Greats is a digitally native, direct-to-consumer sneaker company that produces and sells Made in Italy classic sneakers directly from its website, greats.com. Founded in August 2013 by Ryan Babenzien and based in Brooklyn, New York, the company expanded over the last year and a half from two styles to over a dozen classic-inspired silhouettes and added a women’s collection. The women’s collection now counts for one third of the business. Greats plans to use the Series B proceeds to invest in new technologies, grow its team, and open ten or more pop-up retail experiences over the next two years in key U.S. cities. The company remains focused on classic designs produced in Italy and direct online distribution. Greats Brand designs and sells men's sneakers direct-to-consumer online, running a small weekend pop-up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The company historically sold one or two versions of a shoe at a time; its single model “The Bab” generated $100,000 in sales in June. Since launch 11 months ago, sneaker sales are up 250% and revenue is up 134%, producing a projected $1.6M run rate for the year. The founders, Ryan Babenzien and Jon Buscemi, launched the company after combining roughly 20 years of footwear experience and positioned it as a brand focused on saving money for the end consumer. Greats handles design, buys product wholesale, and markets via social channels with essentially $0 spent on marketing, building a 32,000-strong Instagram following and notable organic social shares (40% of purchasers share their purchase). The company plans to expand its assortment to three models immediately and reach 10 models on the site by the first quarter of next year, while considering a permanent retail space. Greats is an e-commerce men's footwear label that launched in August, selling primarily sneaker styles made in the same factories as upscale lines. The brand sells shoes priced from $39 to $190 and reports current profit margins of about 60%. Founders Ryan Babenzien and Jon Buscemi brought industry experience from K-Swiss, Puma and Gourmet Footwear and initially pre-sold in beta before the public launch. The company began shipping three weeks after its August 6 launch and has started limited offline exposure through a small Williamsburg shop and displays at select stores in LA and Phoenix. Product plans include rolling out six additional shoes over the next year and adding boots, boat shoes, and auxiliary categories like socks, bags and sweatshirts. Management targets global expansion (early web traffic from multiple countries) and has a stated ambition of reaching $100 million in revenue within five years.

Total raised

$12M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

May 2017