KICKZ and Jung von Matt Found a Metaverse Company

Dec. 16, 2022

The goal of the company is to develop a multichannel ecosystem that makes it possible to accompany Web 2 brands into Web3 in a playful and gamified way. The main shareholders are serial entrepreneur Jacob Fatih (FitX, YT Industries) with his company builder "CREALIZE" and the basketball and sneaker retailer KICKZ. They are joined by Jung von Matt NERD as well as the agency brandneo ("Agentur Boomer" and "rftp.club") to support with their gaming and Web3 experience. Frankfurt entrepreneur Alexander Schlicher, who has been running his own Web3 start-up since 2020 is also as an investor and so is venture manager Gokhan Akkamis.

No topic has occupied the marketing and business world as much this year as the metaverse and Web3, with particular attention repeatedly falling on the fashion industry, which sees new growth and innovation potential in the metaverse. Major players such as Gucci, Nike and Adidas have already shown this year what the first digital collections and sales could look like. Adidas was able to earn €22 million in just one day from a single NFT drop, and Nike has turned over €185 million in Web3 products to date. While blockchain-based digital goods are still in their infancy, digital collections in gaming have been thriving for a long time. In 2021, over €5 billion was already spent in Germany alone on digital avatars, skins, cosmetics and other items that can be used in computer games. This means that the market is already bigger than the entire first division and second division of German soccer altogether(€4.8 billion).

The legal entity called M3TA COLLECTIVE and its first brand KICKZM3TA aims to make this potential accessible to other sports and lifestyle brands.

In doing so, the company relies on several pillars. It starts with NFT-based avatar and fashion collections in the popular Japanese anime style. The joint venture offers Web 2 brands end- to-end solutions to make their fashion available digitally. Jung von Matt, for example, provides 3D design for fashion and marketing strategy, while brandneo provides community management and technical services such as smart contracts. KICKZ will be the direct channels to end consumers via their social media channels, their platforms and their newsletter with 1 million customers. The company will also pave the way for Web3 projects in traditional retail and offer merchandise and exclusive collections for NFT communities. The ecosystem will be rounded out with its own video game ecosystem, which will allow Web 2 brands to offer digital skins directly in the game.

KICKZM3TA thus offers its customers an end-to-end metaverse solution from a single source. On the site mooncourt.xyz you can already get first impressions about the avatar characters and champion classes. The first contracts and partnerships have already been signed and will be announced successively over the next months.

The company was founded in August. The company is headquartered in Essen, Germany. All players hold shares in a constellation that can also allow additional partners.

Jacob Fatih explained the composition of the shareholders: 

"I believe in a firm credo: By sharing you get rich! Initially, we wanted to have the agencies and their founders as service providers and advisory boards. But our jointly developed vision was so great that we all wanted to found together! The moment in which both the Internet and digital fashion are being redefined is unique - just like this constellation of founders."

 

Denis Horvat, who runs KICKZ with Mark Petereit and is CEO of KICKZM3TA, added: 

"We have stood for basketball culture and sportswear community for almost 30 years like no other retailer and we intend to do so for the next 30 years! Web3 and the Metaverse will redefine not only technology, but cultural relevance. With our partner brands, we want to usher in the next era of retail."

 

Toan Nguyen, who runs Jung von Matt NERD with André Price underlines:

"Gaming and digital fashion are already a billion-dollar business today, already generating more revenue in Germany than the entire first and second Bundesliga. Many fashion companies in Germany have already slept through e-commerce and social marketing, this is their chance not to miss the third wave!"

 

Jens Taubert, Commercial Director and Head of web3 at brandneo concluded:

"We live in a marketing world where community centricity is increasingly important. With KICKZ as a co-partner, we have a credible player from the basketball culture who will now build the bridge to new communities. We are very excited to be a part of it."