Specialised online sneaker platform FlexDog is coming to Slovakia – with help from Footshop

Following the successful launch of the FlexDog service in the Czech Republic in March, the specialised sneaker platform is coming to Slovakia. This expansion is taking place also thanks to the €4 million investment, which was provided to Footshop by Crowdberry investors last year.

FlexDog’s platform works as an advanced search engine for selected brands of sneakers, with its goal to connect the broader sneaker community in Europe by becoming active on 10 markets by 2023. The Czech start-up launched its platform about three months ago with 4,000 products and now has more than 6,000 products divided into several categories. The catalogue also focuses on limited editions and seasonal offerings of popular brands. A four-member team (Jakub Mandát, Petr Fišer, Patrik Tomášik and Daniel Klíma), which has experience with companies such as Rohlík, Košík, Ušetřeno.cz and Queens, is responsible for the operation of the entire platform.

In the short term, FlexDog wants to concentrate primarily on the development of the platform. By the end of the year, it should be operating in five language versions. “The long-term vision of FlexDog is to connect the sneaker community with relevant vendors from all over Europe and to help them to find the best from the world of sneakers all in one place. We would like to be active on 10 international markets by 2023. We see entry into the Slovak market as an integral part of our growth strategy. From the perspective of the number of visits, we would like to achieve roughly 1 million visits to the Czech version of the website by the end of the year,” says Jakub Mandát, who is leading the project.

FlexDog’s potential and its innovative approach has attracted the attention of the fastest-growing seller of lifestyle sneakers and streetwear fashion in Central and Eastern Europe, Footshop, which is an investor in FlexDog. From the outset, the two companies have been operating separately with different teams. However, FlexDog is always able to draw on the experience of the founder of Footshop, Peter Hajduček. “At Footshop, we believe in technological innovation. FlexDog is a very interesting global project with a wonderful team. We want to get involved in projects that combine IT, a premium product and the building of a strong brand – we see all of that in FlexDog,” explains Peter Hajduček.

FlexDog is currently cooperating with more than 20 partners, which include specialised retailers such as The Streets, Queens, Sneakerstudio and others. Recently the catalogue was expanded to include a “resale” category via a secondary market from vendors such as Sneaker Gallery, Section, StockX and Klek, which have seen a significant growth in Europe. “We're glad that a project was created here whose goal is to help all sellers of sneakers, and for whom quality and a curated selection of sneakers are at the top of the list. Thanks to FlexDog, the customer can also choose from the very best that is currently available on the market all in one place. All the more reason to appreciate that we were one of the first partners to be invited to the launch of the entire project,” says Radim Stezka from The Streets.