ByteDance Could Sell Small Share of Sneaker Reseller Poizon

ByteDance is mulling selling “a low single-digit percentage point stake” of online sneaker marketplace Poizon, preferably to an existing investor, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (June 7).

Poizon, formally known as Shanghai Shizhuang Information Technology, is valued at more than $10 billion, according to the report. ByteDance, which owns video-sharing platform TikTok, rejiggered its investment arm earlier this year, eliminating its venture capital group and reorganizing its strategic investment group.

The online sneaker resale marketplace has been hectic these days, with marketplace StockX fighting against Nike’s allegations that it’s been selling counterfeit versions of the Swoosh-branded sneakers.

Read more: Nike Alleges Sneaker Marketplace StockX Is Selling Fake Shoes

CNBC reported Monday (June 6) that StockX said Nike had previously praised its anti-counterfeiting measures, citing a draft of a court filing in U.S. District Court in New York City.

Nike and StockX first squared off over non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with Nike suing StockX in February, saying StockX’s NFTs of Nike shoes infringed on trademarks and could confuse customers.

Poizon, which is known as “De Wu” in Chinese, launched an app that offered information on the latest fashion trends in 2015 and became an online marketplace two years later, Bloomberg reported. The platform authenticates products before they are resold, preventing users from buying counterfeits.

Meanwhile, Ross Yip, co-founder and chief operating officer of online sneaker startup KicksCrew, told PYMNTS the company is “trying to democratize sneaker culture,” introducing more women to its platform and helping small retailers and mom and pop shops bring their businesses online.

See more: KicksCrew Aims to Grow Sneaker Culture to More Women, Mom and Pop Shops

Due to KicksCrew’s gender neutral size chart and its marketing proposition, 40% of its customers are now female, and the list of retailers that are looking to present their digital storefront to the world is also growing.

“Our female customer base actually converts 27% better than men, and they are also more common in repeat purchases,” Yip said.