Culture Kings is a

streetwear Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk fashion, punk, Skateboarding#Culture, skateboarding, 1980s no ...

clothing and accessories retailer established in 2008. Founded in

Gold Coast, Australia The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital, Brisbane. It is Queensland's second-largest city a ...

by Simon and Tah-nee Beard, Culture Kings has 8 storefronts open in Australia, as well as one storefront in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

History

Prior to Culture Kings' founding, co-founder Simon Beard re-sold shoes and hats on eBay under the name 'Culture Kings'. Beard, with wife Tah-nee, founded Culture Kings in 2008 and opened the first Culture Kings store in

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

, a suburb of Gold Coast. On 8 January 2017, Culture Kings' Acacia Ridge warehouse was destroyed in a fire, resulting in the loss of $500,000 worth of products. As of 2021, Culture Kings has 8 stores open in Australia and New Zealand, with 2 stores in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, and one store each in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Gold Coast, and

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Culture Kings original Southport store was closed in 2018. In March 2021, the founders of Culture Kings sold the company to Boston-based

Summit Partners Summit Partners is an American investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm focuses on investing in technology, healthcare, life sciences and other growth industries. Background Summit Partners was founded in 1984 by E. Roe Stamps ...

' a.k.a Brands for $307.4 million in cash and 23.3 million shares in a.k.a Brands. Simon Beard remained CEO of Culture Kings while Tah-nee Beard was its COO. On 24 July 2021, Culture Kings opened its first storefront outside of Australia in Auckland, New Zealand. In November 2022, Culture Kings opened their first U.S. store in Las Vegas. In January 2023, Simon and Tah-nee Beard left their executive roles at Culture Kings. Simon remained on a.k.a's board, and both stayed on as advisers to Culture Kings. In 2022, Culture Kings received a Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame Award. In October 2023, CreditRiskMonitor reported that Culture Kings' parent A.K.A. Brands was nearing a potential

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

filing.

Collaborations

As of 2021, Culture Kings has collaborated with

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

, Timberland,

Odd Future Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, better known as Odd Future and often abbreviated as OF or OFWGKTA, was an American alternative hip-hop Musical collective, music collective formed in Los Angeles, California in 2007. The group consisted of rap ...

Kappa Kappa (; uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; , ''káppa'') is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value of 20. It was d ...

, and G-Shock.

Controversies

Hosier Lane

In 2018, Culture Kings opened its Melbourne storefront in Hosier Lane; an important site in Melbourne street art due to its history and perceived 'free-for-all' status. After its opening, Culture Kings created various murals and began enforcing street art usage within the lane, which went against the lanes previous 'free-for-all' status. This culminated in the destruction of artwork in the lane by masked men, whom sprayed the lane with fire extinguishers. In an interview with

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

, one of the perpetrators stated this was done to protest the commercialisation of the lane by Culture Kings, as well as by the Melbourne City Council.

Mike Tyson lawsuit

In 2021, boxer

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

lodged a

civil case A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. T ...

against Culture Kings for allegedly using his image and name in products without permission. The products in question feature Tyson's image with text including "Mike Tyson", which has been trademarked by Tyson since 2010.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Culture Kings digital story and oral history: Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame 2022

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

Australian companies established in 2008 Clothing retailers of Australia Companies based on the Gold Coast, Queensland Sneaker culture Hip-hop fashion