Locals Streetwear - Newmarket

Curated from the streets of Auckland New Zealand, comes the new home for streetwear.

100% Kiwi owned and operated, Locals Streetwear strives to provide the best experience for your needs.

Growing up in Auckland, world renowned streetwear was always tough to find. Throughout the 2010's, things got better. Brands found their way to New Zealand, some stores got their hands on some goodies. But, one thing that always bothered us is the identity in which these brands and stores presented themselves.

Locals Streetwear NZ is the brainchild of founder and retail savvy mogul, Grant Elliott. Established in 2021, in the height of nationwide lockdowns from the implications of COVID-19, Grant set out on a mission to re-energize the game that is Streetwear Shopping. Doing this however was not an easy task. He decided that in order to really connect with the gap in the market we had to establish something that spoke to those that supported things that were different – that meant a difference in how we built the store, how we operated the businesses and a difference in who we dealt with. We decided that when we built this store, we needed to do it ourselves and with the help of those local businesses that would support our cause. We built 80% of the store from refurbished goods from closing businesses, giving them a new lease on life and our opportunity to show that little bit of support to others.

Along the way Locals Streetwear has been extremely lucky to have some amazing people backing us – dealing directly with former Nike GM Mark Rusher, current GM for Nike Australasia Peter Martin, official ASICS, Timberland & Birkenstock distributor Brittain Wynyard & Co (who have their own store next to ours) and many others. We’ve been extremely selective of the brands we stock in the store, with a focus on giving a platform to brands that have never been in NZ before. Through connections attained, Grant managed to score exclusive deals with major international brands CLOT, White Mountaineering, C2H4 Los Angeles, Raised By Wolves and a world exclusive with NZ brand Premium Clo.

The next chapter of our story marks some huge changes, challenges and opportunities for not only our business, but those around us. To mark some things happening in 2022 for Locals Streetwear; we’re working alongside Autism New Zealand to create an in-store art piece centered around “how are you feeling?”, inviting anyone and everyone to join in, so that we can raise awareness for the community that stands in silence too often. We’ve got a Retail Program in place for the end of January, where we give the opportunity to small NZ clothing businesses to get into a retail environment without the hassle of big contracts and impossible targets. We’ll be spending 2022 planning NZ’s first ever convention centered around Streetwear and the Streetwear community, called Locals-Con, inviting local and international brands to showcase themselves to the massive Streetwear community that lives within NZ. However, the biggest growth point for Locals Streetwear in 2022 is the opportunity to give a platform for females in Streetwear, supporting female run Streetwear brands from NZ as well as all over the world.

We're focusing on exclusivity at Locals, and a "once it's gone, it's gone" mantra.

So, come through and support your new Streetwear store, and help us grow into the best player the game has seen. 

- Grant Elliott, Founder.