Bob's Classic Kicks
By: Craig A. Mills
I took a visit to Detroit’s Midtown area to Bobs Classic Kicks
located on the corner 4717 Woodward Avenue at Forest Streets. Bobs is
one of few boutique gym shoe stores in the City of Detroit. I had the
opportunity to chat with owners, Native Detroiters and Detroit Public
School graduates Jason and Christian. During my visit they showed me
some of the products and apparel lines in Bobs and gave me some insight
on what’s hot and what’s not.
What’s a typical day at Bob’s
Classic Kicks? Sneakers….Providing the customer
what they want from the best of our ability.
What’s hot on the street?
The average look? What the style is could be Jordan’s. Nikes are
hot and our best seller right now.
What made you want to start Bobs Classic
Kicks? The city didn’t have a gym shoe store outside
of Athletes Foot. Me and some friends started with the idea in 2004
and opened in 2005.
How is it working in the Midtown area?
If you want to be in the city, Midtown is the place you want to go.
It’s a thriving area right now. It has more pros than con’s.
Initially when we started Bobs the Midtown area wasn’t the focal
point of the new transition of the city, now it is, through the blessing
of God picking the building seemed like it made sense and just happened
to not just make sense to me but the powers that be. Hopefully it turns
out spectacular as we planned it to be.
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What kind of customers does
Bobs attract? All kinds of customers, from hipsters to
college kids to working adults. People that are into sneakers and people
who want to look fresh.
Just curious have you had any Celebrities
come and make purchases? Yes we have. We don’t pay
celebrities to come in they just hear about the store and come in, we’ve
had David Allen Grier, Yelawolf, Kid Rock, Royce Da 5’9, and Danny
Brown just name a few.
What type of sells do you offer? There are
sells every day. We roll with the Ace Boogie theory “all that for
$100 dollars” (laughs)
You sell clothes also? We
sell urban local brands all local artists with their own t-shirt designs.
What kinds of brands do you sell?
Heavy Nike, light Adidas and all the other brands we sell trickle down
starting from popularity. T- Shirts by AYB, Kocky, Class of 74, So Fly,
Freestyle, Love, Life, Swagger and Esoteric. We also sell Hats too such
as New Era Snap backs.
What does Bobs Classic Kicks have in store
for the future? Another Bobs, Bobby Jr is in the works
also. Since Bob’s Classic Kicks has been in business for approximately
eight years and have always had a passion for shoes. They felt that it
was only right to give back to the community which has supported them.
This school year they have an agreement with the Detroit Public School
district to give away a free pair of Nike shoes to every student who comes
to class for count day, which is October 3, 2012. The school district
will hand out vouchers to every child in every grade.
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