Activewear producer Outdoor Voices is mulling putting itself up for sale, Bloomberg News reported, citing unnamed sources.
An advisor is helping the company explore options and while selling the closely held business is one option, ownership could choose another course, Bloomberg reported. Another option is raising new funds.
Activewear sales soared during the COVID-19 pandemic as workers boosted their stay-at-home wardrobes, Bloomberg reported, but have suffered as consumers responded to recession concerns and declining discretionary spending.
Outdoor Voices was founded in 2013 by Tyler Haney. The company is run by CEO Gabrielle Conforti, formerly president of Urban Outfitters. Investors, according to Bloomberg, include: GV, General Catalyst and NaHCO3.
Haney told PYMNTS in 2019 that part of her vision in founding the company was that working out can be a fun and “social” activity rather than highly competitive.
Read more: Outdoor Voices’ Relaxed Approach To Workout Wear
“I was always an athlete growing up, running track and playing basketball, but never resonated with the credo to be ‘faster, better, stronger’ that so many major activewear brands are built around,” Haney said. “In Boulder, recreational activity is an integral part of everyday life — walking, running, hiking, skiing — and activity isn’t necessarily measured by performance, it’s social and fun. I started Outdoor Voices because I wanted an activewear brand that really celebrated approaching activity lightheartedly.”
Haney founded Outdoor Voices in New York City but moved the company to Austin, Texas, for what she said was the city’s embracing of entrepreneurship. The move, she said afterward, paid off — with sales at an Austin store rivaling those of outposts in New York City and Los Angeles.
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