elevance with new audiences. Working with a brilliant local PR agency as well as key content creators (influencers) in the community was a key part of this.  We initially found creators by tapping up sneakerhead networks in Melbourne, Sydney and beyond, including our team of authenticators who generally have their fingers on the pulse. For us, it was about finding micro and mid-range influencers with highly engaged audiences, who have a great style aesthetic, know how to put together a great fit, and create slick content. We prioritised engagement and brand fit rather than high follower counts, and have built meaningful and ongoing relationships with the creators we engaged.  Influencers love working with StockX as it means they aren’t tied to wearing items from a single brand and can access products across multiple categories like apparel, collectibles and electronics. Once they’ve got their chosen products, we give them full license to ‘own it’ – do things their own way – simply tagging us and, where useful, linking back to where you can buy those products on StockX. We have also used Discord to connect directly with our audience, recently hosting a panel focused on Australian fashion and trends. The panel was hosted by our team member Riley and guests included content creator Monsieur Banana, the founders of much-loved Melbourne streetwear label Push Pull, and Adam Pentafillo – our authenticator team lead at StockX Melbourne and passionate sneakerhead. There was great engagement, with more than 1000+ comments throughout the live conversation. This helped to build engagement with our local community and show our connection with the Australian fashion scene.  Localise the retail strategy.  Whilst StockX has built its reputation on offering a trusted place to buy and sell leading global brands like Jordan, Yeezy, Supreme and Kaws, to really localise our offering meant it was important for us to add up-and-coming Australian brands. Push Pull, Street X and local collectibles and electronics brand Rama Works are a few that we’ve added who have seen some good volume in sales, with many more to come. We want to give these local brands access to the global consumer audiences on StockX and help promote the latest talent coming from down under.  We are constantly analysing local market data to gain insights that inform our local marketing strategy, from the editorial we create and publish to what products we show on our home page and bid on with Google Shopping campaigns.  We also have DropX – our direct-to-consumer product release platform – giving audiences exclusive access to products you can only buy on StockX. Our Cherry DropX partnership last September was our first Australian collaboration. We teamed up with Melbourne-based collectibles brand Cherry to release 1,500 limited edition packs of basketball trading cards that included the chance to get high-value cards like a Michael Jordan rookie. It went bananas! Think beyond our core audience.  At StockX our traditional audience is the sneakerhead consumer – those, often young and male, customers that are obsessed with buying, collecting and trading the latest sneakers. But we recognised that targeting consumers outside of this core audience, including women and kids, was key to finding strong growth in the local market. In order to build wider brand awareness to these other audiences, we ran an Out of Home (OOH) marketing campaign, with billboards in key spots across Melbourne and Sydney showing other products like Lego and PlayStation 5’s, that folks might not know you can buy on StockX. Even though OOH is notoriously hard to track, this campaign translated into a massive month of sales for us. Alongside this, we were running our always-on Google Shopping campaigns and social ads, as well as PR activity and cultural marketing content to create multiple touchpoints.   Again, we worked with local content creators to tap into secondary consumer groups, by identifying overlaps between fashion and niche interests such as art, collecting, gaming and sport, and finding influencers who fit that brief.  To connect further with these peripheral audiences, we engage in partnerships with up-and-coming athletes and teams like the Tokomanawa Queens, a women’s basketball team based in Wellington, NZ. Whilst being a local partnership, this activity aligned with StockX’s global commitment to supporting female athletes across all our markets.   Invest in the right people.  Launching in a new market meant keeping our team lean, and finding ways to do more with less.  We looked for talent who were nimble and adaptable, having the potential to perform across a wide range of skills and initiatives. For example, our Marketing Manager Riley Wolff is also a talented photographer and writer and has great connections with our ideal audience. He’s our secret weapon! At StockX, everything is authenticated by hand, so our authenticator team are highly trained specialists and arguably StockX’s most valued asset. This is an elite team of just 300 globally, and it’s a job in high demand. To find our team we got recommendations through our own and StockX employee networks, incentivising via employee referral schemes.  The next 12 months. StockX had high expectations for the Australian/NZ market and it certainly did not disappoint! Australia is one of the fastest-growing regions for StockX globally in terms of attracting new buyers to the platform.  Our next 12 months are all about continuing to build on the strong growth, localising the brand further and testing new initiatives in market. There are still plenty of local consumers who haven’t yet discovered StockX, just waiting to be delighted by what we offer. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.  Kelly Godfrey is the director of StockX Australia and New Zealand.