Activewear brand Vuori brings California cool to NYC as part of U.S expansion

Vuori is expanding its footprint nationwide.

The activewear brand, which draws inspiration from the active California lifestyle, has opened its first New York City location, in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. The 5,000-sq.-ft. store is also Vuori’s largest location to date and its first flagship on the East Coast.

Launched in 2015 as a direct-to-consumer men’s brand, Vuori subsequently expanded its offerings to include a women's line in response to overwhelming demand from female consumers.  It also expanded into wholesale partnerships with select retailers. In October 2021, the company was valued at $4 billion by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which invested $400 million in the brand.

Vuori’s arrival in Manhattan comes on the heels of its London debut, with a location in the Covent Garden area. The store, which opened last month, marks the brand’s first brick-and-mortar shop outside the United States. 

Vuori has remained bullish on brick-and-mortar here at home, with more than 100 store openings slated for the next five years.  The company currently operates 30 physical stores, 14 of which are located in California. Upcoming locations include Chicago, Dallas and Las Vegas.

At the same time, the brand is expanding throughout Europe, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East, and Mexico through e-commerce, wholesale and retail channels.

SoHo
Located in a historic cast iron building with a modern and clean design complemented by earthy elements, the SoHo outpost showcases the full range of Vuori’s men's and women's fitness apparel and lifestyle offerings, including its new outerwear collection.

The interior design elements include custom designed fixtures hand crafted in natural materials and the first-ever display monograph on Vuori. A custom art installation of back-lit mountain silhouettes represents the meaning of "Vuori" – a Finnish word that means "mountain."  The walls feature sayings such as: “We draw inspiration from an active coastal California lifestyle” and “Run. Surf. Hike. Train. Chill.”    A dramatic, 40-foot hallway of soft-edge lit arches lead customers to the fitting room area.

More than places to purchase apparel, Vuori stores are also hubs for community engagement, the company said. The stores are known to host events such as local art shows, yoga classes and the like.

"SoHo has long been one of New York's most desirable shopping hubs, as it's the perfect mix of being a place where people live and work, but also where they come to shop, discover new brands and have fun,” said Joe Kudla, founder and CEO of Vuori. We look forward to serving new and existing customers and bringing locals together in ways that celebrate and inspire a healthy, happy life.”

With products that are designed to last, the Climate Neutral Certified brand is committed to sustainability, with a three-tiered approach that involves the use of recycled and sustainable materials, reducing plastic waste, and offsetting 100% of carbon emissions.