Today, Southern California-inspired activewear brand Vuori announced the hire of e-commerce veteran Peter LaBore as its first COO, and tested global executive Andy Lawrence as its first vice president of international. LaBore, who started August 23rd, and Lawrence, whose position is effective immediately, will report directly to Vuori Founder & CEO Joe Kudla.
“As we continue to optimize our growth, we couldn’t be more excited to have Pete and Andy come on board,” said Vuori Founder & CEO Joe Kudla. “Our ambition is to bring quality activewear that is styled for life to new markets and create world-class operations at home and abroad while doing so. Pete and Andy’s energy and leadership, coupled with their remarkable experience will help elevate our brand to the next level.”
Pete LaBore comes to Vuori with 20 years of experience in the e-commerce sector. Most recently, LaBore held the position of chief operating officer of Reformation––a Los Angeles-based sustainable women’s clothing and accessories brand. Prior to his tenure there, LaBore spent ten years at Backcountry, an online retailer of outdoor gear and apparel, where he held several positions, including vice president of e-commerce and senior vice president of operations before being appointed chief operating officer in April 2016. As COO, LaBore managed Backcountry’s domestic fulfillment, customer service, marketing, and merchandising teams.
Assuming the chief operating officer position at Vuori, LaBore will work closely with the brand’s senior leadership team. He’ll provide his strategic vision to scale operations to support Vuori’s exponential growth and ensure a seamless customer experience across Vuori’s entire enterprise and retail channels.
“As a long-time customer, I am very excited to be joining the dynamic group of people at Vuori,” says LaBore. “The company has rapidly become one of the most popular active brands for men and women and has done so by remaining true to its roots – investing in their product and their team. I look forward to my role in helping their vision flourish and reaching more customers in the years to come.”
Andy Lawrence has spent the past 15 years leading international expansion for consumer brands, focused on building sustainable, profitable growth across all channels such as e-commerce, retail and wholesale. Most recently, Lawrence served as head of international for Reiss, a UK-based, private equity-backed contemporary apparel brand. He led the brand’s profitable expansion into new markets in Asia and oversaw its repositioning in North America.
His experience at Reiss was preceded by a six-year tenure with leading luxury lifestyle brand, Ralph Lauren. While there, Lawrence advanced through leadership roles, joining the company as the senior director of business development for all of Asia, then serving as the general manager of Taiwan, responsible for all brands and channels for that market. His time at the company culminated with the promotion to vice president and head of retail for South Korea. He also played a key role in the international roll out and US restructuring for upscale grocery store chain, Dean & Deluca.
Lawrence’s mandate will be to successfully expand Vuori’s omni-channel presence in key markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, and beyond.
Currently, Vuori’s omnichannel retail footprint serves the U.S. It operates Vuoriclothing.com, ten directly-owned retail stores and supports a strong wholesale business with more than 500 specialty accounts in the U.S., Canada and Japan, including Nordstrom and REI.
“I was introduced to Vuori a few years ago, and fell in love with the product and the brand,” said Lawrence. “Joe Kudla and the Vuori team continue to successfully break down the boundaries of traditional activewear and amass a devoted following among consumers and retailers alike. I’m thrilled to be joining them at this critical stage of the company’s growth and to help support its momentum.”
In 2021, Vuori will build on its success with increased investment in its brick-and-mortar retail stores, honoring its commitment to being 80% sustainable by 2022, expanding to international markets, optimizing its growing operations, and investing in key team members. The appointment of LaBore and Lawrence is one of many efforts to bring these goals to fruition.
About Vuori
Launched in 2015, Vuori merges technical clothing with a West Coast vibe that looks and feels great. Founder Joe Kudla didn’t have to look far for inspiration; headquartered in the aspirational beach community of Encinitas, CA, Vuori is a natural extension of its home environment where active, conscious and creative people inspire those around them every day. In addition to a fruitful ecommerce business and physical stores in Boulder, Del Mar, Encinitas, Bridgehampton, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach, San Francisco, San Jose and Venice Beach, Vuori is sold in most Nordstrom stores and REI. Please visit www.vuoriclothing.com for more information.
