Athleta, The Gap, Inc.-owned women’s active and wellness brand, has announced a new partnership with thredUP and an online collaboration with Shop Premium Outlets, both in the U.S. and supporting Athleta’s long-term growth strategy to reach new customers and expand its community of “empowered women and girls.”
Athleta launches “preloved” shopping experience pilot with thredUP
Athleta’s first resale platform, Always Athleta, is a new resale program enabled by thredUP’s Resale-as-a-Service (RaaS), which enables brands and retailers to deliver high-quality, seamless resale experiences to their customers. Athleta plans to use the platform as a testing and learning opportunity to better understand customer buying behavior and attract new customers to the brand. Starting today, a limited group of randomly selected customers in the U.S. will receive access to the pilot platform when they visit Athleta.com. Selected customers can select “Preloved” in the site’s navigation bar to access the Always Athleta platform, where they can purchase a wide selection of pre-owned Athleta products at up to 90 percent off the estimated retail price.
“As a certified B Corporation, Athleta believes in using business as a force of good,” said Kim Waldmann, chief digital officer at Athleta. “The launch of our first-ever resale pilot, Always Athleta, marks a major milestone toward our vision for a more sustainable future. We’re thrilled to partner with thredUP on this innovative platform that invites consumers to make a positive environmental impact without compromising on performance or style.”
The new Always Athleta platform builds on the brand’s existing partnership with Gap Inc.’s sister brands, Banana Republic and Gap, with RaaS from thredUP. Nearly half of Athleta’s customers already participate in the circular economy, according to Gap Inc., underscoring the demand for the brand’s new platform to shop its beautiful, technical and sustainable assortment. Through its Athleta in-store Clean Out program, thredUP has processed more than 125,000 Clean Out kits and sold more than one million secondhand items on its marketplace since February 2020. With the launch of Always Athleta, customers can continue to drop off gently used clothing, shoes and accessories from all brands in their closet and receive purchase credit from Athleta for items sold on thredUP. According to thredUP’s 2022 Resale Report, the secondhand apparel market is expected to more than double to $82 billion by 2026.
Athleta launches new omnichannel collaboration with Shop Premium Outlets
Following the launch of its new outlet store format this year, Athleta is partnering with Shop Premium Outlets, a joint venture between Simon® and Rue Gilt Groupe, to bring the outlet shopping experience to customers across the U.S. Beginning in early October, U.S. customers will be able to shop a select assortment of Athleta’s premium performance and lifestyle products through the brand’s dedicated storefront at ShopPremiumOutlets.com. The remaining online outlet assortment offers customers unparalleled value on existing premium and on-trend Athleta styles.
“Expanding our customer base is critical to our long-term growth, and we’re always looking for new avenues to introduce women to our brand and products,” Waldmann said. “Investing in new digital collaborations with companies like Shop Premium Outlets serves as a customer acquisition and loyalty driver, introducing her to our versatile performance and performance lifestyle product as we continue to track toward Athleta’s goal of opening 30-40 new stores this year.”
