Vuori reached a $5.5 billion valuation after an investment round led by General Atlantic and Stripes. Private equity's interest in the athleisure company comes at a time when many investors are fleeing the consumer sector, indicating Vuori's profitable business model is setting it apart from competitors. The coastal California company, known for its joggers and shorts, is planning for an IPO, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
When athleisure brand Vuori launched in 2015, it was headquartered in a garage, sold only men's shorts and couldn't get investors to give it the time of day. Now, the Carlsbad, California, retailer is expanding globally, backed by a string of marquee investors including General Atlantic, SoftBank and Norwest Venture Partners, after raising $825 million in November in a funding round that valued the company at $5.5 billion.Beyond Yoga, and it's poised to be one of the retail industry's biggest IPOs when it eventually files to go public, which people close to the company say it plans to do. 'It's a notable deal for the category it's in ... you haven't seen many deals in that market at all over the last couple of years, and the deals that have happened have been more, I'd say, challenged, or more at value-oriented situations,' Matthew Tingler, a managing director in Baird's global consumer and retail investment banking group, said of the recent funding round. 'Vuori's bringing a lot of excitement and growth to the market,' added Tingler, an expert in the athletic apparel space who wasn't involved in the transaction.'In ways, they've been taking share in that athleisure market broadly ... they're challenging the legacy players of Athleta and Lululemon.'As Vuori went from a no-name brand to one of the most highly valued private apparel retailers on the planet, it saw robust sales growth and consistent profitability, winning over consumers in a crowded space with its coastal California take on athleisur