We will be buying designer shoes, clothing, accessories from the following brands: Chrome Hearts, Dior, Rick Owens, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Kapital, Gallery Dept, Balenciaga, Saint Michael, Celine, Godard, Moncler, Casablanca, Denim Tears, Prada, Spider Worldwide, Gucci, Vertebrae, Bode, Raf Simons, Acne Studios, Hermes, Who Decides War, Hood By Air, Marginal, Lanvin, Mackage, Canada Goose, Supreme, Bape, Air Jordan, Nike SB and more!
Our hours of operation are: Monday through Saturday: 12:00pm-7:30pm. Come check us out and sell us your products!
]]>So this past week I saw a friend feature a pair of Sugar Ray Allen Jordan 8’s on his Instagram story. I quickly replied to him, “Where they do that at.” I figured they weren’t for sale and was just joking around, however after he replied back inquiring if I wanted to buy them, I knew I had to have them; especially considering they were in my size 11 and extremely rare 1/24 pairs released.
You really cannot make this up. I am going to digress for a short while but we will get right back to the point here… So, I find that when you are looking for something it will reveal itself one way or another.
For example, I remember looking for kid robot air maxes for months before finding a crumbling pair on Grailed and when messaging the seller and striking a long valuable conversation I had identified he had the hyperstrike pair along with a lot of other rare shoes: what the dunks, Michael Lau SB’s (hyperstrike pair) along with many other pairs. Long story short I purchased everything from him.
To further substantiate my point, I was looking for undefeated 4’s for many years. While I was at Sneaker Con Atlanta in September of 2022 I stumbled upon a pair of these and knew I had to have them. I had offered the owner 3 pairs reverse skunk dunk highs plus $2500 for one pair of the 4’s and the deal was done. Less than 6 months later by leveraging other pairs in my cache, I had another paid of undefeated 4’s.
Another example, I had bought a pair of What the dunks for $4000 locally and later at Sneaker Con Atlanta I found another pair for $4000 and then I purchased another pair for $2500. I swear these pairs all come in 3’s!!
Last example, Ueno Sakura Air Force 1’s I had purchased a used size 11, then shortly there after I had purchased a Brand new size 11, and then bought a size 9, which was then traded to my buddy Abdul for a size 8. 4 pairs of crazy rare Air Force 1’s!!!
These Sugar Ray Allen 8’s need some TLC!! They need a full sole swap, repaint, as well as the repair of the rubber tabs on the medial and lateral sides of the shoe. I plan on wearing them and keeping them in the collection as a pair like this is very unlikely to reveal itself again.
In closing I will leave you with this thought: not everything should be for sale! You always have to consider if you sell something what are the odds of the shoe being replaced. Recently I sold both of my undefeated 4’s as I needed the capital to purchase my home and now I’m kicking myself and hoping I can get the 10.5 back from the seller I sold them to by giving him a trade offer he cannot refuse.
-The Sole Broker
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I wanted to share this photo and story with my following because it’s surreal to own 2 pairs of these because when I first started I didn’t have the means, knowledge, or connections to acquire samples or very limited shoes.
I remember going to sneakercon at the Javitz Center, in Manhattan in 2014 and seeing pairs such as the eminem carhartt Air Jordan 4’s and thinking to myself it would be too risky to buy a big ticket shoe considering I didn’t have any clients for it.
I would always buy good shoes/heat but never anything more expensive than a Air Yeezy 2 Red October; which in 2014, went for $3500-$4200. After years of reselling and building a book of business, I slowly started to get into more expensive pairs. It’s really about doing your research, going outside your comfort zone and buying new items.
Many resellers fall into the trap of buying whatever is hype. However, they fail to realize each person has their own taste and style with regard to sneakers. Although, it does makes sense from a business perspective to buy what’s hot so your product turns over quicker (profit over time/time value of money.)
