Lyst searches for sneakerheads as it launches Sneaker Intelligence Unit

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 28, 2019

With street and sneaker culture continuing to drive the fashion agenda, fashion search platform Lyst unveiled a new project on Monday. The company launched its Sneaker Intelligence Unit, which aims to tap into the $55 billion sneaker industry that sees more than 1 million shoppers searching for a new pair online every month.

The new search initiative aims to keep Lyst “ahead of the latest drops, designs and discussions in the community.”

Essentially it’s a global network of “sneaker experts, recruited via a specialist sneaker knowledge task.”

To recruit for it, the company has launched “a challenging online test designed to assess applicants’ specialist knowledge of sneaker design, history and culture where candidates need to achieve a score of 80% or above in order to apply for the role.” Successful candidates will then be invited to take part in a follow up ‘mastery’ stage challenge.

Those who get through will be sourced globally and will “contribute personal opinions and fresh perspectives to complement Lyst’s data-driven insights into the sneaker market, with findings compiled into a new series of sneaker industry and community reports.” 

And there’s clearly a benefit to being on the team with the company saying it’s a paid consultancy opportunity, with “additional benefits including insider access to global industry meet-ups and launches, and a sneaker allowance fund.” That latter feature will certainly be appealing - paying sneakerheads to buy shoes is likely to generate plenty of interest.

“We’re obsessed with understanding how people shop for fashion,” said Katy Lubin, Lyst Communications Director. “We use global fashion search, sales and social media data to track the virality of trends and products across the world. Now, we’re looking to supplement our technological insights with the personal opinions of a hyper-informed community of experts. We’re on the hunt for the most passionate sneakerheads from around the world to help us dig deep into this exciting, fast moving space.”