Two teenage sneakerheads have broken out of their bedrooms and branched out into Paisley with the opening of their exclusive footwear store.
Ben Miles, 19, and Jack Campbell, 17, are probably the youngest traders in town after opening their shop, Pairfect, last weekend.
The pair began collecting trainers around five years ago – and quickly got bitten by the bug to the point where it became an obsession for them.
The young entrepreneurs operated out of their own homes, buying trainers online and waiting in the queue for releases of new items.
They’d make lengthy trips to sneaker drops all over the UK where waits in the queue could be up to 15 hours.
As their passion turned into a realistic business venture, they realised that they’d have to find somewhere bigger to store all their stock.
Jack, from Bishopton, said: “It all started with our passion for shoes that we developed at a young age, shoes that we couldn’t afford to buy.
“But we found a way to make money through our passion. We got shoes for ourselves and then tried to supply for everybody else.
“We got to the stage where, in my bedroom, you physically couldn’t fit in any more shoe boxes.”
Ben, from East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, said: “We started from one pair and then we let it build up over time. Then we just got to the scale where we just thought, ‘we need a shop’.”
This led to the duo acquiring their store in Old Sneddon Street, right next to Paisley Gilmour Street railway station.
They’re hoping the footfall from the station will tip toe its way through their front door with customers buying some of their exclusive stock.
The pair signed a lease on the store using all their own money, and while they say their families have been supportive, they’ve done this off their own back.
The footwear on the shelves of Pairfect is difficult to find elsewhere – and for some designs, there might only be a handful of them in the UK.
Some trainers, due to their rarity and uniqueness, fetch hundreds of pounds while Ben and Jack pride themselves on the quality and exclusivity of their stock.
They’ve got off to a good start but are hoping more customers will pop in over the festive period.
Jack, a former Park Mains High School pupil, said: “It’s been busier than we expected. But the word’s still spreading so hopefully we’ll see even more people coming through.”
The pair, despite their young age, have years of experience selling trainers behind them already and their passion for it is something Jack says will see them succeed.
Jack attended business studies classes at school but admits he was “rubbish” at it – he says the experience of opening up his own business with Ben has been a much better education.
“It really shows you,” Jack said. “You see, the stuff I was learning in that class and then what I’ve learned over the last four or five years, there’s no comparison,”
Pairfect can be found on Facebook and Instagram by searching @pairfect.uk or you can view their stock at their website – pairfectfootwear.co.uk – or by popping into their Old Sneddon Street store.
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