Foot Locker Inc. announced that it has made a strategic investment in Super Heroic Inc., best known for its kids footwear with an underlying message of empowerment.
The company is taking a minority stake in the innovative, high-performance, tactical play and entertainment company whose mission is to inspire children to be more active through play. The $3 million Series Seed II investment brings the total raised by Super Heroic to $10 million since it was founded in 2016.
Headquartered in Oakland, CA and co-founded by Jason Mayden and Harshal Sisodia, Super Heroic is a lifestyle brand that designs, manufactures and markets innovative footwear, clothing and accessories. Combining cutting-edge technical functionality and high-performance designed products specifically created for children, Super Heroic has achieved a significant foothold in the growing youth footwear category since its inception. As part of Foot Locker, Inc.’s strategic investment, Kids Foot Locker will be the first brick-and-mortar retailer of Super Heroic products in the U.S.
Both worked at Nike before finding Super Heroic in 2017. Mayden’s last role at Nike was Sr. global design director-Brand Jordan. Sisodia was global digital brand director at Nike and had led Brand Jordan’s global digital brand strategy.
“We are excited to partner with Super Heroic, a company that shares our deep commitment to empowering children through innovative athletic products,” states Richard Johnson, Foot Locker’s Chairman and CEO. “With its robust talent and cutting-edge innovation, we look forward to working with Jason and the entire Super Heroic team to offer an exciting, fresh product to our customers, while realizing additional growth opportunities for the future. Giving kids the tools to be active is in our DNA. Having our two companies come together to empower kids to play has the potential to be game changing.”
“We are excited to partner with Foot Locker and benefit from its unparalleled expertise in the footwear and apparel markets as we seek to elevate our brand to the next level,” said Mayden, Super Heroic’s Chief Executive Officer. “This partnership marks an important milestone for Super Heroic and validates the significant progress we have made since our founding just over two years ago. We look forward to working together to expand Super Heroic’s reach as we continue creating best-in-class product and experiences to inspire children around the world.”
Foot Locker Inc. will serve as a board advisor to Super Heroic, partnering with the company on various growth initiatives from product to content.
In January 2018, Foot Locker made a similar strategic investment in Carbon38, the women’s activewear firm. The company’s banners include Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Footaction, Runners Point, Sidestep, and SIX:02. It also owns Eastbay.com,.
