“They owe me 14,000 euros worth of sneakers…” breathes Henrico (first name has been changed), contacted this Friday by telephone and loyal shoe seller on Kikikickz for many months. Like him, dozens of other customers – buyers or sellers of collectible sneakers – find themselves waiting for payment or reimburt from the French platform, a brand of the company KBAA Conseil, which has been placed in liquidation. And this Friday, many of them shared their frustration on social networks.
Reseller of limited edition sneakers from the biggest brands – Nike, Adidas, New Balance -, Kikikickz was founded by four friends in 2020. In just a few years, it has become one of the hubs for the online sale of sneakers. ‘exception. How it works: finding rare pairs of sports shoes from sellers and offering them to buyers for sums around 150 euros… for the least expensive pairs. The most expensive can reach over 9,000 euros, like this pair of Air Jordan 1 Dior, still visible on the merchant’s website this Friday. But on November 14, the story ended: KBAA Conseil, of which Kikikickz is a brand, was placed in liquidation. Very quickly there was an avalanche of exasperation among many customers, still waiting for the sneakers they ordered or the sneaker sales they made via the platform.
Waiting for payment for 79 pairs of shoes
“I started selling quite a few sneakers on Kikikickz from April or May 2023,” remembers Enrico, in his twenties. Until July, I received regular payments every week, with amounts that suited me, so I started sending more pairs… But then I received much less payments from July, August . And since the end of October, nothing.” Today, the young man is still waiting for payment for 79 pairs of shoes.
On the other side of the spectrum, testimonials from customers waiting for their pair of sneakers have also multiplied on social networks. This is the case of Chirine, contacted on the social network X, who says she ordered New Balance at the beginning of September for 275 euros… and never received her pair. “I ordered them on September 1st. After two weeks, as I have no news, I am starting to find it strange…” describes the young woman. In an email of which Chirine sent us a screenshot, Kikikickz explains to her that her pair is late “due to the exclusivity” of the model. “I received this kind of email every other time,” she continues. In mid-October, she finally decided to cancel her order and request a refund “and since then I have been waiting…”, laments the young woman.
Enrico explains to us that he received an email in recent days from Kikikickz explaining the company’s placement in compulsory liquidation and the appointment of a liquidator. This is also the case for other Internet users, who shared photos of the message on social media. For Emma Leoty, lawyer at the Paris Bar in consumer law, two options are available to customers awaiting reimburt or payment: “They must immediately send a debt declaration letter, with the amount of the order and the order form, to be sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt to the legal representative, she suggests. Alternatively, if customers have gone through PayPal or split payment, they can request a refund directly from their bank and potentially be reimbursed,” continues the lawyer. But Henrico is not very optimistic: “I hope to get some of my money back…”, he sighs. Contacted this Friday, neither Kikikickz nor the liquidator have yet responded to our requests.