The reason I am at this juncture today is because I lived up to the name of the store/s: thesolebroker, thesolebrokerbk I’m blessed to do something I love and have a great team around me. Still hunting for the next grail!
Here are a few takeaways for the upcoming resellers and new generation: #1: Continue working on your craft daily and be consistent. Persistence is key! I have had deals that took 6 months to negotiate, but that deal turned into a 2nd pair of Undefeated 4’s! Never give up on any goals you set for yourself. A loss is not an L, it’s a learning experience. Never be complacent! #2 Don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone/take risks: learning is imperative to growth in anything. #3 Customer service service is key in any business. I would suggest thinking outside the box and not only selling to consumers, but becoming a broker and provide concierge to your clients. #4 Never underestimate the power of a trade!
-The Sole Broker
]]>JLooking back on our 19 months of operation at this location, I wanted to first and foremost thank all of our customers for their support. The relationships fostered during this time were invaluable to me.
The brick and mortar business failed due to the following reasons: expenses were too high (primarily rent), the conversion of prospective walk ins to buying customers was not sufficient enough, and the bottom line was despite all of our efforts to contain expenses and make change operationally to contain costs the business did not generate enough income to cover all expenses.
Furthermore, I personally went through some health issues which rendered me incapable of being involved working on the business which hurt the business tremendously.
Looking back on the journey with the business, I have no regrets. It was a learning experience for me as through the failure I have learned a lot. Some of the key takeaways are as follows: regardless of your projections based on analytics such as: sales, foot traffic, and overall analysis of an area always be sure to be conservative.
What I mean by this is prior to signing any lease for the aforementioned property I believe I did my due diligence however in retrospect, I could have done a better job. I could have leased a space half the size and took more time to identify a space which was a great value and much cheaper monthly which would have given the business a leg up. However, I was sold on the idea of being across the street from major streetwear brand Supreme. I was under the impression that customers from Supreme would come across the street to shop at our store. This was a major mistake because the fact is many customers who went to Supreme did not cross the street to come to our store. As far as sales we did well, much more sales volume than our Staten Island store, but the expenses were overwhelming.
It was so difficult making the business profitable considering the rent was $7000 per month. We had to work our tails off just to profit enough to cover the rent let alone other expenses: employees, insurance, taxes, accounting, miscellaneous expenses, etc.
We are currently still operating the business through our Staten Island store front located at: 2110 Richmond Road, Staten Island, New York, 10306.
The reason I am writing this blog is for aspiring entrepreneurs. I am being transparent with all of you sharing my successes and failures alike. It’s inherent when starting any prospective business that failure is a possibility.
As of right now, I have no plans on opening another store at the moment as I have to focus on my current operating both businesses (Staten Island location and the Brooklyn business even though we have no store front.)
My long term goal is to identify a mixed use building (commercial unit on ground level and residential units on second and third floors,) and do my due diligence to ensure the deal makes sense from a financial perspective and then purchase the building and operate my store out of the ground level and rent the residential units to cover the rest of the mortgage note and put a couple bucks in my pocket.
While I was going through my health issues, I took a Real Estate course through the Staten Island Board of Realtors (SIBOR) to keep my mind off of what I was going through and stay mentally sharp. I passed the exam despite all the issues I was going through and later passed the state licensure exam.
For the past 3-4 years I wanted to get into real estate and learn more about the field. What better way to learn about an industry by getting involved in it. Shortly I will be working part-time with a Real Estate Brokerage which my parents referred me to and learn all the ins and outs of real estate and eventually accomplish my personal, professional, and business goals.
In closing I wanted to leave you all with the following words of advice: Despite adversity and challenges you experience in your life do not let that stop you from achieving your goals. Just because you fail that doesn’t mean that life should stop. It’s ok to take a break, step aside for a minute, and analyze what happened before you start your next venture.
Hopefully soon I will start our YouTube channel back up along with perhaps a podcast.
Thank you all for your continued support.
