Old Navy has relaunched its activewear business as a subbrand called Old Navy Sport, opening up new growth possibilities for a top-selling category.
Activewear has been outperforming the overall Old Navy business, and the new offering is getting enhanced styling, more performance characteristics, fabric innovations, a more distinct presence and sharper marketing. According to officials, Old Navy Sport is “a modern take on activewear that transitions seamlessly from workouts to weekends.”
Old Navy Sport shops-in-shop are being tested at 42 of the retailer’s 1,250 or so stores, and the company might develop freestanding Old Navy Sport shops.
“We have over 300 [stock keeping units] of newness delivering this month, under the Old Navy Sport label,” said Jessica Shynn, head of Old Navy Sport, in an interview confirming past WWD reports about the launch. “We’re looking to enhance how we show up to the customer, whether it’s our current customer or a new customer. This is both a reinvention and a celebration of just how incredible our activewear business has been.”
Old Navy Sport
The new subbrand features an expanded range of fits and styles incorporating Old Navy’s signature fabric innovations for activewear. Among them: PowerSoft, a sweat-wicking fabric for medium-intensity workouts; PowerSoft Boundless leggings, biker shorts and flared pants featuring a smooth, seamless front; StudioSmooth, a lightweight and very soft fabric for yoga and pilates; the Bounce Fleece spacer fabric, and Bounce Lite, a silky-smooth lightweight fabric with a more graceful drape.
“Versatility is a critical part of our value message,” Shynn said. “There’s a heightened approach to creating active. Specifically, it needs to perform literally, but at the same offer value.”
Shynn said the collection also offers fashion and pointed to plaids and matching pieces that complete a head-to-toe looks for the gym or “if she just wants to look cute at the marina on the weekend.”
A plaid matchback from Old Navy Sport.
The 42 Old Navy Sport shops-in-shop are all going to look a little different because Old Navy stores vary in size, layout and customers. However, each will have a “heightened marketing and product education presence,” Shynn said. “These stores will also get an expanded breadth of exclusive product designed intentionally for the shop-in-shop experience, and so we’re really hoping that when the customer walks into the store, even if they didn’t walk in thinking to buy activewear today, they see what we’re standing for, and we get them to convert.”
Asked about rolling out separate Old Navy Sport shops, Shynn said: “We are definitely testing into broader formats, which in an ideal world, would be the best expression of Old Navy Sport, and showing up in a completely brand new way, completely dedicated to the category. So we’re testing a lot of things.
“I’ve been with Old Navy for about nine years, most of those years in the active business, and the momentum, growth and customer resonance we’ve seen in this category has been tremendous. It’s sort of the industry’s best-kept secret. The intent behind this endeavor is [to explore] what our activewear business could look like, and how much bigger it can be if we just applied a little more care, attention and focus to this category. We’d love it to be not so secretive.”
The Old Navy Sport subbrand has been about a year and a half in the making, but Shynn said “the energy and dedication” to active has been building since the COVID-19 years “when we skyrocketed in terms of acceleration and growth.”
She said Old Navy is a top five market shareholder in the active space in the U.S., though Old Navy does not break out volumes on any of its categories. All of Old Navy’s activewear will bear the Old Navy Sport label.
Despite the improved styling and enhanced fabric innovation, Shynn said that pricing-wise: “We’ve kept our guardrails intact in terms of ensuring the value proposition holds strong even with this endeavor. But of course, as we’re looking to grow our portfolio of innovation and fashion, we are testing things at both a lower price point and a higher price point. We want to understand and read customer sentiment as it shows up a little differently, but still staying super competitive.”
Prices at Old Navy Sport generally range from $8 for an active T-shirt or running short, to $70 for a men’s puffer jacket with a hood, snap and zipper closure.
Old Navy is part of Gap Inc., which also includes the Gap, Banana Republic and the Athleta brands. Asked if the Old Navy Sport’s team works with the team at Athleta, which also sells activewear and sportswear but at higher prices, Shynn said: “We stay close to all our sister brands because we’re really curious about what’s happening with everyone, and to ensuring we are in lockstep when it comes to acquiring our specific customer segments, and ensuring our brand identities and our aesthetic distinctions come to life. We have very different brand positioning. We have a very different customer. We have a very different creative point of view and, of course, a different price point. And knowing how massive and ever-growing the activewear space is, there’s definitely still room for both of us to grow.”
Old Navy, which has founded in 1994 and operates stores in the U.S. and Canada, as well as franchise locations around the world, has recently been underperforming due to some fashion misses, particularly in seasonal merchandise including swim, shorts and dresses. However, as seasonal categories became much less important, the company began seeing “significant contribution” from the active, denim and knit categories. Old Navy’s second-quarter net and comparable sales fell 4 percent to $2.1 billion impacting results at Gap Inc., which after 10 consecutive quarters of gains, saw sales decline 2 percent in the quarter. For 2025, Old Navy’s net and comparable sales rose 3 percent to $8.7 billion.
In November, Michael Francis will step up as president and chief executive officer of Old Navy, succeeding Haio Barbeito, who transitions into an advisory role. Francis joined Gap Inc. in March as chief customer officer for Old Navy and head of marketing shared services. He’s best known for playing a pivotal role as Target’s chief marketing officer in the 2000s, molding the store’s “cheap chic” identity by tying low prices to trendy, modern designs.
Old Navy Sport
#Navy #Propels #Activewear #Subbrand