To date, the trio have opened three stores in California - Los Angeles, Irvine and Santa Clara - and one in New York City, that cater to American consumers - mostly young, hip males - serviced from a massive warehouse in City of Industry, a suburban city located 20 kilometers east of Los Angeles downtown, cock full of product that ensures they can keep up with the increasing demand.
And, they are opening a fifth store in Beijing in May to better serve the Chinese market.
"What sets this store apart is it has something for all its customers, not just one hyped clothing brand," Angel Cornejo, the Hispanic-American manager of the Los Angeles store, told Xinhua. "We reach a bigger audience. And we've got great connections, so we can offer rare stuff."
"That's the whole point," Xia agreed. "With our connections, we can bring authentic US fashion and sneakers to China and bring Chinese brands to the US It's gotta go both ways."
Xia wears a sport vest with a striking logo of Li Ning, a Chinese sportswear brand who debuted its fall/winter 2019 collection at the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) last month. Xia said SoleStage joined the promotion works.
By 2018, these three young guys had built a successful resale business, and they expect substantial growth next year when they release their new shoe buying app, "Shine," that will provide accurate, up-to-the-second price comparisons and sales opportunities in both the United States and China.
"We know both ends, both countries, that's our advantage. We are an American-based brand that understands the US market, but we are also Chinese, and we know China better than any of our competitors ever could," asserted Xia.
And their customers agree.
"Fashion should be about expressing yourself and being unique. And these guys have that," said one young American shopper at SoleStage's Los Angeles store, next to Supreme, in the trendy West Hollywood Fairfax district.
Supreme is an American skateboarding shop and clothing brand, established in New York City in April of 1994. The brand, catering to the hip hop, rock cultures, and the youth culture in general, is very popular both in the United States and China.
Popular R&B and hip hop artist, Joseph DeVinci from Atlanta, told Xinhua, "I've been here, like, 50 times. I find the craziest thing and buy it. I bought [Kobe] Bricks yesterday. I bought two pair of Yeezy's last week. I'm not a collector, I just like shoes."
Store manager Angel seconded that. "We all love shoes. When you like something, you want to know all about it: the history, colors, models, materials..."
He also loves his job and is glad that his Chinese bosses set up shop in LA. "I love working for these guys, they're my bosses, but they're also my friends. We hang out and talk a lot about shoes."
Another American regular, Tatum, said, "It's crazy that three young Chinese guys got into this in such a big way over here. That's cool."
