John Kim 
We’ve seen it happen before: an amazing sneaker store that served as a hub for all-things kicks and culture rises to global fame, only to see an end of a road too soon, too unexpected. Despite what history has taught us, this latest piece of news, however, is rather shocking; Patta has confirmed that its primary storefront in Amsterdam has closed shop. Just a couple of days ago, Patta‘s Masta Lee filled us in via blog post regarding the details of Patta’s rise to fame and decision to close this highly eventful chapter of the Patta book (you can read his entire blog post below). You can count on Team Patta to make more noise, hopefully with their untouchable collaborations, so we’ll keep you updated on their endeavors.
UPDATE: Patta has opened its doors in a new location. (February, 2013)
When we opened Patta at the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal in 2004, we knew from the start that we would have an exciting, colorful, yet also very tenacious journey ahead of us. However, we considered this a small sacrifice when you have a group of good people who are truly driven, passionate and ready to build something. Amsterdam was lacking a true one-stop shop and platform for streetwear culture, and we felt it was mandatory to fill that void. Within a relatively short span of time we went from parallel importing footwear, to being rewarded with the top tier accounts from our favorite brands, to collaborating with them on products. As the name and reputation expanded, so did our interests, knowledge and aspirations.
Precinct 5 was intended as an extension to Patta, with a similar ideology: a place to serve a more mature audience, individuals with an interest and appreciation for high end garments, refined footwear and lifestyle accessories. In 2009, a partnership between Patta, Mr. Wix and MassiveMusic came to fruition to realize this plan. We chose an appropriate location to carry out this ambitious idea: A former police station housed in a beautiful canal building. It was a modest success… At first. We soon learned that this plan was perhaps too ambitious. High end meant high wholesale, high rent and high risk, versus low demand and low profit.
While we kept building Patta as a store and as a brand, Precinct 5 became a struggling business. We had to find solutions and strategies, and we had to find them fast. The capacious Precinct 5 space was located in a good commercial area, and the one thing that Patta never had, was space in abundance. No risk, no glory: In April this year, the decision was made to merge Patta and Precinct 5. The merger would provide a proper shopping environment to showcase our products and perhaps, an opportunity to rescue this business establishment.
We failed.
Long story short: Does this mean the end of Patta? Most definitely not. Unfortunately we are not able to provide much information or details with certainty at this very moment, but we are working around the clock to get ready for our next move, and will keep you informed as soon as we are able to. In the meantime, selected Patta items will still be available from our webstore, so please feel free to support.
We are truly grateful and appreciative of all of your concerns, your support and your love, thank you!
Be back soon,
truly yours,
TEAM PATTA
