Co-Founder and CEO Michelle Wahler to
Depart; Nancy Green, Retail Industry Veteran, Named CEO Effective
February 1, 2024
Beyond Yoga®, a premium athletic and lifestyle apparel brand
owned by Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.; NYSE: LEVI), announced
today that co-founder Michelle Wahler will step down as CEO. Nancy
Green, former CEO and president of Athleta, will assume the role of
CEO of Beyond Yoga® to scale the brand’s continued growth and
expansion within LS&Co.’s brand portfolio. Green will join
Beyond Yoga® on February 1, 2024.
"We set out to develop a brand that honors real women’s bodies,
and I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished with Beyond
Yoga®,” said co-founder and CEO Michelle Wahler. “I always believed
that Beyond Yoga® could be a $1 billion brand, and with Nancy’s
experience, I look forward to seeing how she takes our vision into
the future.”
Since founding Beyond Yoga®, Wahler created an impressive and
dynamic team that not only expanded the wholesale business but
established a direct-to-consumer business that has consistently
grown double digits year over year. Chief Operations Officer and
Chief Financial Officer Jesse Adams, who has been with the company
for more than a decade and was instrumental in its success, also
will be stepping down. Wahler and Adams championed the brand's
values of inclusivity and authenticity and will remain advisors to
the company to ensure a seamless transition from the founder to the
new CEO.
“Under Michelle’s leadership, Beyond Yoga® has grown from an
idea to a nearly $100 million omnichannel retailer,” said Chip
Bergh, president and CEO of LS&Co. “I want to thank Michelle
for her leadership and for integrating Beyond Yoga® into the
LS&Co. portfolio. Based on the strong foundation she built, we
anticipate a smooth transition for our employees, consumers and
customers.”
LS&Co. acquired Beyond Yoga® in 2021 as part of its strategy
to diversify its portfolio. The premium athleisure brand provided
LS&Co. with entry into the high-growth activewear segment,
contributing nearly $100 million to net revenue in FY22. Beyond
Yoga® opened its first store in 2022, in Santa Monica, Calif., and
now has six stores.
Green’s appointment as CEO is expected to bring in a new era of
accelerated growth for Beyond Yoga®. Green is a veteran retailer
and proven brand builder with a legacy of driving significant
profitable growth.
Under her leadership at Athleta, the team transformed the brand
by introducing the Power of She platform and reshaping its product
line via a robust innovation pipeline, the introduction of the
Athleta Girl line and significant advances in product
sustainability. During this time, Athleta’s revenues grew from $250
million to nearly $1 billion, with operating margin significantly
growing and its store network expanding from 39 to 175 stores.
In addition to leading Athleta, Green was president and CEO of
Old Navy between 2019 and 2022, where she oversaw the brand’s
growth from $8 to $9 billion, with significant growth in
activewear.
In addition to her expertise leading and building powerhouse
brands, Green has served on boards such as Marine Layer, Allbirds
and the National Retail Federation; is on the advisory board of
Lily AI; and is a senior advisor at the Center for Equity, Gender
and Leadership at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Her
breadth of experience makes her the right leader to further the
mission of Beyond Yoga and expand its digital and retail
ecosystem.
“This is an exciting time for Beyond Yoga®, which has thrived
under the LS&Co. umbrella,” said Michelle Gass, LS&Co.
president and incoming CEO. “We have arrived at a natural
inflection point for this incredible brand, and as we pursue the
next stage of growth, we believe Nancy has the experience to fully
unlock the potential of Beyond Yoga® by leveraging her impressive
retail expertise and LS&Co.'s extensive global resources and
capabilities.”
“I’m honored to be leading Beyond Yoga®, a brand I’ve known and
loved for years, and I see so much upside potential for this
authentic and high-quality brand to reach and engage many more
consumers. I look forward to partnering with the Beyond Yoga® and
LS&Co. teams to continue to build the brand and accelerate its
growth,” said Green, incoming CEO of Beyond Yoga®. “As a
purpose-driven leader, I’m inspired by the fact that Beyond Yoga®
stands for more than just comfort and performance; the brand has
created an inclusive, body-positive community that celebrates
diversity and giving back. I’m committed to staying true to these
values as we continue to build this community and scale this brand
for its next chapter of growth. I want to thank the founders of
Beyond Yoga®, Michelle Wahler and Jodi Guber Brufsky, for creating
this beloved, values-led brand, and to reinforce my commitment to
staying true to the brand’s promise.”
Beyond Yoga® is poised for further expansion through increased
direct-to-consumer channels, including brick-and-mortar retail,
category growth, an enhanced wholesale footprint with premium
partners and an international presence. The brand will continue to
operate as a standalone division within LS&Co., maintaining its
core ethos while leveraging LS&Co.’s resources to expand the
brand’s reach and impact.
About Beyond Yoga®
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Beyond Yoga® is a body positive,
premium athleisure apparel brand focused on quality, fit and
comfort for all shapes and sizes. The company was founded in 2005
to promote body positivity, honoring and celebrating every body
from XXS-4X. The brand produces clothing that fosters wellbeing in
luxuriously soft, no-hassle care fabrics for styles that keep up
with the toughest workouts and beyond. Beyond Yoga® is about more
than just comfort and performance; the brand has created an
inclusive community centered on body positivity, the celebration of
diversity, and giving back to causes in which it believes. The
company is female-founded, female-run and nearly 90%
female-led.
About Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world's largest brand-name
apparel companies and a global leader in jeanswear. The company
designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for
men, women and children under the Levi's®, Dockers®, Signature by
Levi Strauss & Co.™, Denizen® and Beyond Yoga® brands. Its
products are sold in more than 110 countries worldwide through a
combination of chain retailers, department stores, online sites and
a global footprint of approximately 3,200 brand-dedicated stores
and shop-in-shops. Levi Strauss & Co.'s reported 2022 net
revenues were $6.2 billion. For more information, go to
http://levistrauss.com, and for financial news and announcements go
to http://investors.levistrauss.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240119149548/en/
Investor Contact:
Aida Orphan Levi Strauss & Co. (415) 501-6194
Investor-relations@levi.com
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Owen Levi Strauss & Co. (415) 501-7777
newsmediarequests@levi.com
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