Industry customer Dick’s Sporting Goods is launching an in-house premium lifestyle apparel brand that it likens to Lululemon’s men’s line.
The company says VRST (pronounced ‘vurst’) is aimed at the modern active man and includes commuter pants, joggers, shorts, T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts and quarter zips. Prices range from $30 to $120.
VRST is rolling out to 400 Dick’s stores across the country.
The continued intersection of casual wear and athletic apparel drove Dick’s to create the line, especially because it is a white space in Dick’s stores. Brands like Under Armour and Nike focus more on athletic clothing.
“It’s a very different product assortment from what we have with our core vendor partners right now,” Dick’s CEO Lauren Hobart said on an earnings conference call last week.
The brand leans toward more lifestyle apparel that you can work and travel in, but also work out in.
She said VRST “will put us in a much stronger position to compete with similar offerings from premium apparel brands and specialty athletic apparel stores.”
The company has had a lot of success with its Calia lifestyle line, also an in-house brand that has become the No. 2 female brand at Dick’s after Nike.
Like Calia, VRST has its own website and social media. The company said VRST will announce brand ambassadors soon.
