The sale of the sneaker model via raffle tickets on Thursday had been announced by the American shoe brand at its two outlets in District 10’s Van Hanh Mall and District 1’s Saigon Center.

The plan was to randomly hand out 100 raffle tickets and pull out "lucky" numbers for the chance to buy a pair for VND2.8 million ($121).

Saigon youth wait to buy new sneakers outside the Van Hanh
Mall in Saigon’s District 10 on July 9, 2020. Photo courtesy
of Facebook/Van Hanh Mall.

The announcement attracted many urban sneakerheads (those who collect sneakers as a hobby) to the malls, but a noisy ruckus broke out before the distribution of the raffle tickets, prompting the stores to announce at around 9 a.m. that the sale was being postponed. This disappointed many who’d waited for hours.

"Converse organized the event badly. When they saw the chaos, they asked only one staff member to go out and tell us that if the commotion continued, they would stop selling the new shoes," a sneakerhead told local media.

Converse Fear of God x Chuck 70 High "Essentials", a brand created in collaboration between U.S.-based Fear of God (FOG) and Converse, has become a hot item among sneakerheads.

It is not only due to the shoes' design but also the reputation of FOG, a luxury streetwear brand preferred by several Vietnamese celebrities, including singer Son Tung M-TP.

A pair of FOG shoes normally costs more than $500, but Converse co-branded sneakers are much more affordable at $121. Many buy the shoes and resell them at two or three times the original price.