Outdoor Voices At 1723 Walnut On Rittenhouse Row Unexpectedly Closes In Just Over A Year

The closing of the Philly location comes after news that the brand was trying to raise VC.

The shuttering of the athleisure direct-to-consumer brand Outdoor Voices store at 1723 Walnut Street, having replaced a long-closed Steve Madden, was unexpected, at least to residents and businesses.

Outdoor Voice’s shuttering came at the end of January, a little over a year after debuting in December 2022. It stayed open through the holidays, then accommodating holiday returns until the doors were covered with brown paper. However, there was a clear peak hole into the store which was and continues to be, not completely empty.

While there is always a crowd at the Lululemon (which is fair, as its the OG of athleisure) across the street, it’s still unexpected. After all, Athleta continues to thrive on Walnut even if it’s not continuously busy. Once the Philly store closed, locals shared the fact that their other stores had closed, including a popular one on Melrose Street in Los Angeles and Nashville, but they’ve opened up new stores in other cities, such as Charlotte. So what gives?

Per media outlet Puck, Outdoor Voices was seeking an infusion of cash in the summer. What made that tidbit interesting to retail insiders is that Outdoor Voices had completed its comeback story well after it kicked out founder and CEO Tyler Hanley who took it VERY personally, although I’m sure investors weren’t happy about the fact it was losing $74 million a year. Now it’s desperately seeking a new owner as the $10 million it raised in 2023 won’t take it far.

Long story short – The brand hasn’t evolved, its customers have moved on, it continues to lose money, and unless it gets an owner, it may not have a second comeback.

We’re sorry the Outdoor Voices Philly store closed because the clothing quality is great and reps who worked there were so sweet. They also had a monogram station during the holidays!

Fingers crossed that the brand that comes into the space has just as nice people and offerings.