Vuori is a privately held company primarily owned by founder and CEO Joe Kudla, alongside minority investors including General Atlantic, Stripes, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Vuori is not owned by Lululemon or any larger apparel corporation.
Vuori clothing is not made in the USA. Most production takes place in Vietnam, China, and Colombia through contract manufacturers rather than company owned factories.
This article covers who owns Vuori, where its activewear is actually manufactured, how it reached a multibillion dollar valuation, and its founding history.
So let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Who Owns Vuori?
Vuori is privately held, with founder and CEO Joe Kudla remaining the company’s primary owner alongside a group of institutional minority investors. Current collections are available on Vuori’s official website.
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 invested 400 million dollars in Vuori in 2021 at a 4 billion dollar valuation. In late 2024, General Atlantic and Stripes led an 825 million dollar investment structured as a secondary tender offer, allowing early investors to sell shares while pushing Vuori’s valuation to 5.5 billion dollars.
Despite the large outside investments, Vuori has remained profitable since 2017 and has not needed the capital for its balance sheet, since the later funding rounds were structured primarily to let early backers cash out rather than to raise new operating funds.
Where Is Vuori Made?
Vuori clothing is not made in the USA. Design and business operations are based in Carlsbad and Encinitas, California, but manufacturing takes place overseas through contract factories.
Most Vuori production happens in Vietnam, China, and Colombia, with additional specialty fabric work sourced from Taiwan.
Vuori maintains a Vendor Code of Conduct based on International Labour Organization standards, covering child labor, forced labor, wage practices, and environmental standards across its supplier network.
Vuori does not own its factories and instead partners with established manufacturers in each country, a common approach among direct to consumer activewear brands competing in the same space as Lululemon and Athleta.
How Did Vuori Reach a 5.5 Billion Dollar Valuation?
Vuori grew from a men’s only activewear line launched in 2015 into one of the fastest growing brands in the athleisure category, expanding into women’s apparel in 2018 and building a strong wholesale and direct to consumer business simultaneously.
The brand’s growth attracted major growth equity investors, culminating in the 2024 round led by General Atlantic and Stripes that valued the company at 5.5 billion dollars, among the largest valuations ever achieved by a private apparel company.
Vuori has continued expanding its physical retail footprint toward a goal of more than 100 stores by 2026, including new international locations in markets such as the United Kingdom and China, while continuing to take market share from larger rivals like Lululemon.
When Was Vuori Founded?
Vuori was founded in 2015 by Joe Kudla in Encinitas, California, after he identified a gap in the market for versatile men’s activewear that could transition from workouts to everyday life. More on the brand’s history is documented on Wikipedia.
The name Vuori comes from the Finnish word for mountain, reflecting Kudla’s interest in outdoor and mountain sports.
The brand built its early customer base through direct to consumer e-commerce before expanding into wholesale partnerships with retailers like Nordstrom and REI.
Vuori has since opened flagship stores in locations including SoHo in Manhattan and Regent Street in London, alongside its original flagship in Encinitas, California.
Is Vuori Good Quality?
Vuori’s performance joggers are the brand’s most consistently praised item, with reviewers on Thingtesting describing pairs that have stayed comfortable and intact after years of regular wear and washing.
Complaints do surface regularly on Trustpilot and in a legal complaints roundup from Louis Law Group, most often involving pilling on leggings and joggers after only a few washes, seams unraveling prematurely, and sizing that varies noticeably between product lines.
Darker colors have also been reported to fade faster than expected.
Customer service responsiveness is a recurring frustration in complaint threads, with some buyers describing slow or unhelpful support when reporting defects.
Even so, the overall volume of five star reviews for core items like the Performance Jogger and Ponto pants suggests most buyers are satisfied, with quality concerns concentrated in a smaller subset of styles and colors.
Frequently Asked Questions About Who Makes Vuori
Does Lululemon own Vuori?
No, Lululemon does not own Vuori. Vuori is a privately held company owned primarily by founder Joe Kudla alongside minority investors, and it competes directly against Lululemon in the athleisure market.
Is Vuori made in the USA?
No, Vuori clothing is manufactured overseas, primarily in Vietnam, China, and Colombia. The brand’s design and headquarters operations are based in California, but no meaningful production happens domestically.
What is Vuori’s current valuation?
Vuori was valued at 5.5 billion dollars following an 825 million dollar investment led by General Atlantic and Stripes in late 2024, making it one of the largest privately held apparel companies in the world.
Who founded Vuori?
Joe Kudla founded Vuori in 2015 and continues to serve as the company’s CEO and primary owner.
I am Jack Neel, a mechanical engineer, researcher, and writer. I created this website to share my knowledge about different brands and products with you. I research the manufacturers behind the brands and provide you with the information you need to make smart buying decisions.