Italian sneaker brand P448 acquired by StreetTrend and investment firm Panda

American footwear manufacturer StreetTrend LLC has joined forces with the Italian investment firm Panda srl to acquire a majority stake in the Italian luxury sneaker brand P448. Panda and StreetTrend purchased all of P448’s creative design, manufacturing operations and brand assets.

First launched in 2014, P448 is currently sold in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom, among other countries. The expansion to some of these countries was made possible by StreetTrend, with which P448 signed a distribution and marketing agreement last year.

”When we launched StreetTrend last year, it was very clear that we had to include P448 in our portfolio of luxury sneakers. The feedback about the product design and quality coming out of Europe was amazing and I was thrilled to sign an exclusive distribution agreement to market the brand in North America, the UK, Hong Kong and china to name a few”, said Wayne Kulkin, Chairman at StreetTrend, in a statement. He added that the sales of P448 sneakers in the US exceeded his expectations. “The P448 brand has already gained a strong following in the US”.

Once the transaction is completed, Panda’s CEO Paolo Griffo will serve as P448’s CEO, while Kulkin is to be assigned as the company’s non-executive Chairman. The brand’s founders, Italian designers Andrea Curti and Marco Samorè, will remain in the company as co-creative and design directors. They will also keep an equity stake.