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Jacob Bishop,
CEO of Elite Mr. Alan's

L

ove sneakers? Gotta have the
best and latest? Head to Elite Mr.
Alan’s new Detroit store at Grand
River and McNichols, opening Nov. 1.
The store is the latest from the
42-year-old family-owned sneaker and
sports apparel retail chain headquar-
tered in Redford.
Its newest store has a customized
room dedicated to Jordan merchandise,
featuring a floor resembling a basket-
ball court and videos playing Michael
Jordan’s top games.

Destination For

has continued to grow for more than a
decade, according to SportsOneSource.
The company carries more than 50
different brands and vendors, including
local vendors such as Lionblood, Detroit
Made and District 81. Recent merchan-
dise releases, such as Kanye West Adidas
Yeezy Boost 350 V2 sneakers and exclu-
sive limited edition Starter jackets cel-
ebrating Detroit sports teams, have seen
customers lining up outside Elite Mr.
Alan’s stores, sometimes overnight.

Sneakerheads

Jackie Headapohl | Managing Editor

CEO Jacob Bishop, 30, son of now-
retired founder Alan Bishop, is no
stranger to sneaker culture. Jacob, who
grew up in West Bloomfield and had
his bar mitzvah at Temple Israel, left
Michigan State University in his senior
year to move to Florida with his older
brother Adam and launch Soles Inc., a
high-end sneaker boutique, which now
has four locations in the Sunshine State.
“I spent 10 years in Florida then
moved back to Michigan in 2012 to
work with Mr. Alan’s,” Bishop said. “I
ended up falling in love with Michigan
again and decided it was going to be my
permanent home.”
Upon taking the title of CEO of Mr.
Alan’s, Bishop, single and a resident of
Royal Oak, honed in on a new vision for
the company. “I spent most of my time
on strategy, branding and vision, focus-
ing on expansion,” he said.
First he worked on remodeling the
stores, giving each a cool and fresh new
look. Then he brought in more exclusive
brands. Then came the name change to
“Elite Mr. Alan’s.”
“We wanted customers to know this
wasn’t the same old Mr. Alan’s they used
to know,” he said.
The expansion of the company, which
includes plans to expand its footprint
by 50 percent within the next two years,
follows the trajectory seen in the growth
of the sneaker industry, which reached
$22 billion by 2013, a U.S. record, and

Elite Mr. Alan’s opening up
a new Detroit location.

An inside and outside
look at one of the
Elite Mr. Alan’s stores

A COMMUNITY PARTNER
The company is also actively involved
with the community. “The connection of
family and community is an important
part of how I am running and growing
the company — and the roots for that
thinking come from my Jewish faith,”
said Bishop, who went on a Birthright
trip during college and remains in con-
tact with the IDF soldiers he met there.
“The philosophy is not only part of
our employee culture, but also in the
outreach we lend to the community.”
During the Flint water crisis, the com-
pany collected and distributed water for
residents. Singer Keyshia Cole attended
the water drive at Elite Mr. Alan’s, and
the event got some national attention via
TMZ. More than 5,000 cases of bottled-
water along with 3,000 gallon jugs of
water were collected during the event.
Elite Mr. Alan’s has also been involved
with raising money for Detroit PAL and
JDRF. It held a basketball camp with the
Fab Five and recently employed a home-
less man discovered by Channel 955’s
Mojo in the Morning.
In November, Elite Mr. Alan’s is spon-
soring the creation of an 8-foot sneaker
made of cans by Neumann/Smith
Architecture. The display of cans will be
at the Wayne State University campus,
with all cans to be donated to local hun-
ger relief organizations in December for
the holidays.
“We strive to embed our brand into

continued on page 32

30 October 27 • 2016