-The Sole Broker
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Tonight, I would like to formally announce we are looking to open our next shop in Manhattan, NY by the end of this year, 2021. We are currently looking at a few locations, however I cannot divulge the exact area/location as of yet.
This store will be our flagship store, and will be all you can expect from a great sneaker and clothing boutique. The aesthetic will remain quite similar to the two other stores we have, however we are looking to add a few different design elements to make the store a bit more different than our other shops.
We are also going to be doing a few key changes with regard to our business processes/consignment process which I cannot yet speak on, however, it will be a major game changer and a big reason to to business with us and consign with us!
Our goal is to be the pre-eminent sneaker store in NYC; we know we have big shoes to fill considering there are many beautiful stores and boutiques in NYC, but we are adamant about getting there.
I want to thank our friends, family, and loyal customers; without you unwavering support we wouldn't have this opportunity. It is crazy to witness the growth of this business. Looking back on opening our first store in Staten Island, NY in May of 2019 and now we are embarking on our next journey of opening up our Third store in NYC; it is very surreal...
We will provide more updates as we can to keep you all informed. We are very excited and looking forward to the next chapter of our journey!
Please follow the stores page on IG: thesolebrokernyc
Best Regards,
Andrew
The Sole Broker
]]>As our two year anniversary approaches this May, I look back on my path of opening two stores and everything in between. The COVID-19 pandemic has given me perspective on what it actually takes to run two businesses as well as the importance of being able to pivot when the going gets tough in order to survive.
I have changed so many processes recently out of necessity in order to survive within this economic climate. I have been forced to lower my margins in order to turn over product more quickly which is something I never fathomed doing. Furthermore, I find myself resorting back to old ways of conducting business because out of the box thinking was needed to generate business.
Prior to owning a store, I used to source my inventory on: Craigslist, Instagram, Facebook Groups, and Facebook Marketplace, as well as other resources. I have found that being a store owner has spoiled me with regard to intake of product. When you own a store, most of your product walks right into the shop. Now however, due to COVID, I am now finding myself going back to my old ways of sourcing product/s. It has been slow, but I have been getting some pretty decent deals...
I have realized I lost touch with how I used to do things. Perhaps it's me making excuses, but I think a lot of it has to do with me being so inundated with the day to day operations of the business. I am realizing it is of utmost importance for me to get back to the way I used to do things.
In the past, I was the "go to" guy for many of my clients as I got my hands on all of the rare and most sought after sneakers; I need to get back to this... In this industry, we know everyone is looking for the latest and greatest items to release; and if your store doesn't have those items, the people will not come. The old saying goes, "If you build it they will come." However, in this industry I feel that is not sufficient. I need to provide an experience for my customer base and differentiate my store from all of the other stores out there as countless new shops are popping up as the sneaker market continues to grow at a rapid pace.
I find myself consuming a lot of content to provide insight on ways to differentiate myself from the droves of stores out there and elevate my business. I was recently listening to a Complex podcast in which hosts: Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne and Matt Welty talk with David Ortiz Co-Founder of sneaker boutique Dave's Quality Meats about his store, sneaker culture, and his Air Max 90 "Bacon" release. I love these sort of conversations, as the hosts take a retrospective look on the sneaker community during the early 2000's. Back during those times, the sneaker community wasn't as large as it was now and many things were certainly different. However, certain things remain constant such as premier stores having certain elements of design and style which set themselves apart from the dull and boring sneaker stores out there.
During the interview, Dave was speaking about the motif of his store, and how it was modeled in the likeness of a butcher shop. I think about the store design, and I would say it is certainly attention grabbing. The store boasted: faux-meat hanging from hooks in the store front window, a meat fridge containing sneakers and apparel, as a wide variety of skate decks and accessories; certainly a design ahead of it's time.
