Pop Trading Company Zip Fronts 2 Items

Pop Trading Company Zip Fronts

Established in 2013 by activists Peter Kolks and Ric van Rest in Amsterdam, Pop Trading Company is a platform focused on interacting with the skateboarding community. It’s primarily about shaping today’s skateboarding on its own terms, supporting emerging talent in the Benelux and pushing the culture. Initially, Pop Trading Company focused on distributing skateboarding merchandise, but now PTC designs its own products, which are launched as part of highly acclaimed collections and then shipped around the world.

Basically, it all started in 2003 when Peter Kolks and Ric van Rest were working in skateboarding stores and part-timer Kolks was sponsored by skate shop 24/7. When 24/7 was thinking about branching out new business ventures, Kolks presented the idea of a kind of skate boutique under the name Frisco, which was a rather unusual format at the time, but which became established and very successful in a short time. Soon his Pop Trading Company partner Ric van Rest followed him to Frisco.

The success of Frisco brought Peter Kolks to Amsterdam, where he worked for an online streetwear retailer. Through his travels around the globe, Kolks had already built a very good network within the skateboarding scene, making Frisco’s start as a distributor easier. When the development of 24/7 and Frisco stalled for various reasons, Peter Kolks and Ric van Rest made the decision to go into business for themselves with Pop Trading Company.

Full of enthusiasm, but with little money, the beginnings of Pop Trading Company were anything but easy. So, the duo worked on its business model and managed to convince friends of their idea and to lend them money. This paved the way for Pop Trading Company to distribute brands like Palace, Magenta Skateboards and Quartersnacks.

After the distribution proved successful, the brand began developing its own collection in 2015 and launched its first designs in the fall/winter 2016 season. This line from Pop Trading Company hit right away, and the label managed to secure its place in some of the most famous skate stores in the world. In the meantime, Pop Trading Company has broken away from its insider status and decides for itself through which channels and in which stores the brand is distributed. The focus is on two things in particular: respect for skateboarding culture and a philosophy in which people recognize common ground.