Like a bad game of telephone, rumors are abound that retailer Sneakersnstuff has been sold to a Norwegian venture capital firm, with some reports pinning the sale at around $57 million. And while it's true that SNS recently sought new investors and found them in Norway's FSN Capital, the store's founders say talks of a full-blown acquisition are greatly exaggerated.
In a statement issued by co-founder Erik Fagerlind, it's explained that the structure of the FSN Capital deal necessitated the need to create a holding company. "The holding company then bought all shares in SNS—and for the money that the holding company paid—myself, Peter [Jansson] and all other invested managers of SNS reinvested the majority of it in the new holding company," writes Fagerlind. "So, we pretty much swapped shares in SNS for shares in SNS holding company."
Rather than cashing out, Fagerlind's excited to see out future growth at the retailer. This year, SNS will open a new U.S. store, a bar in New York, and a nightclub in Berlin. And in 2019, there are plans to expand to the Asian market.
As for the $57 million figure, Fagerlind says it's nothing more than click bait. "Between everyone involved, we have agreed not to publish the evaluation—but I can tell you that $57 million dollars is not correct," he said.
