E-Commerce Platform Kicks Crew Lands $6M in Round A Financing
Kicks Crew, an e-commerce platform featuring sneakers and apparel, recently completed an A round of financing worth $6 million. This round of financing was led by Alibaba‘s Entrepreneurs Fund, Gobi Partners and Pacific Century Group. The funds obtained will mainly be used to build up the company’s technical teams, invest in brand building, and further expand into international markets.
Based on the diversification of consumer demand in different regions, Kicks Crew, established in 2008, has built a cross-border e-commerce platform focusing on the trendy sneakers and apparel market. Through cooperation with brand distributors in nearly 20 countries in Asia-Pacific and Europe, the company provides authentic sneakers and related services for their consumers. The platform uses big data analysis to push different products according to user preferences in different regions.
At present, Kicks Crew is mainly aimed at consumers aged 18 to 34, and the largest user group is concentrated in the US, contributing more than 70% of revenue. Categories include sneakers, clothing, ornaments and designer toys. Except for a small number of popular products, most products sold through the platform are priced at about $220. According to Johnny Mak, founder and CEO of Kicks Crew, there are hundreds of thousands of Stock-Keeping Units (SKUs) on the platform. The company has two self-built warehouses in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and it also has one warehouse in Japan. The platform plans to build its fourth warehouse and corporate headquarters in the US later this year.
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For future development, after obtaining this round A of financing, Kicks Crew will accelerate its expansion and is planning to launch an app in the first half of this year. In addition, given user demand, second sales and other factors, the company is also planning to include watches and toys in the platform. The company is also looking at expanding its reach within the broader Asian market.
Interestingly, Kicks Crew is also exploring the NFT industry. “We will launch our own brand of NFT sneakers. Consumers who buy our NFT sneakers can become our star-rated members, enjoy community discounts or be in a priority position for our hottest products.”