Outdoor Voices

Outdoor Voices is an American clothing company founded in 2013 by Tyler Haney in New York City. Headquartered in Austin,[1] it designs and sells women's and men's athletic apparel. The company's clothing, shoes, and accessories are sold online and at its stores in New York City, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Aspen, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Nashville, and Houston. [2] On February 25, 2020 Haney tendered her resignation, and Cliff Moskowitz, the president of a fashion-oriented private equity firm, took over as interim CEO.[3]

History

Formation

Tyler Haney grew up in Boulder, Colorado and later moved to New York. She calls herself the “ultimate tomboy”, having found enjoyment in playing basketball, soccer, and running track. Haney grew up “sports-focused” and initially was planning to run hurdles in college. Instead, she decided after graduation that she would take a year off of school and decided to move to the East Coast. [4] Haney graduated from New York City's Parsons School of Design in 2012.

Haney started Outdoor Voices in 2013.[5] In early 2014, J. Crew selected the Outdoor Voices line for its stores’ "Brands We Love" sections after the line was featured in a London boutique, Garbstore.[1] The company's first store opened in Austin in October 2014. Its first pop-up shop opened in Manhattan in 2015.[6] The company was known initially for their "kits," which included a collection of tops and bottoms that could be mixed and matched for a bundled price.

Over time, Outdoor Voices raised over $9.5 million from investors like General Catalyst Partners, which also has tech giants like Airbnb and Snapchat in its portfolio.[7]

In 2016, Haney decided to move to Austin, Texas to focus on building a new and a bigger headquarters for the company and hired more employees including some of Haney's friends from high school.[4]

Mickey Drexler, the former CEO of Gap Inc. and J. Crew Group, Inc., became the company's chairman of the board in the summer of 2017.[8]

Recent News

The company hosts a running club called “O.V. Joggers Club” where individuals can come together and meet at the Outdoor Voices headquarters and go for a run together. The O.V. Joggers Club encourages community culture outside of the workplace and into the community. [9]

On April 24, 2018, Outdoor Voices launched a running collection with Hoka One One. They also released a corresponding app called O.V. Trail Shop. The app features the nearest Trail Shops where the new running collection can be found. [10]

In 2018, Outdoor Voices launched their first swimwear collection called “H2Ov”. [11]

In February 2020, in an effort to restructure the company, Haney stepped down as CEO. Outdoor Voices indicated that there will be an additional 315 layoffs across the company.[12]

Fashion collaborations

In 2015, the company collaborated with the fashion blog Man Repeller and ClassPass, a fitness-class booking startup, on two limited-edition lines.[13][14]

In 2016, Outdoor Voices and French fashion label A.P.C. debuted A.P.C.O.V, a joint collection of men's and women's active apparel.[15]

In 2018, Outdoor Voices collaborated with HOKA ONE ONE, a running shoe company. Outdoor Voices and HOKA ONE ONE collaborated on a footwear collection. The shoe featured for the collection was the Clifton 4. The collection released in Spring 2018. [16]

In 2018, Outdoor Voices collaborated with footwear brand TEVA to release a pair of limited edition waterproof sandals.[17]

In 2019, Outdoor Voices collaborated with Merrell, a footwear company, on the Merrell Moab 2 Hiking Boot, a take on the original Moab in bright hues such as "Galapagos" and "Taro". [18]

Investment

In 2015, Outdoor Voices received $7.5 million in investments to start their active apparel line.[4]

As of March 2018, the company had raised roughly $57 million in funding.[19] CNBC lists lead investors as GV (formerly Google Ventures), General Catalyst Partners, and Forerunner Ventures.[19]

References
  1. Rogers, Kate (May 3, 2016). "This 27-year-old CEO is taking on Lululemon and Nike". cnbc.com. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  2. "Our Stores". Outdoor Voices. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  3. Why All the Warby Parker Clones Are Now Imploding: How venture capital became the most dangerous thing to happen to now-troubled DTCs like Outdoor Voices, Harry’s, and Casper Maya Kosoff, March 9, 2020
  4. Andor Brodeur, Michael (May 2018). "Steady as She Goes". Entrepreneur. 46 (4): 52–57. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  5. "Inside the Cult Activewear Label For It Girls Everywhere". harpersbazaar.com. October 14, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  6. "The Future of Athleisure Is Looking Pretty Chill: Outdoor Voices Opens a Pop-Up in Nolita". vogue.com. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  7. "Figure 10. Latvia has diversified its trading partners". doi:10.1787/888933926129. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. Brodeur, Michael Andor (October 9, 2017). "Investors Didn't Take Her Seriously. Then She Built Outdoor Voices, Activewear's Next Big Thing". entrepreneur.com. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  9. "Outdoor Voices Events". Outdoor Voices. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  10. Feitelberg, Rosemary (April 24, 2018). "Outdoor Voices Gives Shoppers a Jump on Running Collection With AR-Powered Trail Shops". WWD. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  11. Margaux, Lushing. "Activewear Indie Darling Outdoor Voices Launches Its First SwimWear Collection". Forbes. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  12. Loizos, Connie. "Outdoor Voices founder Tyler Haney says adios altogether to the company amid layoffs". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  13. "Man Repeller's Outdoor Voices Collab Includes Chocolate and a Jump Rope". racked.com. June 2, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  14. "ClassPass Releases First Apparel Collection With Outdoor Voices". racked.com. December 7, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  15. "Five Things T Editors Are Really Into Right Now". The New York Times. September 2, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  16. Dutch, Taylor (April 24, 2018). "Outdoor Voices' New Running Line Lets You Sweat and Look Cool at the Same Time". Runner's World. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  17. "Outdoor Voices & Teva's Colorful Sandals Are a Summer Must-Have".
  18. "Outdoor Voices & Merrell Collaboration".
  19. Thomas, Lauren (March 13, 2018). "Athletic apparel start-up Outdoor Voices raises $34 million in latest round of funding". cnbc.com. Retrieved March 20, 2018.

See also
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