| Kicks Crew | |
| Foundation: | 2021 |
| Industry: | Retail |
| Location: | New York City |
Kicks Crew (stylized KICKS CREW) is a New York City-based global digital marketplace for footwear, clothing, and accessories, primarily focusing on sneakers. The company's main founding principle was to make the online sneaker market accessible to a broader audience not looking solely for limited edition shoes and luxury styles but interested in more general products.[1]
They operate a B2B2C model offering a digital platform for resale only to brands and retailers, which means that the products sold on their website and mobile app consist of exclusive launches, overstock, and excess inventory rather than being sourced second-hand.[2] This is aimed at avoiding some of the authenticity challenges of the C2B2C marketplace model.[3]
The website stocks over 400,000 products from all major sportswear brands and a wide range of other apparel and footwear companies[4] including a number of emerging brands from Asia.[5]
Kicks Crew was launched in 2008[6] by Johnny Mak, who took the role of CEO, and Ross Adrian Yip, a former business development director at Los Angeles-based online sneaker marketplace GOAT Group, who acts as COO.[7] Their stated aim was to make sneakers accessible to everyone. Initially, the company operated across a number of third-party platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Tmall, and JD.com. As their following grew, the focus shifted to a direct-to-consumer model in 2021.[8]
In November 2022 the company announced a close of $7.2 million in Series A funding led by Gobi Partners and Pacific Century Group, which also included an investment from Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard. This was his first start-up investment.[9]
Lillard also became the company's first "Crew Athlete",[10] which sees him working with Kicks Crew on curated sneaker releases, website content, and giveback events. The first such event took place in October 2022 in Lillard's hometown of Oakland, California.[11] where he drove a Kicks Crew branded ice cream truck to Brookfield Park to hand out free pairs of sneakers.[12] In June 2023, Lillard coached high school students in gyms across lower-income areas of Hong Kong's Kowloon district.[13]
In 2023 Chinese sneaker brand Rigorer launched NBA star Austin Reaves' first signature sneaker, the AR1, in multiple colorways exclusively on Kicks Crew:[14] the debut titled "Ice Cream"[15] and a "Stars & Stripes" variant as a tribute to Team USA's legacy were the first two releases.[16] The partnership was expanded in October 2023 with the release of a Los Angeles Lakers-inspired colorway to celebrate Reeves’ four-year max contract signing.[17] and November 2023 restocks of the debut launches.[18] [19]
In December 2023 Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving made an investment in Kicks Crew and announced that he would join the company in the role of Chief Community Officer.[20]