The athletic-wear brand of Gap, Athleta has made a new strategy to attract more consumers than ever before.
On Wednesday, the apparel retailer announced that the company has signed up a multi-year partnership deal with a sports star-Olympic Champion Allyson Felix. In an undisclosed financial deal, the most decorated female track and field star in the US History, Felix roped in financial deal with Athleta.
She was in the news recently after writing an op-ed in the New York Times in which she accused Nike of wanting her to pay her 70% less after her pregnancy.
“My disappointment is not just with Nike, but with how the sports apparel industry at large treats female athletes,” she wrote in the Times in May.
Felix passed the comment 10 days after the two formers Nike Teammates Olympian runners Alysia Montano and Kara Goucher, broke their silence on the issue. In response, Nike said that it would be adding “Written terms” in new contracts to support athletes during pregnancy.
“I was definitely happy they did make changes to their policy because I think — I was inspired by Alysia speaking out, and Kara, and that was really what we wanted to happen,” Felix said in an interview with CNBC about Nike’s response. “And it was a problem that was happening across the sports apparel industry that we were seeing.”
“It can be scary,” she added about speaking up. “But I think we are seeing results.”
The Financial deal with Felix also shows Athleta is growing within the Gap family. The sports apparel brand is all set to hit $1 billion in sales next year, and Felix could help make sure it achieves that milestone.
At a time, when Athleta is competing with other women’s sportswear brand include Lululemon, Nike, Under Armour and Adidas. Lululemon being into the business of women’s gear has recently started shifting to men’s wear while other three brands have been trying to win more female fans.
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