Founded in 2013, Outdoor Voices was one of the emerging athleisure players a decade ago when it captivated interest with its focus on diversity and supporting a healthy, active lifestyle. Initially, it was known for its “kits” allowing customers to purchase mix-and-match sets. It also focused heavily on creating community and emphasized everyday movement while still being fashionable. The first brick and mortar store opened in Austin in 2014. The first few years were heady as Outdoor Voices raised capital and hired former J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler as the company’s chairman of the board in 2017. However, by February 2020 founder Tyler Haney stepped down as CEO amidst a restructure.
The Washington DC location has performed the best over the last few years. It was in a desirable location on M Street, which has attracted many DTC brands in the last few years. The Austin store, Outdoor Voice’s first physical location, closed in Spring 2023. Philadelphia appeared to shoot up in visits upon opening in November 2022, but the traffic was short lived as it closed in February 2024.
In terms of ranking among clothing stores within a 15 mi radius, most of the stores were in the bottom 20%, with the exception of the Washington DC store, which was middle of the pack.
After opening across many cities, by 2023 closures started to affect the chain, such as the Austin and Los Angeles locations, as well as Philadelphia in Feb 2024. On March 13, 2024, Outdoor Voices announced that they would be closing all physical stores, effective immediately.
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