KICKS CREW — a leading global e-commerce platform for sneakers and apparel — recently announced the closing of $6 million in Series A funding. The funding was led by Gobi Partners, Pacific Century Group, and DL Securities. And the capital raised will assist in strengthening the company’s foothold in the U.S. market, attract talent across engineering, product, and marketing teams, and introduce a headquarters in Los Angeles.
The inception of the company dated back to 2008 as a project by Founder and CEO Johnny Mak to pursue a vision in making a sneaker platform that is accessible to all. KICKS CREW’s dynamic platform brings creators, curators, and consumers together in one inclusive community. And the company’s B2B2C marketplace model also guarantees product authenticity for consumers as they are the only sneaker marketplace exclusively working directly with retailers of the brands they carry.
The brand’s slogan Find Your Pair calls for inclusivity and addresses the gap in the current market hyper-focused on limited editions and luxury offerings, despite growing demand and a large addressable market in the general athletic footwear and apparel segment.
KEY QUOTES:
“Global adaptability and an ever-evolving mindset have always been in our DNA. With that in mind, we built a platform answering to a diverse community of shoppers seeking products of different functions and price points. Today, we offer a wide variety of products with over 400,000 styles. This well-timed investment is a huge step towards our goal of providing a best-in-class customer experience – by having the widest selection and fastest shipping speed, and for our retailer sellers – a scalable and frictionless selling experience allowing them to seamlessly reach a global audience.”
— Ross Adrian Yip, Co-founder and COO of KICKS CREW
“In the online sneaker market, most platforms target the relatively niche high-end and collectibles segments, and put less emphasis on the much larger everyday sneaker consumer. KICKS CREW identified this massive market opportunity and built a trusted brand servicing these customers. We are thrilled to be able to support them as they look to further expand their platform and offerings.”
— Chibo Tang, Managing Partner at Gobi Partners Greater Bay Are