Carousell acquires sneakers-streetwear marketplace Ox Street

This move is in line with its goal to accelerate recommerce growth in SEA.

Carousell Group acquired Ox Street, a sneakers and streetwear e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, to accelerate the growth of purchasing secondhand items.

In a press release, Carousell said the acquisition backed the group’s strategic priority to speed up recommerce growth in the Greater Southeast Asia, whilst Ox Street will retain its brand, name, platform, and team.

Under the partnership, Ox Street will inspects and authenticate every pair of shoes, whilst Carousell will leverage its technology, reach, and marketplace liquidity with its wide range of categories.

Carousell also plans to be a market leader for fashion and luxury goods. The partnership will allow both parties to capture the growth of Greater Southeast Asian sneakers market and other emerging categories pushed by Gen Z trends.

“We share common values in being user-first and in building communities, as evidenced by the brand love they have created amongst their dedicated community of sneakerheads and fashion enthusiasts, especially amongst the Gen Z. They have also built trust by authenticating every pair of sneakers that gets transacted on the Ox Street marketplace,” said Carousell Co-founder and CEO Quek Siu Rui. 

“We see immense opportunity in bringing that capability and their learnings to double down on our recommerce efforts. Most of all, we see this acquisition as joining forces to accelerate our shared vision of making secondhand the first choice,” he added.

Gijs Verheijke, the founder and CEO of Ox Street, said they can “supercharge Ox Street’s ability to innovate and reach more buyers and sellers” with Carousell’s reach and technology.