Outdoor Voices is in the middle of a firestorm after former employees have revealed the troubled activewear company is headed towards bankruptcy, following reports that the brand is closing all stores and transitioning to an online-only retail model.

The brand has seemingly removed all of its 15 brick-and-mortar retail locations nationwide from its website. 

The news of the potential insolvency was first reported by Sourcing Journal, which cited former Outdoor Voices employees with close knowledge of the matter. The activewear brand has also missed rent and vendor payments in recent months, according to the publication, and gave pink slips to most of its corporate employees.

According to another report, from Puck News, Outdoor Voices has already closed all of its retail locations and intends to focus solely on its e-commerce business.

Rise & Fall

Like Lululemon, Outdoor Voices has developed a cult-like following as devotees of the brand have embraced its merchandise as much as its #doingthings lifestyle ethos. Founded in 2013 by Tyler Haney, the brand moved from its New York City roots to Austin, Texas, as it grew. 

By early 2020, right before activewear and athleisure began to see a pandemic-related boom, Haney stepped down as CEO during restructuring efforts. Internal strife had been brewing and an anonymous letter had been sent to the Outdoor Voices’ board and executives that targeted Haney for her management style.

Financial troubles were also percolating, with the company’s valuation down to $40 million in 2020, a steep decline from its 2018 valuation of $110 million. By 2021, the brand had named Gabrielle Conforti, former Urban Outfitters president, as its CEO. 

The activewear company had begun shopping for a buyer in 2022, according to Business of Fashion. 

Haney may have been out of the picture, focusing on Joggy, a cannabis supplement brand, but she appeared to find time to keep a watchful eye on the brand she founded — even leaving comments last year on Outdoor Voices’ social media posts that indicated she had felt the brand had lost its way. 

Now, with news swirling of a potential Outdoor Voices bankruptcy, the active Reddit community on r/OutdoorVoices has been posting images of closed stores, many with notes in the windows that have the Venmo handles of former employees. One photo from a shop in Minneapolis reads, “Our (chairwoman) Ashley Merrill refuses to pay anyone severance. We appreciate anything that you can give. All funds will go directly to this staff. Thank you!” 

Activewear Brands Struggle Post-Pandemic 

It’s been a trying time for some in the activewear game, with leggings giant Lululemon even admitting that it will remain cautious in 2024 in the face of market uncertainty.

Gap’s activewear arm, Athleta, reported an 18% net sales drop in its third quarter of fiscal 2023 compared to the prior year, noting in its earnings release that sales continued to be a challenge. Athleta has said it would work on re-engaging its core customers.

Activewear brand Bandier had also been looking for a buyer to mitigate supply chain challenges before getting acquired along with Carbon38 by BC Brands in January. 

More traditional sportswear giants have also seen some headwinds. Under Armour also reported slowing sales, and Nike cut its annual revenue forecast, announcing a $2 billion cost-savings plan that included restructuring.

One outlier is Gymshark, which recently reported a rather uncommon push-and-pull situation, having experienced slumping profits in 2023 (reporting $16.5 million, down from $35.3 million) but a 15% revenue increase. The brand, founded and led by U.K.’s youngest billionaire, Ben Francis, is going full-steam ahead. 

Outdoor Voices didn’t immediately respond to Athletech News’ request for comment

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Create and Cultivate hosted the Small Business Summit in NYC on October 15, 2022, in partnership with Mastercard. Entrepreneurs with varying levels of experience gathered to discuss and receive advice on the challenges and opportunities of ownership.

The event had sessions with topics ranging from content planning, legal guidance, budgeting, and cybersecurity. Create and Cultivate’s Small Business Summit also had a range of speakers providing perspective on their own founding journeys, as well as providing advice for entrepreneurs. Many of the speakers and budding entrepreneurs focused on health and wellness in various forms, from fitness, to skincare and mental health.

Ty Haney, Founder & CEO of Try Your Best + Joggy, as well as the former Founder & CEO of Outdoor Voices, was the keynote speaker. A longtime leader in the health and wellness space, Haney is exploring new spaces in the industry with Try Your Best and Joggy after her success with Outdoor Voices. Try Your Best is a web3 experience where brand loyalists can influence and receive rewards for their online behavior. The platform uses Avalanche, an eco-friendly, proof-of-stake blockchain. Joggy is a line of plant-based energetics to help consumers maintain focus and promote calmness before bed. Its CBD+ formulations use a proprietary, water-based, lipid encapsulation delivery system, which supports 4x more absorption compared to conventional oil-based dosages.

Haney spoke to Athletech News about the web3’s potential influence on the health and wellness industry, “Using technology to incentivize frequency of activity and reward for that is what we’re envisioning, and it’s quite cool. It’s going to allow people to be more consistent with their fitness. For instance, you could get rewarded for running seven days in a row. The reward is going to really create a flywheel effect around any mission-driven company, but fitness in particular is perfect because it’s all about connecting the dots on a daily basis. So, we’re using the tool to get people to be more active by rewarding them.”

The event also featured a pitch competition with a winning prize of $10,000, headshots for attendees, and happy hour mixers. Other featured speakers and attendees included Jaclyn Johnson, Founder & Vice Chairman of Create and Cultivate and Kate Spies, CEO of Create and Cultivate, as well as Emma Hernan, Entrepreneur, CEO, and Realtor (“Selling Sunset”) and Tiffany Sorya, Founder & CEO of Novel Education Group.

The post Create and Cultivate NYC 2022: Amplifying Women’s Voices in Entrepreneurship appeared first on Athletech News.