Dive Brief:
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A little over a year after launching its Without Walls athleisure brand, Urban Outfitters appears to have scaled back its presence.
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The brand’s social media sites have been taken down, according to Buzzfeed News, and the bohemian-styled jogging leggings and other items are now available at the Urban Outfitters website (and stores) along with workout clothes from other brands, like Patagonia, FILA, and Nike.
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Without Walls gift cards can be used at the Urban Outfitters website and UO stores. Urban Outfitters runs the Urban Outfitters, Free People, and Anthropologie brands.
Dive Insight:
Perhaps we’ve seen the limits of athleisure, which has been a burgeoning space instigated by the success several years ago of Canadian yoga brand Lululemon.
Theory similarly has pulled its stand-alone activewear offerings, telling Racked that it's "not moving forward" with its goth-health line but will continue to offer activewear under its signature name.
Neither Theory nor Urban Outfitters seem to be abandoning the category, but neither appear to find it useful or profitable to treat it as a standalone brand with its own following, either. Is it possible that the retail companies’ customers, the edgy goths at Theory or the groovy bohemians at UO aren’t the workout types? Perhaps.
“Without Walls was launched with significant hype and there was talk at the time of this potentially becoming a stand alone concept,” Talmage Advisors CEO Liz Dunn told Buzzfeed News. “I thought the assortment was solid but it doesn’t surprise me that their customer might not have been looking for that product from them.”
But it could also be that retailers are realizing that the popularity of athleisure is helpful to its other struggling categories; in recent quarters, for example, Urban Outfitters has relied on the superior performance of its Free People brand while its other two brands have had difficulties. The athleisure category could be another way to boost the company’s performance.
With Without Walls better integrated into Urban Outfitters e-commerce site and stores, shoppers can come for the yoga pants and sportswear and leave with a sweater, dress, or handbag as well.
Urban Outfitters, for its part, told Racked that the fitness brand remains important.
“Our Without Walls brand represents a significant part of our customers’ experience – an active, fully immersive lifestyle focused on living for the journey,” the statement reads. “Moving Without Walls products to Urban Outfitters’ Activewear page has helped us grow the brand and attract new customers both online and in stores. We look forward to continuing the Without Walls journey, and to supporting a lifestyle of fitness and exploration within the Urban Outfitters community.”