Dive Brief:
- Athleta debuted its high-performance Train Collection featuring its new PowerMove fabric, the brand announced Tuesday. Priced between $69 to $135, the eight-piece collection features tights, capris, shorts and jackets.
- PowerMove fabric is made of recycled polyester from used plastic bottles. The quick-drying fabric features vertical and horizontal compression for a supportive fit and is designed to stretch for motions like box jumps and burpees. The brand also touted its Unstoppable Fleece Assortment of jackets, vests and joggers, which features its proprietary Flex Fleece fabric made of recycled polyester and spandex.
- The collection underwent over three years of wear tests with professional athletes and everyday consumers as well as third-party lab tests focused on fit and design.
Dive Insight:
With its new collection, Athleta is targeting both typical wearers and athletes that can last during and after intense workouts. Alongside Athleta, other activewear brands and retailers, including Lululemon, Vuori, Under Armour, Nike and Dick’s Sporting Goods, have debuted new fabrics in recent years.
“With this launch, Athleta continues its commitment of creating products for real women with our obsessive attention to every detail,” Casey Schumacher, Athleta’s senior director of design, said in a statement. “We wanted to ensure we created a product she could jump, lift, sweat and move in without distraction.”
The launch of Athleta’s Train Collection follows a challenging quarter for the Gap brand. While Gap Inc. saw its Q3 net sales fall 6.7% from the previous year to $3.8 billion, Athleta’s net sales dropped 18% year over year that quarter to $279 million. Athleta’s sister brands also reported net sales declines during that period, including Banana Republic (11%), Old Navy (1%) and Gap (15%).
As its parent company works to reverse its sales slump, Athleta has changed its leadership in recent months. Last July, the retailer appointed former Alo Yoga executive Chris Blakeslee as the new president and CEO of Athleta, a move it made after former CEO Mary Beth Laughton exited the company in March.
