This week, we look at the launch of Rhone womenswear, the plethora of activewear brands flooding the market, and how brands can stay competitive as activewear grows.
Nate Checketts, founder of nine-year-old men's activewear brand Rhone, acknowledged that “the macro environment is not conducive to category risk at this point.”
Still, taking risks into new categories is exactly what Rhone is doing. As of May 6th, Rhone has officially expanded into women's activewear with a new women's line designed over the past two years by a combination of the brand's existing product team and new hires brought in from brands like Athleta. entered into.
Checketts told Glossy there is clear demand for Rhone's women's activewear. Even though the brand had never sold a collection designed for women until this year, 30% of its customers were already women. Rhone first dabbled in women's wear in February, partnering with the LPGA Golf League to become its first on-course apparel provider, outfitting the league's staff with LPGA and Epson Tour attire. In March, the brand added two new board members, including former CorePower Yoga and Athleta executive Tess Roering. She brought essential female branding and marketing expertise to the launch, Checketts said.
Rhone's expansion comes at a time when activewear is one of the most crowded categories in fashion. Powerful legacy brands like Nike and Adidas, growing mid-market brands like On Running and Gymshark, yoga brands like Lululemon and Alo Yoga, deep-funded startups like Vuori, and Tom Brady-backed brands like Noble. Celebrity-backed brands are making activewear. Incredibly competitive. Not to mention established fashion brands that have launched activewear lines and collections, such as Reformation with the Ref Active line and H&M with Move.
Checketts said the crowded space was something he and his team discussed at length before launching the womenswear line. To get there, they decided they needed a strong value proposition.
“There's a lot of sameness in women's activewear,” Checketts says. “A lot of them are yoga brands, essentially. Yoga is great. They make yoga-related stuff. But it's just one mode of women's active life, and women's sports. It is insulting to limit its scope to just yoga.”
Rhone's line includes a wide range of women's apparel, including tennis skirts and sports dresses, supporting the growth of tennis and other women's sports. The line is priced similarly to men's clothing, from $58 to $128, and is sold online and in hundreds of Rhone stores around the world. Rhone is a profitable company with annual revenues exceeding $100 million. Going forward, further strengthening partnerships with women's sports leagues and athletes will be part of the marketing plan for the women's category.
In Checketts' estimation, the reason there are so many activewear brands popping up these days is simple: It's a growing category. Global activewear sales exceed $500 billion, and that number is predicted to continue to grow in the coming years. The success of brands like Alo Yoga and Nike, as well as emerging brands like Vuori, has led many to consider it a treasure trove.
“There's a natural appeal to growing categories,” Checketts says. “But the cost of media has gone up significantly. It's much harder to get off the ground now than it was five to 15 years ago. On top of that, activewear is technically very It's a complex category. It's not easy.”
Checketts pointed out that several recently launched activewear brands ultimately failed. These brands are often loved by celebrities. Brady, Tom Brady's brand, will launch in 2022. But after a quiet two years, including a long period of dormancy, it merged with men's activewear brand Noble in early 2024. Even Beyoncé's Ivy Park brand, which collaborated with Adidas, has since shut down. They reportedly lost too much money.
Beyond celebrity brands, companies like Outdoor Voices and Allbirds have struggled or even declared bankruptcy after failing to compete in the activewear space.
Aside from success stories like Skims, the frequent failures of new activewear brands mean the big players don't feel threatened.
“There's definitely more competition right now,” said Kyle Blakely, Under Armor's vice president of innovation, development and testing. “But we don't think they will follow us. Rather, we will learn from them and that will help us hone our products. Our perception is that these Many of our brands are doing things that we have already done in the past and have a lot of expertise.”
Changes in executives
– Brendan Hoffman, former CEO of Vince & Wolverine Worldwide, announced this week that he and Christine Hunsicker, founder and CEO of rental technology company Kastle, will form a new company. Raised. The new company, called P180, will acquire and invest in brands that use rental technology and will consult with other fashion brands on how best to leverage rental technology.
-Gap Inc. has hired Fabiola Torres, a former head of marketing for brands such as Nike, Apple and PepsiCo, as its new global CMO.
-Dao-Yi Chow has been announced as the new creative director of hat brand New Era. Chow is the co-founder of Public School and has worked for many other fashion brands including DKNY and Brady.
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