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A small pocket of coastal southern California is coming to London’s Regent Street.
Vuori’s first flagship store outside of the US, set to open its doors Thursday, is designed to give British customers a taste of the activewear brand’s sunny origins, according to founder Joe Kudla. The two-floor, 4,000-square-foot store features materials in earthy tones, such as rock, soft quartz, concrete, washed oak and natural marble, as well as a faux skylight above a glass atrium full of live plants to simulate the effects of the California sun.
The new store comes amid a period of considerable expansion for the brand, founded in Encinitas, California, in 2014 as a men’s yoga apparel specialist. After taking a $400 million investment from SoftBank that valued it at $4 billion in October 2021, the brand has sought to appeal to a wider base of consumers, growing its women’s offering and reaching beyond workout gear into casualwear like jackets and stretchy, comfortable travel pants.
Today, Vuori is approaching 70 regular stores across the US after opening 20 new doors this year, Kudla said. It also opened two stores in China this year as well as a new location in Seoul, South Korea.
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The Regent Street door will be its third flagship, along with its original Encinitas location and a store in Manhattan. The store’s design is meant to differentiate it from the many activewear competitors that have opened locations on the busy retail strip over the past two years, including Swiss sneaker giant On, Alo Yoga, Gymshark and Icelandic outerwear label 66 North. It will also host regular programming of events such as run clubs and fitness classes.
Vuori, which is privately held, does not break out its earnings but Kudla said sales were trending positively and the brand had met all its growth targets for 2024.
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