A young Leeds entrepreneur who has dressed footballers and Love Island stars lands a Dragon’s Den-style six-figure investment to launch an online sneaker market

After buying and selling limited edition sneakers online for up to £10,000 over the past decade before becoming a personal stylist, Oli Macer, 26, has now created an online marketplace called QOPPD where shoppers can buy and sell custom shoes.

Tens of thousands of pairs of limited-edition Air Jordan, Nike, New Balance and Adidas shoes are now being bought and sold on QOPPD (pronounced “copped”) by hordes of fanatical collectors.

The project was launched after Oli received a “Dragon’s Den style” investment offer from an investor who told him he would match any financial contribution Oli made.

While the exact amount is expected to increase as Oli invests more funds, the website has already received a six-figure amount of money.

Oli said: “With a passion for sneakers and over a decade of experience supplying limited edition items, I designed QOPPD with the idea of ​​bringing authentic sneakers and streetwear out of this world. of stock in a convenient market.”

A far cry from Oli’s humble forays into the business world, which began when he was still a student at Leeds Grammar School and he set his sights on buying a pair of Asics Gel Lyte shoes made in collaboration between Ronnie Fieg and Asics, of which the 300 pairs made were sold in a single store in New York.

Oli said: “Being from Leeds it was impossible to get your hands on it.”

Having already amassed a huge selection of trainers, Oli set about selling some of his used pairs and secured his first sale of a £20 pair of Vans, earning him a small profit.

After collecting enough to be able to buy the desired pair of shoes, Oli realized that he may have unwittingly laid the foundations of a small business and therefore continued to buy and sell shoes throughout. his A-level studies at Tadcaster Grammar School.

Since then, Oli has continuously bought and sold sneakers online, his most expensive pair being a set of Nike Vapormax with LED lights that were designed by Cactus Plant Flea Market (of which only 12 pairs were made) – which have sold for a whopping £10,000.

He said: “I started out with just £3,000 in savings growing up. After seeing how much it could be done, I invested every penny in buying shoes that I knew I could sell for a good profit.

“It quickly turned into an online sneaker resale and personal shopping business where I developed a great clientele and made up to £80,000 in revenue in just one month.”

Oli was using social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook to market and promote his products and after building up thousands of people he started to catch the attention of more high profile names who wanted to use his contacts and his eye for style.

Among those he has worked for are Strictly Come Dancing star Gorka Márquez, Love Island’s Tyne Lexy, model and influencer Daisey O’Donnell and a selection of footballers who play for Leeds United and Hull City.

Oli explained, “Some people keep coming back.

“I realize what they like and what they want, so they come back wanting similar things.”

In addition to selling online, Oli also built his reputation by going to conventions where like-minded souls gathered to trade and discuss all things shoe-related.

But what is it about pairs of shoes that makes people so fanatical and willing to pay so much?

Oli said, “I think shoes are the building blocks that the rest of your outfit works around. They can hold your whole look together.

“It seems to me that you can have a £20 shirt that will look like a £200 shirt, but if you’re wearing a cheap pair of shoes you’ll know that.”

He added: “I think it’s one thing to get a great pair of shoes, but also one of the reasons people will pay so much for these expensive limited edition pairs is because they’re the ones on which people like Travis Scott or Virgil Abloh.

“It gives people a sense of culture and community by having something that those people designed.”

After making a name for himself and seeing the interest in bespoke sneakers grow and grow, Oli formulated the plan to create an online marketplace for sneakerheads to meet and trade.

Oli said: “The supply of these highly sought-after trainers remains low, so the trainers have gone from something you might need for running, to a great investment towards another source of income or just a bit of extra cash. for like-minded young entrepreneurs.

“That said, over the past few years, the rise of sneaker stockists has exploded, making the market increasingly saturated. Naturally, the young entrepreneur takes to the marketplaces’ websites to sell to their huge base of buyer data, however, most of the markets are foreign, which leads to limitations for the business.

“With QOPPD, I wanted to provide the UK retailer with a reliable hub to buy and sell their rare sneakers.”

Through his family, Oli was able to find another local businessman with the requisite experience in online website development to help launch QOPPD with a matching investment.