Within my own shop, I try to incorporate contemporary art such as: KAWS, Ron English, Graffiti Artists, and even hang skateboard decks as wall art. I feel elements like this really set my store apart from the others which I believe are cookie-cutter in design and very derivative. I try to keep my store aesthetic clean-cut and modern. All of the sneaker and clothing displays are made with threaded black iron pipe and painted wood which makes the product really pop and looks so much better compared to the slat-board and plastic inserts many shop owners use. I am always striving to make things better within my store, and I have really fallen down the rabbit hole, as the project never really ends as the store is constantly evolving. I digress!!
I would also recommend Jeff Staples, "Business of Hype" podcast which I was binging prior to and during the pandemic. I recently found myself messaging Jeff on Instagram, telling him I am a huge fan and avid listener of his podcast, and even inquired about being a guest on the podcast. However, I think I was certainly reaching as I am a newbie on the scene and have yet to earn my stripes. I had pitched him on the idea of perhaps making an episode in which up and coming entrepreneurs could share their stories as well as maybe ask questions as Jeff is certainly esteemed within the community and highly regarded as an "OG." However, In retrospect I think my approach was too salesman like and I was left on "Seen." Maybe one day my dream will become a reality; who knows!
I respect being left on seen as Jeff wants to uphold the prestige of his platform and I consider myself a nobody compared to the great creatives he has as guests on his podcast. I totally miss listening to his podcasts because they have provided me so much insight into what it takes to be successful. Some of my favorites he has interviewed are: Hommyo Hidefumi of Atmos, Hiroshi Fujiwara of Fragment, Errolson Hugh of Acronym, Jaysse Lopez of Urban Necessities, Jerry Lorenzo of Fear of God, Rob Christofaro and Treis Hill of Alife, Tremaine Emory of Denim Tears, and Sarah Andelman of Colette. The insight the aforesaid creatives have given me has provided wind in my sails and the fuel to keep on pursing my dreams.
My next plan is to open a store in Manhattan by 2022. I have toyed with the idea of opening a store in Manhattan since we opened our Williamsburg store across the street from Supreme in October of 2020. I currently have my eye on a few locations, however, I cannot divulge any further information as negotiations have ensued. I can say for now that the location is prime and will be our premier location. My short-term goal is to open a store in Manhattan by next year, and my long term goal is to have a Sole Broker in every borough within New York by 2025.
I know the goal is a lofty one, however, looking back on how far we have come since May of 2019; having opened two stores in a two year span I feel as if the goal is realistic and achievable.
I wanted to end with this thought: Retrospection is important, because as one moves forward in their life, they must not forget their past and what steps they took to get to where they are now.
Best,
Andrew Rosenthal
The Sole Broker
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As aforesaid, we opened our Brooklyn location on October 15, 2020. As one of the owners of the Brooklyn location, I see tremendous potential for this store as its strategic location: parallel to Manhattan, close to Long Island city and Queens, as well as being situated across the street from Supreme.
Williamsburg right now is one of the places to be in Brooklyn. The culture of the location is vibrant, young, and ever-changing. Right now without tourism, it has been tough for business owners, however locals seem to support local business which is great and many people from surrounding boroughs are still stopping by to see what’s new.
I look forward to brighter days ahead as many locals are telling me once COVID is a thing of the past the store will be thriving.
All the while this has been said, we have been doing well and continue to grow out operations. I plan on undertaking a few key renovations within the store to bring the aesthetic and experience for our customers to the next level.
Although we opened on October 15th of last year, we wanted to grow within the space we had and not over do the space right away. That said, we are now looking to add more shelving, a 20ft long clothes line, as well as a prominent counter for: buying/selling/trading/consignment.
Currently behind the sales counter there is a large amount of free wall space which we plan on placing a floor to ceiling display of shelving which we can showcase some of the rarest, and most sought after items in our shop.
As you can see I have already fabricated the shelving and now all that’s left is the installation and the addition of the shelving which is also pictured.
It is incredibly fulfilling to see the Brooklyn store growing before my own eyes. I touched on this process in our last blog post when speaking about how we grew so quickly in the Staten Island store that we had to look for another store out of necessity.
