Fashion footwear and streetwear company StreetTrend has acquired the European based luxury sneaker brand P448 from Italy’s NoThanks SpA.
StreetTrend was launched in 2017 by former Stuart Wetizman CEO Wayne Kulkin in a joint venture partnership with the financial services and brand investment firm Hilco Global and its CEO Jeffrey Hecktman. It designs, manufactures, distributes and sells several footwear brands, including the P448 sneakers, for which it is the exclusive distributor and marketing partner in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. It acquired 30% ownership of NoThanks in 2018, and Kulkin became the chairman of the board.
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According to StreetTrend, the P448 brand has achieved CAGR of approximately 40% each year and has expanded its distribution channels to retailers such as Nordstrom, Evereve, Bloomingdales, ShopBop, Revolve, Printemps, Luisaviaroma, Illum, Level Shoes and La Rinascente.
“Everyone is saying wholesale is dead – wholesale is not dead but it’s evolving. The wholesale to DTC penetration will now move more towards a 70%/30% split DTC to wholesale. This is the new reality,” Kulkin says.
StreetTrend, which claims the P448 brand saw an increase of 800% on its digital channels in the first half of the year, recently expanded into new markets, including Taiwan, and is working with new digital partners such as Revolve. It has also launched a new design and creative services group, TheProjectSociety, with a network of experts and facilities.
To support the group, StreetTrend has opened a 20,000 sq ft design studio in Elda in Spain to enable the company to launch footwear collections for four lifestyle brands, creating complete lines from sketch to market.
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By GlobalDataKulkin adds: “All production and sourcing were executed in Italy and Spain, a critical factor in order to ensure premier design, quality and craftsmanship.”
