Patta Founders Pass The Baton: How The New Leadership Continues The Vision

Nica Renoult, the new co-CEO of Patta. Credits: Patta / photo by Akadrestudio

Interview

Stepping down as the founder of a company is not always easy. However, with long-term growth in mind, it can actually be beneficial for a business. This allows founders to focus on the creative ideas and passion they have always had, while operational activities are handed over to someone else, ensuring focus and quality are maintained. Such a transition has recently taken place at Dutch streetwear brand Patta. FashionUnited spoke with the newly appointed co-CEO Nica Renoult who shares the role with Kwame Hammond.

In 2024, Patta celebrated its 20th anniversary and received the Grand Seigneur lifetime achievement award, celebrating two decades of work. Patta has been working on the transfer of responsibilities for some time, and now the switch has been made. “One notices that one gets drawn into the day-to-day as an owner, especially the growth of the company and the operational activities. For them [founders Edson Sabajo und Guillaume Schmidt, ed.] it's a positive step to hand over operations so they can focus more on what they started with."

Patta’s new leadership: How the founders make room for growth and creativity

Patta is more than just a streetwear brand. The company has a strong focus on its community and builds connections, among other things, through sporting events and clubs, the Patta Academy, Patta Soundsystem, and the Patta Foundation. “Edson and Guillaume are still here every day, but they now have more room and freedom to do what they originally started this for.” While Sabajo is more involved with community activities, Schmitdt focuses on the creative direction. “He comes up with creative initiatives, and we discuss them.”

High on Renoult's agenda? “Growing with the DNA we have.” The co-CEO describes the foundation of Patta as the three Ps: purpose, people and profit. “When our initiatives result in great projects and successful years, we want to give back to the community. That's our main priority.”

In 2024, Patta expanded beyond Europe with its monobrand stores for the first time. The brand opened a store in Lagos, Nigeria. “We've built a community in Nigeria, partly thanks to the collaborations we've done there. It's an incredibly large and rich country in terms of music, culture and fashion. It was important for us to start something there, for the community and the network we have there.”

New leadership at Patta: Co-CEO Nica Renoult on Patta’s future

Opening another Patta store is not currently on the agenda for 2025 and 2026. “We mainly want to focus on quality and the growth of the communities where we are present.” Renoult adds that pop-ups have not been ruled out and that pop-ups can also reach other areas and communities.

That sense of community is partly what makes Patta such a strong brand. The company has a loyal fanbase, “as a brand, but also because of the other elements we have.” “When we organise events, people really want to be a part of it. In that respect, we're very stable. This also ensures that the motivation to continue with that only grows.”