German online retailer Zalando is selling its subsidiary Kickz.com. The platform, which specializes in basketball and streetwear and also operates its own stores in Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart, among others, was acquired by Zalando in 2017.
The new owner will now be Play Hard Group Holding, which focuses on the design and production of sports and streetwear. With the takeover, the employment contracts of the almost 200 Kickz.com employees remain unchanged. Behind Play Group are Philipp Buchholtz and Niels Jäger together with Crealize GmbH, owned by Jacob Fatih. 
"I am very much looking forward to implementing our vision of Kickz.com as the most valuable player for basketball sportswear in Europe with our well-coordinated team and fresh impulses. Our corporate culture will be designed to be as transparent as possible and will be shaped above all by our passionate employees and their basketball and sneaker expertise–this is our clear focus. We want to give our employees the greatest possible freedom of development and promote their potential. Not least, our customers are also happy about this," says Jacob Fatih, founder of Crealize.
"To this end, we will first redesign the website and the 11 offline stores–including those in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart," says Philipp Buchholtz, CEO of Play Hard Group. "In the more than 25-year success story of Kickz.com, I look forward to driving forward the uncompromising strengthening of the brand DNA and further expanding the positioning as a leading basketball specialist. A major focus is on strengthening our community," adds Niels Jäger, creative director of the Play Hard Group.
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The new owner will now be Play Hard Group Holding, which focuses on the design and production of sports and streetwear. With the takeover, the employment contracts of the almost 200 Kickz.com employees remain unchanged. Behind Play Group are Philipp Buchholtz and Niels Jäger together with Crealize GmbH, owned by Jacob Fatih.
Photo: Crealize
From left to right: The management team behind Kickz.com: Niels Jäger (creative director of Play Hard Group), Philipp Buchholtz (CEO of Play Hard Group) and Jacob Fatih (founder of Crealize)
"To this end, we will first redesign the website and the 11 offline stores–including those in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart," says Philipp Buchholtz, CEO of Play Hard Group. "In the more than 25-year success story of Kickz.com, I look forward to driving forward the uncompromising strengthening of the brand DNA and further expanding the positioning as a leading basketball specialist. A major focus is on strengthening our community," adds Niels Jäger, creative director of the Play Hard Group.
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