for trade/sell...holla
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I bailed on sneakers a long time ago. I remember the monthly SB releases and how nuts they were. I never bought a pair form GDFT, as I refuse to line up for coffee, let alone shoes. My wife got me the Kickshawaii dunks at GDFT, and they're the only DS sneakers I can't bring myself to sell on.

I suspect there is a restructuring going on. I don't know these guys, but they must have a pretty decent knowledge of where to go with their business and they're success over the last seven years isn't due to fluke or luck.
 
I remember my first visit back in 2003 - met Matt for the first time on the front steps - shot the *#+% like we knew each other for years - brought a little bit of Philly to TO - remember the Jedis (no line) and Unkle (long line) releases 0 many shirts - shoes - memories - will miss this spot.
 
goodfoot was always a spot i had to stop in to cop a pair of shoes, or just a tee anytime i visited toronto. It will be missed for sure.
 
Originally Posted by ali23

I remember my first visit back in 2003 - met Matt for the first time on the front steps - shot the *#+% like we knew each other for years - brought a little bit of Philly to TO - remember the Jedis (no line) and Unkle (long line) releases 0 many shirts - shoes - memories - will miss this spot.
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This is the kind of thing I like to hear about. I'm older and have always loved shoes, but didn't get into the whole collecting/buying way more pairs than you need thing until right around when the Tiffany's dropped....just after actually. I think they still had a pair or two in the case my first time in.

It's cool hearing about how there was no line back then for Jedi's. Also like to hear about what it was like for drops like the Unkles, Heinekens, and Tiifanys. I believe all of those had substantial lines at G'?

Thinking back, I can still remembering pairs of Stussy's, De La High's, Avengers, etc. sitting on the shelf even after they dropped.

My first pair of shoes I bought from Goodfoot were the Lunar SB's. The Hawaii's were in the case dropping the following Saturday and I wanted them BAD. I was away on the weekend and came in Monday but they were sold out much to my disappointment. Remember camping for the first drop of the Day of the Dead's too...waited all night, was about 18th in line.There must have been 60+ when the store opened in the morning.

Anyways, just some random reminiscing...sad to see G' gone.
 
nike's lack of hot sb releases must be a factor too. there used to be campers lining up for releases such as the tiff's, unkles, rayguns too, i assume? we don't have any releases like that anymore. that was probably a big chunk of their business taken away.
 
jumpmantwo3 very good post.

SBs were never really my thing as opposed to Jordans. I probably caught the tail end of the better part of SBs, when the avengers, stussy's and supremes were around. I wanted the PL avengers, so slick to this day. G' used to give magazines, I remember that. But couldnt afford most of that @$*, I was looking for shoes to ball in. I remember passing up on Tweeds, Shanghai IIs, and De La Lows at Perception on boxing day, only to discover that it was a hidden little spot. I just couldn't get around to wearing that yellow hollowgram material lol. And to this day, I'd probably wouldn't either. Too bad they closed down after young kids ransacked their LRG line consistently when the dudes in store were bltized lol.

I mean any true basketball player, and in my case growing up in with older cousins who played religiously (whether it be Fil-Can or Fil-Act) or worked at Athlete's in its prime, acknowledged that clever concept that JB instilled: style, uniqueness, alliance with the GOAT. Buying Js was closest thing to being Like Mike if you will. Kinda like, how people are on Twitter following their favourite celebrities per se. Hung's collection at Da Zone on display like that, just wow.

Biggest turn off for me was when I finally gotten around to a steady job and buying recent Js for myself only to realize paint cracking, the GRs had so many slight errors. I was expecting amazing quality for the asking price. I felt like I was paying for crap after I bought a few pairs. I felt cheated as a fan, corny as it sounds. I refuse to buy any Js now since the market has become so saturated. Meh, my 0.02.
 
^good one.  I forgot the magazines they used to give out when you cop'd something.  That was sick.  And hung's collection at DaZone....speechless

and Fil-Can/Fil-Act...I was there in the late 90's - early 2000's
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Meetups with the OG NT Crew, when many couldn't find the store since there were no signs.





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RIP Goodfoot
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I will retire my GF x New ERA and I’m going to keep my Goodfoot x Vancouver grand opening T

Bought my Grapes for 170 a month after they came out there
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