The early morning fog was dense and the road was only identifiable by the brake lights of the semi-truck driving ahead.
The surrounding fields of agriculture were dreary, but for the Salinas family, the drive to the flea market was one that represented unity and opportunity.
“As a kid, I hated it, but as I got older, I appreciated it,” said Rick Salinas, co-owner of The Retro Collection. “I remember going on the road at five in the morning and my mom would tell me stories about my grandpa, about how hard he worked, and how dedicated he was, and the things he would do as a business owner to make sure that he put food on the table and to make sure that he was doing something right, with love and passion.”
Since they were kids, Roy and Rick Salinas would watch their parents and grandpa in admiration as they juggled multiple businesses.
From then on, the two knew that they were destined to build their own successful business; it was in their blood. But their journey to being one of Fresno’s most trusted sneaker resale stores wasn’t an overnight one.
Being the oldest brother, Roy Salinas remembers helping out at his grandpa’s bakery in Corcoran as well as helping his parents at local flea markets. Early on, his dad also owned a CD store in Tulare.
“I just started watching my dad,” Roy said. “I noticed how he used to talk to customers. How he was super nonchalant. He was always cool. Customers were always right. Well, at least most of the time. And I also watched my mother, and she was a little different, a little more vocal, a little more outspoken, and so I got a little bit of both.”
In 2006, Roy was able to take over his own CD store in Hanford after the original owner chose to sell it. He says after that market declined, he moved into apparel in 2014.
“We opened up a retail shop with clothing and hats,” Roy said. “That was kind of like the next big wave and the shoes caught up.”
After years of trial and error, the Salinas brothers finally landed on a spot in Fashion Fair Mall in 2020 for a store they would go on to call The Retro Collection.
The store specializes in shoe reselling and in-house graphic T-shirt designs.
The Salinas brothers believe in keeping things tight-knit. Roy’s son, Joseph Salinas has helped his dad and uncle Rick since he was a kid.
This experience, he says, has helped shape the person he is today.
“You just learn as a young kid to just keep grinding and trying to be a good people’s person and talking to everybody,” said 25-year-old Joseph. “And it kind of helps you grow as a person to where you learn a lot of different stuff out there where it kind of makes you a little bit street smart, in a way, because it’s like, I mean, it’s a dog-eat-dog world sometimes.”
While many young people choose to deviate from what their parents are doing, Joseph says he takes pride in helping his dad and uncle build their business.
“I’ve always been close to my family,” Joseph said. “That’s number one. You just feel comfortable with them. It doesn’t feel like a job. It just feels like you have a passion to do something with your family, and you get to go to work with your parent every day. You look forward to that. You learn life skills.”
The store has also provided opportunities for its employees. Martina Cignetti found her first job there in 2020 after moving from Argentina in 2018.
Today, she serves as assistant manager at The Retro where she says she admires its grassroots approach and humble beginnings.
“It helped me a lot to be the person I am today,” 22-year-old Cignetti said. “As an immigrant, I didn’t know anything like this. And just starting from something very low, and then coming up on my own, and being part of something that started the same way, pretty small and then grew this way, I think it shows me a lot of things that I want to [create] for myself.”
The sneaker resale model is relatively new and its growth has been bolstered by the advancement of reselling apps like StockX and GOAT.
As of 2022, the global sneaker resale market reached $10.2 billion in revenue and is estimated to reach $51.2 billion by 2032.
“I think that’s so inspirational to some, and I’m sure it inspires a lot of people to want to try to do the same thing,” Joseph said. “It’s good to see a lot of young kids wearing our clothing, our hats; it makes you feel good as a person, especially if you design them. We really encourage everyone to kind of step out of their box and do their own thing.”
Cignetti agrees seeing the clothes being worn locally is encouraging.
“It’s pretty cool to see,” Cignetti said. “Since I started when the store was pretty small, seeing it grow and then seeing it everywhere when I go to school, as well the gym. You just see it there, and it’s cool to know that you were part of that.”
The team was also excited to donate sneakers and socks to a classroom of third grade students in the unincorporated community of Ivanhoe.
“Being able to finally give out to our community, a community that supports us, is pretty cool,” Cignetti said. “When I was a kid, nothing like that was around. I didn’t even know what Jordans were back then. Being able to introduce little kids to something [like that], that one day they’re able to achieve [something big] is pretty nice.”
Rick was excited to bring this donation to Francisca Vega’s Ivanhoe Elementary School class as it brought him back to his small town beginnings.
“The shoe drive to me is a way to get back to a community similar to mine when I was growing up,” Rick said. “You know these kids that can barely afford any pairs of shoes…[they’re] growing so fast and they [only] wear one pair of shoes for two, three years. So I’ve always felt like shoes are a way for kids to feel excited to come to school and show their friends.”
The team also hopes to continue and grow these types of events.
“It was a goal for me to do the whole class this year,” Rick said. “Maybe one day we could work towards doing the entire school.”
Vega says these experiences are important for young kids.
“It made me realize how important it is for students to have someone who cares for them beyond teaching,” Vega said. “I think it is important for students who come from underresourced backgrounds to experience moments like these, to know that they matter and that they know that they are worthy of all great things.”
Vega said seeing her students open gifts was heartwarming for her.
“Coming from an underresourced background myself, I knew how hard the holidays were,” Vega said. “We didn’t get extravagant gifts during the holidays, however, my parents always made sure we had gifts under the tree.”
When it comes to business advice, the Salinas brothers have a few words for young up-and-comers.
“Right now with social media and things you can do online, it’s changed the game,” Rick said. “When I was starting, there was no social media, there was no internet. It was go out there and sell, go to [flea markets], trade shows, put your name out there, put your face out there. I think that’s where I hit the scene and sort of got my footing and my clientele. If you love what you do, the passion will show, and the quality of work will show.”
The two also agree on following passions.
“Follow the markets and see what [your] passion is,” Roy said. “It could be anything; sports cards, it could be any type of buying, reselling. It could be for anything. But if [you] have a passion for it, I think that, [you] can go to the next level.”
They also added to not shy away from competition.
“I love competition,” Rick said. “I think kids should be raised understanding that it’s not okay to get a fourth place trophy. You try your best to win first. If you don’t [instill] that drive and that competitiveness, I think you’re robbing kids of something valuable because it’s a competitive world.”
While other resale shoe stores in town have struggled to stay afloat amid rising inflation, The Retro has held its ground and the Salinas brothers say it boils down to fundamentals.
“People got rid of the COVID money, so now it’s back to normal,” Roy said. “You know, inflation, I think, killed a lot of retail. So, you just have to keep grinding and don’t stop, always look for the new wave, but always stay focused with the fundamentals in business, which I think are customer service and good products.”
Despite their growth, the brothers maintain that their brand isn’t done evolving.
“I feel thankful because people appreciate what we create,” Rick said. “But I feel like it’s barely the beginning. I feel there’s so much more to bring in, so much more to offer, that I’m thankful that we have the support of the local community. But I think there’s more that can be done, and I’m excited for what’s next.”
