Goat Enlists Los Angeles Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma to Help Build Brand Buzz

EXPRESS YOURSELF: Online sneaker reselling marketplace Goat has inked a deal to have Kyle Kuzma serve as the face of its brand.

The Los Angeles Lakers player, as part of the deal, will don various sneakers sourced from Goat throughout the season during and outside of games. The deal reflects a seizing of the NBA’s reversed course on a rule that had dictated what sneaker colors players could wear on the court. The rule change now allows for any color footwear during games.

For Goat, Kuzma marks the first time the company is spending to have an ambassador for the brand and follows a flurry of activity this year.

Goat has grown through its digital marketplace that lets people buy and sell sneakers authenticated by Goat.

In February, the company, which launched in 2015, merged with Flight Club, a sneaker consignment retailer with doors in Los Angeles and New York, effectively combining the worlds of physical retail and online for sneaker reselling. It also pulled in $60 million in additional funding this year, bringing its total capital raised to date to $97.6 million.

In the summer, the company said it hired Lizzie Francis as chief operating officer, the first for Goat. The executive joined the firm after having clocked time at companies such as Gilt Group, where she was chief marketing officer, and JustFab, where she was also chief marketing officer and president.

Francis came on board with the expectation she would help boost female users on Goat in addition to helping Goat and Flight Club with global growth.

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