Global sneaker and apparel marketplace Stadium Goods has raised over $4.6 million in equity funding.
The financing round — the company’s first — was led by Forerunner Ventures, and includes The Chernin Group. Mark Cuban is also a partner and adviser.
Jed Stiller, a cofounder of Stadium Goods, said the funding will be used for four key areas: Bolstering its logistics through staffing; scaling revenue via strategic digital spend and marketing initiatives, with expansion both domestically and overseas with strategic partners; optimization of its proprietary software and improvement of the customer experience.
In addition to Stiller, another cofounder was John McPheters. The two founded the company in late 2015. In addition to having an online presence, the market platform also operates a bricks-and-mortar site in Manhattan, in SoHo. In addition to sneakers, the site sells footwear, apparel and lifestyle goods.
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Kirsten Green, founder of Forerunner Ventures, said, “ Stadium Goods has transcended a seemingly niche market, proving that they can be a critical player in the larger global athletic footwear retail market.”
Jason Bergsman, executive vice president at The Chernin Group, said, “We are big believers in the powers of passionate audiences and consumers. Stadium Goods has quickly established itself as a leading brand that super serves sneaker collectors and connoisseurs with authenticity, while appealing to more casual buyers as well.”
Bergsman added that the unique narratives that surround the products fuel content that is “widely distributed on online publications, their own site and via social media.” He said his firm “invest[s] behind content that drives fan action, with commerce an increasingly important component of the business models we support.”
This past summer, the company expanded its presence into China through a partnership with Tmall Global, an extension of Alibaba Group’s B2C Tmall.com business. Tmall Global enables overseas merchants to enter China’s growing online retail market.
According to Stiller, “In just over a year in business, we’ve experienced tremendous growth and, more importantly, helped to legitimize the resale model by making it more relevant and accessible to all types of consumers.”