Swag Kicks is an online marketplace for pre-washed and pre-disinfected genuine secondhand clothing that was founded by Mateen Ansari, Nofal Khan, and Hamza Sheikh in 2018.
One of the biggest importers of used clothing is Pakistan. More consumers are anticipated to thrift and shop in this category as a result of rising inflation and declining spending. Taking advantage of this expanding trend, recommerce startup Swag Kicks targets young Pakistanis who want to dress fashionable but do not have access to or cannot afford international brands.
Swag Kicks is an online marketplace for pre-washed and pre-disinfected genuine secondhand clothing that was founded by Mateen Ansari, Nofal Khan, and Hamza Sheikh in 2018.
The Karachi-based recommerce startup secured US$1.2 million in a seed funding round that was led by i2i Ventures and included Techstars Toronto, CrossFund Hong Kong, Rose Lake Ventures, i5 Capital, and STAK Group. The last time SOSV provided funding to the company, it was for $150,000.
According to the CEO of startup Swag Kicks, the business plans to use the most recent funding to strengthen its position in Pakistan’s market. “A larger facility is required to process our expanding inventory. A larger inbound facility would be built. Additionally, the money would be used for marketing, inventory purchases, etc., he said.
According to the company, ThriftOps, an in-house developed inventory management software, will help Swag Kicks expand and provide its services globally, unlike other thrift markets that have difficulty scaling their operations.
25,000 items are listed on Swag Kicks’ platform, and the company claims to have served over 100,000 customers. “Although there is a sizable secondhand clothing market in Pakistan, the supply is very disjointed.
Because of the complex back end they’ve created, including an internal warehouse SaaS product with enormous potential, the Swag Kicks team is able to operate at scale “In a statement, i2i Ventures co-founder and general partner Misbah Naqvi said.
In addition, Swag Kicks said that it aims to expand outside of Pakistan by pursuing the global direct-to-consumer and business-to-business markets for secondhand and vintage clothing.