China's "Black Monday" Scare Could Actually Lead to Lower Sneaker Prices

In case you missed it, China's stock market took a plunge yesterday in what has been dubbed "Black Monday." The plummet is the largest one-day percentage drop in eight years, and from the sounds of things, it may get worse before it gets better. As bad as this is, there may be a silver lining for sneakerheads.

Footwear News reached out to experts to find out how China's stock market woes might affect the industry as a whole. "This market correction will surely have an impact on consumption. As most of the large sneaker brands are truly international brands, they cannot help but be impacted," Matt Powell of the NPD group said.

It turns out that the economic shift could actually result in lower sneaker prices in the long run. "China is our largest supplier of footwear, and the devaluation of currencies — particularly the yuan — could have a positive impact on the prices of footwear coming across the border. From a production perspective, this would lower prices and stop the rise of certain inflationary pressures we’ve seen lately," another analyst said.

For prospective investors, there's yet another factor at play — now could be an ideal to buy up stock in sneaker companies. "It’s like buying stock on sale," a market expert said.