Foot Locker, the classic mass-market shoe source for athletic mallrats, invested $100m in GOAT Group, the online sneaker marketplace for rare and high-end kicks.
According to TechCrunch, the companies said that the investment will eventually lead to the 2 companies combining their efforts across their digital and physical retail platforms.
Did Foot Locker just save itself from turning into Blockbuster?
Foot Locker is yet another store falling victim to the retail apocalypse, closing 110 stores last year and 147 in 2017.
But, the investment in GOAT could be its shot at a new sole: Founded in 2015, the LA-based online shoe marketplace helped pioneer the ship-to-verify model into the secondary sneaker biz to help make vintage shoe-buying a more “seamless” and “safe” customer experience.
Now, GOAT has over 12m active users on the platform, up from last year’s 2.5m sneakerheads. In 2018 several top sellers on GOAT sold over $10m worth of sneakers, up from $2m in 2017.
The online Sole Rush continues
Sneaker resale is incredibly hot right now, and these days it’s attracting more than your average hypebeast.
Farfetch acquired online sneaker marketplace Stadium Goods for $250m in December, and StockX hauled in $44m in 2018.
Plus, Foot Locker isn’t GOAT’s first foray into physical retailers; last year it acquired physical retailer Flight Club.
