Outdoor Voices
Outdoor Voices has 40% off certain items.
- Outdoor Voices is offering 40% off some of its core items between Monday and Friday this week.
- The athletics label has said in the past that it avoids discounting its products.
- "People will pay for the product, and if you have a good product, you don't need sales," the company's founder, Tyler Haney, told Business Insider in an interview in June.
Amazon Prime Day has worn down even the biggest naysayers.
Outdoor Voices, the trendy, Texas-based athletics label that famously doesn't offer discounts, is running a 40% off sale on some of its core items between Monday and Friday this week.
In a new section of its site, "OV Extra," the brand's signature block-colored women's leggings, which usually cost $85, are being reduced to $59 in certain colors. Several items from the men's collection, including sweats, hoodies, shorts, and T-shirts, are also on sale.
These sales are somewhat surprising given that the company is strict on its discounting policy.
"Sales are scary - we don't need to do it. People will pay for the product, and if you have a good product, you don't need sales," the company's founder, Tyler Haney, told Business Insider in an interview in June.
Haney explained that Outdoor Voices rolls out products in small batches to prevent having any inventory left over, which would be vulnerable to discounting. If it comes to the point where any inventory is left over, these items will be given away to brand ambassadors, she said.
These ambassadors are unpaid advocates for the brand and are involved in a "myriad of ways," she said. Outdoor Voices did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment to confirm whether this system is still in place.
Rampant discounting has become the flavor of the past decade as retailers try to appeal to price-conscious consumers scarred by the recession. As a result, consumers have become hooked on discounts, which has made it hard for discount-heavy brands such as Gap to encourage customers to pay full price.
Smaller brands such as Outdoor Voices and Everlane have tended to keep inventory lean in order to preserve their brand image and avoid falling victim to the same discounting curse.
The timing of Outdoor Voices' sale is likely not a coincidence.
Amazon Prime Day, which begins at 3 p.m. on Monday, July 16, is putting pressure on major retailers such as Target, Macy's, Walmart, and J.C. Penney to offer massive Black Friday-style sales in July. Some of these retailers are offering as much as 30% off certain products and departments. In addition to running their own promotions, many retailers plan to price-match Amazon's Prime Day deals. These retailers include Home Depot, Staples, Best Buy, and Bed Bath & Beyond.
In its fourth year, however, Prime Day is still a long way from catching up to Black Friday in terms of total sales. Cowen & Co. estimates that Prime Day generated about $1 billion for Amazon last year, while e-commerce sales totaled $5.03 billion on Black Friday, according to Adobe.
Check out all of our Amazon Prime Day coverage:
- Amazon Prime Day, a made-up holiday that's become bigger than Black Friday, is here. This is why it's such a big deal.
- Everything you need to know and what to expect on July 16
- Amazon is giving Prime members up to $30 in free cash for shopping at Whole Foods
- Amazon is pulling out all the stops to make sure as many people as possible shop on Prime Day
- Amazon Prime Day is killing Black Friday
- 5 overlooked deals you really don't want to miss out on during Prime Day - but probably have in previous years
- Amazon's made-up holiday is forcing other retailers to offer crazy sales
- 9 money-saving tips and hacks for shopping on Amazon Prime Day