Hamilton opens first trading-card flagship
"We were connected through our love of sport and cards"
Lewis Hamilton has opened the first flagship store for his new trading-card business in Frankfurt.
’Card Culture by Lewis Hamilton’ is a joint venture between the seven-time world champion’s investment company and Dave and Adam’s Card World, with further stores planned across Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.
"Through Card Culture, I believe we have a significant opportunity to tap into the culture around trading cards in a way no one has been able to before," Hamilton said.
The Ferrari driver says the idea grew from collecting football cards as a child.
"I remember being in school and the excitement of opening up packs of cards," he said.
"It was a small community, but we were connected through our love of sport and cards."
Hamilton believes there is a major gap outside the United States for specialist stores combining retail with events and a collector community.
"There’s over a thousand stores across the US, and I think there’s a fraction of that in the rest of the world," he said.
"I really wanted to build a home for collectors, players and kids who want that feeling of opening packs and being part of a community, and not just a place that sells products."
Hamilton himself now owns around 500 valuable Pokemon cards and is also collecting Formula 1, football, basketball, baseball and Star Wars items.
"My goal is to build a modern card store that mixes community, culture and competition," he said.