I am patiently waiting for that moment in time within our Brooklyn location. I am in no rush as there are many improvements which need to be done to bring the store up to my standards.
As aforementioned, I am also looking to add a 20ft clothes line at near ceiling height to spread out our curated collection of Supreme items. I am going for the same look as I have in the Staten Island store which is as follows:
As you can see the clothes line of the left is roughly 20ft and displays all of our higher end items perfectly.
Currently in Brooklyn we have many items and they are very bunched up close together thus not being displayed properly (if the customer cannot see the item, then how can they purchase it?)
I plan on creating a clothes line on the opposite side of the wall which will run to the rear of the store. (See photo) This video I’ll ensure we have enough space to display all of our clothing and it will be aesthetically pleasing for our customers.
Last but not least is the counter area. Currently there is a makeshift half wall between the staircase and counter.
My plans are to make a custom counter which will cover the staircase (as employees should only have access to the stairs) and to also build a bigger counter which would be more practical for buying/selling/trading/consignment.
Attached is a photo of the current counter setup in Staten Island, which has custom cabinetry which has a glass display with lighting to display some of the “grail” sneakers and items. This is the look I am going for:
Attached is a photo of the current counter in our Brooklyn store. As aforesaid, this is only temporary and we plan on replacing it with a customer counter as seen in the Staten Island store above. Please see attached photo below:
Currently the rear of the store is being used as a private office, however that will be converted soon into a private gallery for our VIP clients. See attached photo:
The back room is 10ftx20ft with a very wide rear wall which can be used to display the most exclusive rare sneakers on the market which is what I intend to use this room for; it will be the sneaker room of all sneaker rooms!
Until all of the aforementioned renovations are complete as well as the renovation and buildout of the basement I won’t consider opening another store.
That doesn’t mean I am not currently planning the opening of the next brick and mortar location of The Sole Broker!!! All I can say for now is Manhattan is the next destination for The Sole Broker.
Stay Tuned!!
Andrew and Dylan Rosenthal
Managing Partners of The Sole Broker
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It’s been 3 months now since we have opened our new Store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn located at: 147 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11249. It is very surreal as I now look back on this journey and I can say I am amazed at how much the business has grown since we opened our very first store in Staten Island located at: 2110 Richmond Road, Suite J, Staten Island, NY, 10306.
Our story is one to share as we started very small! We opened the Staten Island location May 1, 2019. It was by pure chance that we opened the first location, because if I hadn’t of done that 200 pair buyout with my client Jack my friend Alberto had introduced me to, I would have never had the opportunity to open up the very first location! It’s crazy how everything happens in this life, one thing done differently could have changed the entire narrative!
I will digress a little, because this part of the story is important. Sometime around January or February of 2019 my friend Alberto had put me onto a guy named Jack who was selling a lot of shoes and clothing (over 200 pairs of shoes and a lot of clothing.)
The first part of the deal was close to $12,000, I bought a lot of brand new Jordan 1’s as well as new Yeezy’s. I had spent every last dollar I had and told Jack I would come back in a few days and buy everything else. I bought around 68 pairs all in all.
I had bulk sold a large part of that lot to my buyer Dustin Billow for a $3000 profit (Dustin owns a store now as well called @SolePlyNJ.) A few days later I had contacted Jack and bought another 70+ pairs and a few days after that bought another 60+ pairs and a lot of clothing.
All in all I spent close to $22,000 and after we had broke bread, Jack had pitched me on the idea of opening up a store together. Which I was initially reluctant about because he wanted to partner up and I was against that, however after some negotiating he stated he would be open to subletting space to me.
I had told him I needed a few days to think about it before I gave him an answer.
A few days passed and I contacted him and asked if we could view the space to which he obliged. The space was perfect for what I intended to use it for. I spoke with Jack at length the next few weeks regarding the space as well as the terms and conditions.
