Eastbay: The End of an Era
Image: EASTBAY
Let’s go down memory lane for a second. You get home from school and there it is calling your name - the Eastbay catalog. The popular retailer’s magazine was a staple in our households. The pages represented our passion for sneakers before we truly realized it. Earmarking pages and circling our favorite pairs was a ritual back in the 90s. We prepared our pitches to our parents with confidence and reasons why we needed the sneakers from the Eastbay catalog. WHAT A TIME. Nostalgic AF.
Before the digital era took over, we checked our mailboxes versus our inboxes. Eastbay was founded in the 1980s inspired by the same reasons many of businesses began - to solve a problem. The founders aimed to bring the sneakers directly to the folks who were wearing and wanting them *raises hand*. The company was acquired by Foot Locker in the late 90s and all our memories have been building to this point.
Eastbay is finally bidding us farewell. While the retailer announced shutting it’s doors at the end of this year, we have been sharing our memories across the social media streets. While bittersweet, sneaker culture continues to evolve around experiential retail and Eastbay was a foundational building block that we won’t ever forget. Check out some of the thoughts from around our CNK community.
“I learned most of my technical specs from literally reading Eastbay catalogues.”
“My brother used to leave Eastbay out around the house in hopes that my mom would see them and order the shoes he marked.”
“My favorite memory in the 90s was receiving magazines to the house.... I was so happy when I finally received a pair of the FILA Stackhouse. I wore them all the time to school.”
“I remember faithfully circling all the sneakers I wanted going into basketball season and for Christmas. It was a big thing for my sister and I.”
There are so many great stories of how the Eastbay catalog connected us in unique ways. It even schooled us on our favorite brands and how to build our negotiation skills with our family (LOL). CHEERS to a great run, Eastbay. This ones for you!
What’s your favorite Eastbay memory?