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There's No Business Like Shoe Business & The High End Sneaker Business Is Booming

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - "We have Frozen yellow, Bred, Dazzling blue, Oreo, Blue Tint, The Beluga 2.0., The Beluga Reflective, Zebra, Cream," said Daniel Cohen, owner of Sneak Peek Luxury in Downtown Miami.

He recites the endless names of Kanye West's Yeezy sneaker line as fast as he does the alphabet.

Those top-selling sneakers range in price from $350 to $1,000. Yes, the sneaker industry has stepped into a whole new stratosphere. CBS4's Lisa Petrillo asked him about the unbelievable rise of the sneaker industry.

"Oh, it's been such a ride. It's so unreal what it's come down to," he said.

"It's become such a market where I don't think it falls just under sneakers. It just kind of fits in the whole area of fashion."

And we're talking high-end fashion. From Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and much more.

The sneaker craze began in 1984 with the GOAT himself Michael Jordan and the launch of his Nike Air Jordans and it's never stopped.

"This is the original Jordan that came out and from that point, they made mids and lows as well," Cohen explained.

"So, they started coming out with Jordan golf sneakers which I think is hilarious because then you can go stylish in  your plaid shorts and your Jordans you know."

Amid all the dunks, and SB's (or skateboards), hightops, mids and lows are Nike and Adidas. Iconic brands that continue to expand, often brought to new heights by those big-name stars like Kanye West, Travis Scott, Virgil Abloh for Off White, and Pharell.

"Pharrell has been a long-time ambassador with Adidas so he came out with his own design.  This was the silhouette it's called "A Human Race," said Cohen. Has he killed it with it?" asked Petrillo. "He's killed it," Cohen said.

In recent years, the global sneaker resale market has exploded.

In a glass case at Sneak Peak Luxury is a true collector's item, an original Red October sneaker by Kanye for Adidas. This sneaker and ones like it, can sell for the price of a car!

"Now, those names sneakers in certain sizes and conditions can go up to $25,000 or $30,000! So, as time goes on and as people either use them or resell them it gets to the point where the demand gets higher. Then the inventory starts to dwindle down and the price just skyrockets," Cohen explained.

From the shoe stores that are making a killing to the young entrepreneurs themselves, Kayla Bigelman has been selling sneakers for more than five years and she's only 17!

Kayla scours the sites online. She finds out where and when the limited release of in-demand sneakers are being sold and lines up (oftentimes overnight) to buy them.

She bought a Jordan 1 Obsidian for $160 and sold it for $475 just days later.

On a trip to Israel, Kayla found the highly coveted Jordan 1 Satin Black Toes.

"In Israel, I paid around $120. I sold it when I got home for $1,100," she said.

"That's quite the profit!" said Petrillo.

"And I got 3 of them!," she said laughing.

Her earnings so far?

"I'm a full-time student so it's more like a weekend thing. I say roughly anywhere from $25-$35,000.

As for Daniel and his team of "sneaker specialists", they'll keep riding the trends trying to keep one step ahead.

"For me what I always say is that fashion is forever evolving," Cohen said.

If all of a sudden let's just say Kim Kardashian was seen in a pair of Sketchers, tomorrow, you better believe, I'm going to call my Sketchers contacts and try to get those!"

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