Jack had initially told me I would need to cover half the rent ($1500) to which I had stated was too much for me at the time. I later told him I would be more comfortable paying half that ($750) to start to which he obliged. Jack advised me for $750 per month I would have roughly 200 square feet of space in the 800 square foot store. I was fine with this as I only needed a few shelves to display what little inventory I had at the time.
March of 2019 I started the buildout of the store. I had decided to paint the walls black to accentuate the product and really make it pop! The displays were to be crafted from 1” black pipe which was cut and threaded by my father and I and put together using a pipe vice and plumbing wrenches. Literally the entire buildout from start to finish was completed by my father, myself, and a few friends. No contractors were hired!!!
We opened May of 2019 with 2 small shoe displays and 2 clothes racks.
It was a dream come true opening up my first business. I would no longer have to do meetups unless it was for a bulk buyout, and it would allow me to have a meeting place for all of my clients as well as build a new client base. It was great exposure as well, because since I work full-time I was only able to promote my brand before and after work hours which served as a disadvantage for me. However, now since I had a brick and mortar store I would have 24/7 advertisement!!
It was certainly a change of pace, as I was working full-time and not used to having this type of overhead. The first couple of weeks money was so tight we didn’t even have a sign! We had to go the cheapest route and have a stencil done and have the sign spray painted because the traditional sign makers wanted $5000 for a sign which was totally out of our budget!!
A little bit of background about me, I am a health care professional by trade, and prior to opening up a store I used to sell shoes from home and online. I had started selling shoes on Facebook under my personal name: Andrew Rosenthal and then after sometime I had started an Instagram account. My first Instagram account was @scriptkicks and then finally after a few years my brother Dylan and I were brainstorming for a new name and he had came up with the name “The Sole Broker.”
Back to the business now, as aforesaid, I was not accustomed to the overhead of the business: rent, electric, gas, cameras, insurance, alarm monitoring, payroll etc.
I am glad I started small, because in the beginning it wasn’t very hard making payroll and covering expenses. The first few months the growth was tremendous. I remember people coming in to sell their entire collections and we wound up running out of space considering we only had two shelves for shoes! Initially all the shoes were sideways, but soon everything was straight across! Out of necessity I had to ask Jack for more space, however he was reluctant to do so because he was selling and leasing cars out of the store and didn’t want us to encroach on his space.
I asked every week for more space, and finally after a month of asking he granted me more space, but I had to pay another $750! For the month of August, rent was $1500 per month, however, by that time we were doing more business so it wasn’t a stretch for me. We had added another shelf which allowed us to buy more and display more shoes!
Very quickly that space had filled, and we were back to square one! I had approached Jack again asking for more space, however I had stated since I was paying half the rent I should have been entitled to half the stores space. I had asked him if I could do a window display, however he had declined.
I had figured the large glass frontage would be perfect for a window display, but Jack had other plans. Jack had stated he wanted to place a TV in the window which would serve as an advertisement for his auto leasing business. He had never got around to installing this TV, however remained adamant about me not building anything to obstruct the window. Since the lease was in his name, I had no ground to stand on...
It soon became clear that our growth was outpacing his and he realized that after a while as well and decided to relinquish the lease to the building. We signed the lease to the building in September and took over the entire space.
Immediately after we signed the lease to takeover the entire store, I built another display to fill the rest of the right side of the wall and a display in the rear of the store. Now we had plenty of shelving to display shoes and could buy a lot more pairs without worrying about displaying anything since we had the shelving to do so.
The following month, October we added the window display which was a big hit for us as it attracted many new customers to the shop!
I want to say 2019 was a great year for us, however 2020 was even better... A few months into 2020, right around February out of necessity I began looking for another location. Simply because the Staten Island store at 800 square feet was not big enough and we had outgrown the space.
