Adidas funds sustainability firm
German sportswear brand adidas has reached an arrangement to fully back Hydra Ventures, a new venture capital firm based in the Netherlands that will create and develop new consumer brands in the apparel, footwear and sports related areas. Hydra Ventures’ backing by adidas allows it “to take a long-term perspective on building sustainable consumer brands,” according to the firm’s website.
The website states: “Hydra Ventures is a different breed of investment firm. It is run as a venture capital firm, but full backing by adidas allows Hydra Ventures to take a long-term perspective in building sustainable consumer brands. We are able to back teams through all stages of their development and provide financing terms that are flexible and transparent. We take great care in identifying and assembling talented teams, rather than investing simply in business ideas, and understand that financial performance, while crucial, is among several key metrics that ultimately measures a brand’s long-term sustainability.”
Hydra Ventures counts three of adidas’ top executives on its board, including CEO Herbert Hainer; adidas’ managing director Tom Montgomery and adidas’ CFO Robin Stalker. The fund manager on the board is Duncan Fitzwilliams, who sits at the helm of Nash Fitzwilliams, a London-based firm that specialises in private placements of between $1.5 million and $30 million.
