Culture Kings eyes US expansion

Streetwear retailer Culture Kings is looking at a potential US partner but hosed down speculation it is close to sealing a $600m deal.

Streetwear retailer Culture Kings shop front in Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Streetwear retailer Culture Kings is looking at a potential US partner but has hosed down speculation it was close to sealing a $600m deal with a Boston private equity firm.

The Brisbane-based company declined to comment on media reports that the company’s founder Simon Beard planned to sell a half share in his business to Boston’s Summit Partners.

It is understood Culture Kings, which operates an online business and eight physical stores around Australia, last year had initial talks with potential partners about expanding in the US. But the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had delayed any deal.

The company founded by Mr Beard with his wife Tahnee in 2008 from a stall at the Carrara markets on the Gold Coast now employs 500 people with a focus on online sales.

Summit Partners, which manages assets worth in excess of $23b, did not respond to a request for comment. Summit has taken stakes in technology and healthcare companies across the globe, investing between US$10m and US$500m in each company.

Shoppers in Culture Kings during the Boxing Day sales

Culture Kings, which boasts that celebrities including Justin Bieber, Drake and Ronaldo have visited its stores, sells a modern clothing range targeted to millennials and teenagers.

Its stores feature in-house DJs and a basketball shooting competitions designed to attract the young.

Mr Beard and his wife last year unveiled plans to dramatically expand their Gold Coast mega mansion to create a giant Bali-style “pool zone”.

They bought the resort-style property for $11.75 million

According to the company’s latest financial statement lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Culture Kings reported a profit after tax of $19.4m last year on revenue of $183.7m.
The company said COVID-19 had not had a significant impact on the operations of the group although its stores across the country were closed at staggered times from March to June. The impact of the closed stores had been compensated by increased online trading.