Mumbai: Sujit Jain and actor Sanjay Dutt have invested half a million USD in the new age premium sneakers marketplace called DawnTown. In addition to consolidating DawnTown’s position as one of the leaders in the online sneaker resale segment, the investment will be used to establish a physical retail presence in India and eventually its global expansion. Founded during the pandemic, the two-year-old start-up has already witnessed steady growth in revenue from its online marketplace.
The sneaker marketplace was one of the very few sectors unfazed by the Covid-19 contagion. The segment has witnessed an upward surge as of 2022, especially amongst millennials. As per media reports, India generated a whopping revenue of $2.62 billion in 2022, in the sneaker segment and is expected to grow annually by 11.58 per cent. One of the major contributors to this monumental revenue is the “Cop” and “Drop” concept which is very widely practised in the industry. Sneakers release in specific quantities with demand much higher than the supply, hence leading them to get into the resale market. People get these drops and manage to flip them quick and earn high profits. Usually, sneakers copped for retail are sold to friends and family or aggregators like Dawntown who authenticate them and sell it ahead to the consumer. Sneakers and street wear were a thing only in tier one cities before the lockdown, but after covid there is a high demand in tier two and three cities as well. Every shoe holds a story and most of them are volatile assets, so this makes sneakerheads more interested in them.
DawnTown was established by Kushagra Patwari and Risheek Agrawal with the vision to provide their patrons access to an exclusive range of sneakers and streetwear that are not easily available at retail stores and websites, at the best price. The seed funding will further propel the growth plans of DawnTown. It is expected to contribute to the brand’s plans to enhance the technology and shopping experience to offer consumers authentic sneakers and apparel right at their doorsteps. The company also plans to open multiple retail outlets in India to augment the offline sneakers shopping experience for its consumers.
On his investment in DawnTown, Dutt commented, “I have been a sneaker head all my life. I have always had a thing for cool shoes. Through the 90s, I was majorly into cowboy boots. After the 2000s, sneakers became my thing. I was smitten by the make, designs, colours. I am so thrilled and excited to attach my name to a whole range that represents my love for sneakers. We plan to go wild with it and create groundbreaking products together. I can’t wait for the world to witness our range and join us!”
Netsurf Communications Pvt. Ltd. chairman and managing director Jain said, “Empowering young and talented entrepreneurs is always delightful, the team at Dawntown has figured out many relevant aspects of their business model at an early stage, I was impressed with their focus on authenticity & knowledge of contemporary fashion trends, more power to team Dawntown..!”
DawnTown founders, Patwari and Agrawal expressed, “Sneakers always excited us but before Dawntown we never knew how big the sneaker market already is and its getting bigger in the coming years.With this investment our major goal would be to set up our flagship store in Pali Hill, Mumbai, curate our inventory, enhance the experience for the consumer and providing sellers a platform to sell their sneakers while getting the fastest payout.”
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