GOAT and Flight Club Merge to Become the World’s Largest Sneaker Marketplace
Index Ventures leads $60 million in funding to fuel growth of GOAT and Flight Club as a combined company.
GOAT, the world’s leading digital sneaker marketplace, today announced a merger with sneaker consignment pioneer Flight Club. The merger brings together two leading brands in the sneaker space that combined, will deliver unparalleled mobile, web and retail shopping experiences.
Following the merger, GOAT and Flight Club will continue to operate as independent brands. GOAT will continue to focus on mobile and web listings, and utilize its best-in-class technology platform across the combined companies, while Flight Club will continue its focus on global retail and e-commerce consignment.
As the first company to focus on reselling rare sneakers, Flight Club revolutionized sneaker retail and paved the way for what is now a two billion dollar resale industry,” said Eddy Lu, co-founder and CEO of GOAT. “The merger of Flight Club and GOAT, together with $60 million in new funding, will allow us to significantly scale our online and retail operations to meet customer demand both domestically and internationally.
“Aligning with GOAT’s world-class technology and mobile listings platform is the logical evolution of our business. The complementary strengths of the two companies puts us in the best position to go after the entire market rather than compete for pieces of it,” said Damany Weir, co-founder and president of Flight Club.
Along with the merger, GOAT and Flight Club announced a new funding round of $60 million led by Index Ventures. Other participants include existing GOAT investors Accel, Matrix Partners, Upfront Ventures and Webb Investment Network. This most recent round brings GOAT’s total funding to $97.6 million. Index Ventures’ Danny Rimer and Flight Club’s Damany Weir will join GOAT’s Board of Directors.
“With more than 15 million monthly site visits and 7 million members combined, GOAT and Flight Club have quickly evolved from pioneers in the sneaker space to industry leaders, with the potential to fundamentally change the way everyone shops for sneakers,” said Danny Rimer, Partner at Index Ventures. “We’re truly impressed by the rapid growth that GOAT and Flight Club have achieved, and look forward to helping them accelerate even further.”
ABOUT GOAT
GOAT is a premium marketplace for buying and selling authentic sneakers. Founded in 2015 to bring trust and safety to sneaker reselling, the platform now offers the largest selection of sneakers ranging from general releases to rare exclusives. Through its managed marketplace model, authentication service and buyer protection, GOAT is the most trusted option in the industry.
ABOUT FLIGHT CLUB
For over a decade, Flight Club has changed the landscape of sneaker retail. Carrying every brand name on the market, Flight Club has evolved from a one-stop sneaker destination, to a cultural hub for sneaker enthusiasts and novices alike. With two brick-and-mortar locations housed in New York and Los Angeles, Flight Club remains as the premiere source for everything sneakers.
Published — Feb. 8, 2018
