Foot Locker Unveils Sneakerpedia.com -- A Virtual Home for the Sneaker Community

NEW YORK, May 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of sneaker collectors, enthusiasts and influencers from around the world will join together in New York City tonight to celebrate the launch of Sneakerpedia.com, a social platform, designed to venerate the unmatched passion of the sneaker community.  Powered by Foot Locker, the event will take place at Hudson Hotel's subterranean nightspot, Good Units.  Expected to attend will be some of the most prominent names within the sneaker culture, to celebrate the site launch and take part in a real-life experience of the platform.

Famed rapper Bun B, DJ Clark Kent, Greg Street and Mayor from the Addicted to Fresh (ATF) sneaker crew, will provide the night's entertainment.  In addition, well-known personalities within the sneaker culture, including Bobbito Garcia, Elliott Curtis, Jonathan Mannion, Marco Colombo, Jay Smith, to name a few, will be in attendance.

Initially launched at a beta event in London in December 2010, the platform will showcase unique styles, never-before-seen treasures and the largest independent collections by some of the world's most ardent sneaker fans.  Utilizing the insight of a wiki, the content which fuels Sneakerpedia.com is provided, monitored, and shared by the user.  

Behind the scenes is global footwear giant, Foot Locker, building the foundation of a user-generated conglomerate of sneaker knowledge.  Foot Locker designed the platform as a gift to the community it has served for over 35 years, allowing collectors from around the world to meet virtually and share their knowledge, insight and experience.

"By fueling this project, we are bridging the gap between continents and raising awareness of a shared passion for sneakers," said Stacy Cunningham, Corporate Vice President of Marketing, Foot Locker, Inc.  "This community of sneaker enthusiasts can now share their knowledge, interest, and expertise of the products that unite us."

Sneaker collectors and enthusiasts worldwide are encouraged to share their personal collections within their individual profiles by providing product photos, detailed information such as brand, color, stitching, release date, etc., as well as, a personal story relating to the shoe.  Users will be met with a bottomless virtual wall of sneakers... each one clickable, opening to the product's profile.  A map of collectors who own the shoe or have contributed to the sneaker's fodder will populate the right-hand side of the page, creating a social experience in which users can view and interact with other enthusiasts' pages and collections.

In the early stages, ambassadors were recruited from the world's sneaker elite to populate the wiki with some of the most rare and coveted sneakers. Today, the collections of Kish Kash and Ghettrocentricity from the UK, Jay Smith of France, Marco Colombo from Italy, DJ Clark Kent and Bobbito Garcia from the US, and many others are available to view and interact with.

The sneaker community can upload their collections or just check out the crates of others by visiting www.sneakerpedia.com.  Sneakerpedia.com news is also available via its blog and on Twitter @Sneakerpedia.

Foot Locker, Inc. is a specialty athletic retailer that operates more than 3,400 stores in 22 countries in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Through its Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Footaction, Champs Sports and CCS stores, as well as its direct-to-customers channel Footlocker.com/Eastbay/CCS, the Company is the leading provider of athletic footwear and apparel.

SOURCE Foot Locker