After abruptly shuttering its fleet of stores in March, Outdoor Voices has found a lifeline. Draper James owner Consortium Brand Partners is acquiring the lifestyle athletics brand for an undisclosed amount, the company said in a press release.
When asked about who will lead Outdoor Voices, and whether or not founder Tyler Haney will be involved, Consortium Brand Partners’ co-founder and managing partner Cory Baker told Retail Dive that Katie Siano, Outdoor Voices president, will remain in that role. The company’s 15 shuttered stores will remain so, but the brand plans to open stores in the future, possibly in 2025. Baker said the company also rehired some employees that were furloughed, in addition to taking on the entire current staff.
It’s Consortium Brand Partners’ second acquisition after buying a majority stake in Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James in September last year. Consortium Brand Partners said it sees opportunities for category growth and global expansion at Outdoor Voices.
‘Difficult choices during difficult times’: The future of Outdoor Voices
Outdoor Voices is in new hands — with a new growth plan.
Consortium Brand Partners decided to acquire the company after a banker working on restructuring options for Outdoor Voices approached the firm about a possible deal, Baker said. The acquisition puts Outdoor Voices in “the healthiest financial shape it’s ever been,” with international expansion on the horizon and new store openings possible next year.
“If you're overpaying for customer acquisition, if you're overpaying on expensive leases and if you have too much debt, you do not need to be an economist to predict what's going to happen,” Baker said of what went wrong at Outdoor Voices. “That's true for nearly every company with a fleet of underperforming retail stores and expensive debt.”
Baker added later that conglomerates like LVMH or Kering might be able to afford loss-leading flagship stores that effectively serve as marketing, but smaller brands need every store “to be a profit center.” Outdoor Voices operated stores in popular locations like New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood.
When the brand abruptly closed them all in March, one associate also said the company cut 80% of its headquarters staff and had just 10 remaining employees. Baker didn’t comment on the amount of layoffs that happened under previous management, but said the company took on all existing staff and hired some back from furlough.
"This is not a broken brand. It was a broken business. And that's a very different thing.”
Cory Baker
Co-founder and Managing Partner at Consortium Brand Partners
Even before the dramatic closure of its fleet, though, Outdoor Voices had run into problems. The company’s founder, Tyler Haney, resigned in 2020 amid layoffs and her departure became a much talked-about saga as reports surfaced over her clash with then-board chair Mickey Drexler. Soon thereafter, Lunya brand founder Ashley Merrill arrived as chair with a plan to fix the brand’s financials. But four years later, stores were closing and rumors about a possible bankruptcy were circulating.
To Consortium Brand Partners, though, Outdoor Voices’ problems are fixable.
“More often than not, the answer is, ‘No, it's not fixable,’” Baker said. “We pass on an incredible amount of investment opportunities every week. The ones that we dig into are the ones where we believe that the brightest opportunities are just ahead — and this is one of them. This is not a broken brand. It was a broken business. And that's a very different thing.”
Baker says Outdoor Voices has opportunities that go “far past its own direct channels” and that there’s robust interest from potential wholesale partners in the U.S. and outside it.
“I think sometimes businesses that are born as DTC brands are almost too precious about being able to sell at other accounts,” Baker said. “But when you believe in your product and you believe in your brand, then you should make it as easy as possible for the customer to access it wherever they shop. And that's something we take seriously.”
He added that shoppers can expect “a good deal” of Outdoor Voices showing up in wholesale channels and specialty stores in the next year. Also on tap is a “deep dive” into product and design, which Baker said can often take a hit when companies experience financial pressures. That is an area Haney has blasted the brand for in recent years on social media, though Baker said the product “has been good” and “can still even get better.” Shuttering the store fleet was also likely a simple response to financial challenges.
“I have respect for any company that has to make difficult choices during difficult times, so I understand why it was done,” Baker said of the decision to close down its fleet. “At the end of the day, we're very bullish on brick-and-mortar retail, especially on a brand like Outdoor Voices, where I think customers have always gravitated toward the community and oftentimes there's a real community hub that happens in a retail store.”
That’s a long-term plan, though. In the shorter term, Baker sees major category expansion opportunities in areas like swimwear, outerwear, fitness equipment, children’s and accessories, which he sees as spaces Outdoor Voices “deserves to be in.” Some of those expansions could happen by the holiday quarter this year, though many will likely be next year.
International interest, particularly in South America and Asia, is also causing Outdoor Voices to look beyond the U.S. for growth. That expansion could happen through local retailers and distributors versus Outdoor Voices’ website, though firm plans haven’t been made yet. Before all that, though, Consortium Brand Partners is working on reconnecting with the brand’s customer base.
“Right now, we really want to focus on ensuring that we have the right product and that we have the right messaging and that we're talking to the customer again. Because I think for a while that conversation got a little bit quiet for a brand that's known for its outdoor voice,” Baker said, adding later that it’s “table stakes” to engage with DTC customers. “Ensuring that we're giving them an opportunity to see and react to content and to be inspired by products that help move them — that’s table stakes, but the real growth is going to be in thinking about product categories that are adjacent to the core business.”
In some ways, Consortium Brand Partners’ work with Draper James provides a roadmap for what is possible at Outdoor Voices. The company spent much of the past year looking at Draper James’ customers and what else they want from the brand, which goes “far beyond women’s apparel,” according to Baker. The brand expects to expand into adjacent categories like pet, swimwear, home decor and crafts in the next six to 12 months “in a very significant way.”
“It's because we stopped and really started to understand what's the DNA of this brand and how far can she stretch her wings?” Baker said of Draper James. “And we're very careful about what category extensions mean and that we don't go into something that doesn't make sense for the brand.”