I was between 2 locations in Brooklyn, and ultimately decided to go with Williamsburg. I decided to put my second store in Brooklyn for a few reasons... First and foremost, Manhattan was over saturated with stores: Round Two, Flight Club, Stadium Goods, Origins NYC, Solestage, Rare Pair, Unique Hype, Urban Necessities, etc... I didn’t want to be in competition with everyone and their mother, so I decided to go to Brooklyn as it is close in proximity to Manhattan, Queens, Long Island and Long Island City, Bronx,
In February of 2020, we were hit the ground running in Williamsburg looking for a prospective location for our second store. We found many vacancies within the area and worked with a few brokers to show us potential spaces.
While looking on Grand street for potential spaces, I stumbled upon a store called “Fools Gold.” The turntables in the window caught my eye so decided to go into the store to check it out and see what it was about.
The store was very quiet and looked very empty for what seemed to be a retail shop. After perusing the store I had put two and two together and realized it was a creative space for music and also a retail shop which had made sense considering the visible turntables and vinyl records which were displayed in a milk crate on the floor. I had wound up buying one of their crewnecks to show support and struck a conversation with the sales associate.
I had told the sales associate a little bit about myself and that I was in the area scouting commercial space for my second store in Williamsburg. It was then the sales associate told me they were looking to move, however, they would need find someone to take over the space before doing so. I had asked if I could have a tour of the space to which the sales associate obliged.
The space seemed convoluted at first sight. The retail space in the front was much smaller than the space in the back. The store was laid out as follows: 14 foot of glass frontage with a door in the middle of the store to enter the shop. Upon entering the shop there were 3 plexi-glass entryways which divided the front end of the store into 3 parts which all had different merchandise and displays throughout each entryway. (The front end of the store was about 30 feet long by 14 feet wide.) When walking past the last entry way there was a gold mirror with a door which lead to the rear of the space. When walking through the door there was a spiral staircase to the left which lead to the basement and the storage rooms. Past that area was another doorway which lead to another large room. (The rear end of the store was about 30 feet long by 20 feet wide.) The bathroom and break area was to the right and a private office to the left with glass sliding doors. The back room was well lit with a sky light and windows as well as tall ceilings. Looking at this space I envisioned our next store being here with some minor alterations. The location was prime as it was in the heart of Williamsburg, between Bedford Avenue and Berry Street and situated across the street from Supreme Brooklyn!
Fast forward 6 months after long negotiations finally resulting in us securing the aforementioned space; we start the buildout in July of 2020.
Our idea was to knock down the non-load bearing walls to create an open floor plan. The flooring was replaced to create a clean aesthetic. Furthermore, the same displays pictured at the Staten Island store which span from floor to ceiling were incorporated into this store for continuity purposes. In the rear, we fabricated a wrap around clothes line to display our curated collection of Supreme items.
The buildout was a giant undertaking compared to the turn key operation of Staten Island, however it was perfectly executed considering we had experience going through the first stores buildout and also considering the fact that myself and my father are handy and are also general contractors.
We started the buildout in August of 2020 and had everything completed by October 15th, 2020 which was opening day for us!
Now, although business has slowed due to COVID, we look ahead to brighter days. Once we can get though COVID we know business will be back to normal and we can focus on growing and scaling operations.
Our work ethic is unparalleled, we always strive for greatness and are never complacent. I inspire my staff to be that way and lead by example.
What are our future plans? We plan on having a Sole Broker in each of the 5 boroughs. We would like to become a household name in New York and will continue working hard to achieve that goal. We like being the underdog because no one pays attention to the underdog and that’s where we like to be.
Mark my words by next year we will have our next store opened!
I wanted to personally thank my father, brother, friends, family, as well as my staff for making this possible. We all have worked very hard for this to come to fruition!
Best Regards,
Andrew Rosenthal
The Sole Broker
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Attached are two short videos covering the grand opening of our store! Enjoy!
Best,
The Team at The Sole Broker
]]>We are excited to announce we secured a lease for our second store located at: 147 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11249!
