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

In a crowded industry that’s dominated by a handful of huge global manufacturers as well as a growing number of online and in-store outlets vying for a piece of the red-hot athleisure and streetwear trends, it could be argued that sneaker retailing is probably best avoided, at least by relative newcomers.

But for Ross Yip, co-founder and COO of online sneaker startup KicksCrew, there’s plenty of space for something new and different, especially if it appeals to first-time buyers and brand-new sellers.

“We’re trying to democratize sneaker culture,” Yip told PYMNTS in a recent interview from his base in Los Angeles. Not only is KicksCrew working to introduce more women to its platform, it’s also looking to help small retailers and mom and pop shops bring their businesses online to a growing global audience.

With the help of some solid marketing, as well as a bit of creative innovation, such as KicksCrew’s gender neutral size chart, 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. “We’re not just looking at the ‘hype’ resale market, which has been on fire for the last couple of years, we’re really bringing sneaker culture to a bigger audience.”

Pricing and Authenticity

In its role as an eCommerce enablement platform for small retailers, Yip said KicksCrew helps these outgunned little guys sell their sneakers however they want.

“We don’t control pricing. [Retailers] control the pricing. We facilitate the transaction,” Yip said, while noting the increased importance authenticity has taken on in the wake of Nike’s counterfeit allegations against StockX in mid-May.

Yip says the more choices customers have to search for and buy sneakers the better, adding that KicksCrew is different from its larger rivals.

“I will say that StockX is more a reselling experience, where we’re really an end consumer experience,” Yip said. “People that buy from them could be resellers or it could be for resale activity. But for us, the end users are people who are actually going to end up wearing the shoes they buy from us, so it’s entirely different customer behavior.”

In addition, Yip said KicksCrew was launching a new co-branded authenticity campaign with its newly attained buy now, pay later (BNPL) partner Klarna.

“Authenticity is actually one of our strongest points,” Yip said. “Given that we only work with retailers, there’s zero chance of fakes or replicas from our supply,” he added, noting that some of the proceeds from the company’s $6 million Series A fundraise in March will go toward deepening its investment in technology and engineers.

Nike’s D2C Push

The ongoing push by Nike to deepen its own direct-to-consumer (D2C) business at the expense of retailers such as Foot Locker has clearly shaken up the industry but is not viewed as a threat by Yip.

“We have seen some smaller retailers get their accounts cut but I think in the most recent Nike shareholder report they also mentioned that sort of action was slowing down,” he said, noting the profitability and risks that are involved in any D2C operation.

“I think they’re striking a good balance right now, but it’s not just about Nike as all the other brands are still very, very much reliant on wholesale and retail,” he said.

In the meantime, with funding in place, a Klarna relationship that’s already boosting order size by 10% to 15%, and 80 employees on staff, KicksCrew is looking to scale the business, particularly on the athletic apparel side of things, which currently accounts for only about 10% of sales.