Main Highlights:
- Kicks Crew, which began in 2008 as a side business for founder and CEO Johnny Mak, is trying to establish a reputation for product authenticity and accessibility.
- The startup raised $6 million in a Series A round-headed Gobi Partners, Pacific Century Group, and Complex China to expand its US footprint.
- The investment comes when the global sneaker resale market is expanding, with Cowen Equity Research forecasting a $30 billion market by 2030.
Global demand for premium Yeezys and limited edition Jordans, along with the emergence of a digital environment, provides new opportunities for firms like Kicks Crew, a sneaker and clothing platform located in Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
The firm recently closed a $6 million Series A investment led by Gobi Partners, Pacific Century Group, and Complex China to further establish its presence in the United States. The financing comes when the global sneaker resale industry is booming, with Cowen Equity Research projecting that the market would reach $30 billion by 2030.
About Kicks Crew Authentication Process
Kicks Crew, which began in 2008 as a side project for founder and CEO Johnny Mak, is looking to carve out a position for itself as a resale platform that can be relied on for product authenticity and accessibility.
According to Ross Adrian Yip, chief operating officer and co-founder of Kicks-Crew, the startup operates on a B2B2C sneaker marketplace model, which entails working directly with verified retailers of the brands they carry and ensuring product authenticity for consumers. Yip previously worked for the US sneaker platform GOAT.
He added that other rivals use a C2B2C business model and rely heavily on independent sellers with unknown supply sources. This is why each product that travels through the platform must be authenticated.
Yip said that even with machine learning and artificial intelligence-assisted verification, the process is still manual and relies on human judgment, which means that errors will occur. Kicks Crew now incorporates radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, enabling the firm to identify each product individually for its merchants. Yip also stated that the business intends to increase consumer transparency by utilizing blockchain technology to obtain product orders and quality control information through a QR code.
A Lookout for Hypebeasts
Additionally, Kicks Crew seeks to fill a void in the present industry, which is too focused on limited editions and premium items, despite increased demand and a sizable potential market for general sports footwear and gear. This, Yip explained, entails developing a platform that does not repel users based on product offerings or pricing points — everything they seek is available here.
Chibo Tang, the managing partner of Gobi Partners, stated that most platforms in the online sneaker business focus on the relatively small high-end collectibles segment and place little emphasis on the much bigger daily sneaker customer. Kicks Crew saw this enormous market potential and established a trusted brand to serve these people.
Yip said the firm has collaborated with several significant direct-to-consumer platforms, including Amazon, eBay, Tmall.com, and JD.com, and has earned a reputation for its legitimate, scalable, and bottomless supply. The firm’s platform enables producers, curators, and consumers to collaborate in a welcoming environment.
Today, the site provides a diverse selection of items in over 400,000 designs, including well-known Nike, Adidas, and Converse. Yip did not divulge the number of users but stated that its gross merchandise value climbed 15 times in 2021 compared to 2020 and that its traffic increased more than five times since January 2021. Kicks Crew intends to raise its workforce to around 150 individuals this year to continue its development.
Kicks Crew sells its products worldwide, although its primary markets are the United States, Canada, Australia, and Asia. According to Yip, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan are the startup’s main Asian markets.
Kicks Crew also sees an opportunity to develop its company in Southeast Asian nations with a large potential audience and no dominating competitor, Yip notes. This creates an ideal environment for the firm to disrupt the athletic footwear purchasing experience. The business is looking at nations such as the Philippines, renowned for its basketball obsession, and Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, which all have a rising customer base for brands, he noted.
According to Yip, global flexibility and an ever-evolving philosophy have always been ingrained in their DNA. Keeping this in mind, they developed a platform that caters to a varied group of customers looking for items with a range of purposes and price ranges.
