[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Concerns are growing as dangerous situations arise with crowds gathering to purchase limited-edition sneakers.
Recently, a video presumed to have been taken at a department store in downtown Daegu on the 14th has been circulating on various SNS and online communities. The video shows hundreds of citizens waiting for the department store to open and then rushing into the store as soon as it opens, capturing about one minute of the 'open run' scene.
The citizens in the video appeared to be rushing to enter the Nike store, a sportswear brand, first. The dizzying scene of over a hundred people going against the escalator direction prompted netizens to express concern, saying things like, "If this continues, it could be a disaster the moment the machinery breaks down," and "I am speechless."
On that day, the Nike store in the department store featured in the video reportedly sold a limited-edition golf shoe to only the first 100 customers. The golf shoe is the 'Air Jordan 1 Low G,' a model named after Jordan, who was a golf enthusiast. Although the retail price is 179,000 KRW, due to its rarity, it is being traded in the so-called 'reseller' market for around 700,000 KRW.
Because of this, not only the department store in the video but also about 40 other Nike stores selling the limited-edition golf shoes experienced a spectacle of crowds gathering. It was later revealed that as the congestion worsened, disputes broke out among people trying to purchase the sneakers, leading to police intervention.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
