24 Sep Goat Group Raises $100 Million To Further Accelerate Growth
Goat Group, the online marketplace for sneakerheads, closed a Series E funding round of $100 million from D1 Capital Partners.
Founded in 2015 as a sneaker re-seller, the company has expanded into apparel and accessories from select emerging, contemporary brands. The added capital will accelerate the company’s growth further solidifying its position as a destination site for its “30 million members, hundreds of thousands of sellers, as well as brand and boutique partners,” said the brand.
“Our mission is to bring the world’s greatest products together from the past, present and future while providing a premier end-to-end customer experience with a point of view on culture and style,” said Eddy Lu, co-founder and chief executive officer of Goat Group. “We will utilize this new round of funding to capture the significant market opportunities in sneakers, apparel and additional categories through technological innovation and by building even greater scale across our verticals” added Lu.
“We witnessed the impressive success that catapulted Goat to become a top player in the sneaker space and were drawn to their disciplined operational approach and differentiated value proposition,” said Dan Sundheim, founder of D1 Capital Partners. “As Goat continues to grow its core business and expand into new categories, it is rapidly emerging as one of the best positioned next-generation global e-commerce platforms. We have confidence in Goat’s exceptional leadership team to execute on their clear and bold vision,” added Sundheim.
Inclusive of the funding from D1, the company has raised nearly $300 million from venture capital and strategic investors including Accel, Foot Locker, Index, and Upfront Ventures. Named as one of Fast Company’s Top 5 Most Innovative Retail Companies of 2020, Goat has 13 physical locations in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, including distribution and authentication centers that ship products to 170 international markets. Goat’s platforms feature over 350 brands across sneakers, apparel and accessories.