Back in February, we were hit the ground running in Williamsburg looking for a prospective location for our second store. We found many vacancies within the area and worked with a few brokers to show us potential spaces.
While looking on Grand street for potential spaces, I stumbled upon a store called “Fools Gold.” The turntables in the window caught my eye so decided to go into the store to check it out and see what it was about.
The store was very quiet and looked very empty for what seemed to be a retail shop. After perusing the store I had put two and two together and realized it was a creative space for music and also a retail shop which had made sense considering the visible turntables and vinyl records which were displayed in a milk crate on the floor. I had wound up buying one of their crewnecks to show support and struck a conversation with the sales associate.
I had told the sales associate a little bit about myself and that I was in the area scouting commercial space for my second store in Williamsburg. It was then the sales associate told me they were looking to move, however, they would need find someone to take over the space before doing so. I had asked if I could have a tour of the space to which the sales associate obliged.
The space seemed convoluted at first sight. The retail space in the front was much smaller than the space in the back. The store was laid out as follows: 14 foot of glass frontage with a door in the middle of the store to enter the shop. Upon entering the shop there were 3 plexi-glass entryways which divided the front end of the store into 3 parts which all had different merchandise and displays throughout each entryway. (The front end of the store was about 30 feet long by 14 feet wide.) When walking past the last entry way there was a gold mirror with a door which lead to the rear of the space. When walking through the door there was a spiral staircase to the left which lead to the basement and the storage rooms. Past that area was another doorway which lead to another large room. (The rear end of the store was about 30 feet long by 20 feet wide.) The bathroom and break area was to the right and a private office to the left with glass sliding doors. The back room was well lit with a sky light and windows as well as tall ceilings. Looking at this space I envisioned our next store being here with some minor alterations.
Fast forward 6 months after long negotiations finally resulting in us securing the aforementioned space; we start the demolition tomorrow.
Our idea is to knock down the non-load bearing walls to create and open floor plan as well as add better lighting throughout. The floor will need to be replaced as well in order to create a clean aesthetic. We will also be incorporating the same displays you see in order Staten Island store which span from floor to ceiling. In the rear room, we will be fabricating a wrap around clothes line to display our curated collection of Supreme items.
Since Williamsburg has that eclectic/artsy vibe we will be working directly with @_malfi_ to lead us in creating our signage as well as some sort of mural for the new location.
We have 4 months free time which was negotiated as a part of our lease, so we are confident the store will be ready by January 1, 2021 the latest, however, it could be ready before that date.
We are asking all of our customers follow the stores new IG account at: thesolebrokerbk in order to stay up to date with the build out and prospective grand opening date. Many people have asked about our Staten Island location; rest assured we are going no where and are here to stay.
I wanted to thank all of our loyal customers, friends, families, and our employees. We would not be able to grow at the scale we did without you all!
Stay Tuned!!!!
]]>Our store remains closed amid the Covid-19 Pandemic. As per the White House’s tele-conference today, the government plans to take another 30 days or so to control the situation here in New York, so we are not sure when we would open back up. Operationally, we are in pause due to the stay at home orders and out of respect and courtesy to others.
All this time in quarantine has me thinking and reflecting back on the past... As I write this, I look back on nearly a year of being in business; we have come a long way... I remember five years ago, I was buying shoes online, locally, driving hundreds of miles, and selling them out of my trunk or by other means and now I finally have a store; very surreal... The relationships built and experiences along the way have been more valuable to me than any amount of money made.
Our Number One priority is providing the best customer service and experience possible; so with that said, I would like to hear feedback from our customers and friends. What would you like to see done at our store, is there something you were looking for that you didn’t find, or have any advice regarding anything operationally we can do to provide a better experience for you? We would also like to hear feedback from our customers regarding the esthetic of the store.
We hope all of our customers and friends remain safe during this time; we look forward to your feedback and suggestions.
Best Regards,
Andrew
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