Global e-commerce platform Kicks Crew announced the closing of its $6 million Series A funding round on Wednesday, led by Gobi Partners, Pacific Century Group and Complex China.
The new capital will be used to open a U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles and hire new talents in marketing, product and engineering.
“We are setting up our headquarters in Los Angeles to focus on brand awareness and brand partnerships,” said cofounders Johnny Mak and Ross Adrian Yip. “We will be building out creative, brand and communications teams and exploring brand partnerships that align with our vision. Part of our agenda has always been to share our story to a wider audience, while discovering new insights and untapped opportunities. We see ourselves actively collaborating with creatives on ground as well as interacting with the local community to achieve these goals.”
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Founded as an online-only resale platform by in 2008, Kicks Crew partnered with direct-to-consumer platforms like Amazon, eBay, Tmall and JD to establish an accessible and authentic b-to-b-to-c sneaker platform. The company shifted to a direct-to-consumer model one year ago, according to the founders, and has been “experiencing hyper growth,” they said.
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“Our Gross Merchandise Value grew 15 times in 2021 over 2020 and our website traffic has grown five times since January 2021,” the founders added. “This was attributed to us onboarding new retailers that gave us access to a wide variety of brands ranging from athletic (Nike, Converse, Adidas, New Balance), function (Salomon, On, Hoka One One, Asics) to luxury brands (Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton and Gucci). By having everything available, customers can stay within our platform for anything they might need, and enjoy a one-stop shopping experience.”
They said their growing online presence caught Gobi Partners’ attention. “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,” said Chibo Tang, managing partner at Gobi Partners Greater Bay Area, in a statement. “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.”
Kicks Crew works directly with the retailers of the brands they carry — “Our business model guarantees product authenticity because we address this issue at the source of supply,” they said — and currently offer over 400,000 products across sneakers, timepieces and collectibles like Be@rbrick.
“Compared to our peers in the industry that see a higher percentage of male customers, Kicks Crew differentiates itself by having female customers account for 40 percent of our sales in 2021 and we see a 27 percent higher conversion from this customer segment,” the founders said. “We attribute this to our wide selection of long-tail releases, validated by our female customers who tag us when posting their purchases and interacting with the community on social media.”
The company also plans to create a more inclusive secondary market by engaging its audience through livestream events and implement blockchain technology to enhance authentication.
The new funding comes as competitors like StockX and Goat crossed $1 billion valuations during the pandemic. StockX closed 2020 with a $275 million Series E funding round that increased its valuation to $2.8 billion and Goat closed the same year with a $1.75 billion valuation after a $100 million Series E funding round. To start 2021, Groupe Artémis invested in the company to accelerate its growth and expansion in new categories.