Greats raises 10 million dollars in Series B funding

Greats, the Brooklyn-based digitally native, direct-to-consumer sneaker company, has announced a 10 million dollar Series B round of financing. JH Partners led the round with participation from new and existing investors including Resolute Ventures, retired NFL star Adrian Wilson, Eric Zinterhoffer of Searchlight Capital among other fashion and entertainment related companies. The new funding will enable the company to invest in new technologies, grow a successful team and open 10 or more pop-up retail experiences over the next two years in key cities across the United States.

Founded in August 2013 by Ryan Babenzien, Greats set out to disrupt the 17.5 billion dollar sneaker industry by producing and selling classic Made in Italy sneaker silhouettes, directly from Greats.com. Greats' business concept enables the company to sell high-quality footwear at a fraction of the cost associated with its established competitors.

The majority of the brand's shoes are under 200 dollars.

Although 2017 has been a challenging year for retailers, Greats still managed to have a successful Q1 and even doubled revenue month over month. In the past year, they have been able to double their number of silhouettes offered from two to over a dozen. In March, the company added women's shoes, becoming a dual gender brand. Women's now makes up 1/3 of their business.

"We have a very unique model that allows us to release a collaboration, color or silhouette update every two weeks which keeps Greats top of mind with our customer base," said Ryan Babenzien, CEO and founder of Greats. "For example, recently we released a collaboration with Brendan Schaub & Bryan Callen of the podcast Fighter and the Kid with the sneaker selling out in 48 minutes."

"JH Partners is excited to partner with Greats because we believe the company has demonstrated a unique point of view not only in their reimagining of classic silhouettes and design elements, but also in the value proposition the brand delivers to customers," said John Hansen, founder and partner of JH Partners. "Greats is an example of the future of specialty retail - a differentiated offering coupled with a channel development philosophy of leading with e-commerce but supplementing those direct-to-consumer sales with targeted retail and wholesale distribution. Their innovative multi-channel distribution strategy creates a brand halo that best facilitates both growth and profitability."

JH partners is known for helping drive businesses to grow, so with them on Greats' side, the brand appears poised for further success.

photo: via Greats.com