Athleta Sales Fuel Gap’s Robust Quarter

Gap, the parent company of Athleta, reported second-quarter earnings Thursday, recording $4.2 billion in net sales — its best second-quarter sales in over a decade.

Athleta’s net sales jumped 35% from 2019 to $341 million.

• During the quarter, Athleta launched a well-being platform called AthletaWell. The announcement fell on the same day Athleta athlete Simone Biles withdrew from the individual all-around gymnastics competition at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health. 
• As part of the launch, Athleta announced a partnership with Obe Fitness to offer free workout content for members each week. The company recently contributed to Obe’s $15 million Series A funding round.
• In July, Athleta athlete Allyson Felix became the most decorated U.S. Olympic track athlete ever by winning her 10th and 11th Olympic medals. Both Biles and Felix left Nike for Athleta.

Over 50% of Athleta’s sales are from loyalty members, who spend twice as much money as the average customer.

Athleta hopes to reach $2 billion in annual net sales by 2023 after opening 20-30 stores in 2021. Gap is set to launch Athleta online in Canada next week and raised its projected sales growth to 30% from the low-to-mid 20% range.

Athleisure accounted for 33% of apparel sales last year, according to NPD Group, and is projected to become a $517.5 billion industry by 2025.