EXCLUSIVE: Activewear Brand Varley Secures a $5 Million Investment

Varley is upping its game.  The fast-growing women’s activewear brand has secured $5 million in investments, which the company plans to use for product development, including moving into new categories, redesigning the web site and hiring additional staff.  “Women are definitely adopting the performance fashion lifestyle,” Lara Mead, cofounder of the brand, told WWD. “The majority of women now are doing some form of physical exercise. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re running marathons. But maybe they’re walking the dog or hiking with friends or going to a yoga class. We provide that performance outfit for her, whatever her activity is.” The investments were provided by two of Europe’s most well-known business leaders: Ron Dennis and Anders Povlsen. But Mead, who cofounded the company with husband Ben Mead, said the demand for ath-leisure and activewear apparel has been growing all on its own.  The duo founded Varley in 2015 after taking a trip to California. It was there that they saw the health-and-wellness movements and ath-leisure movements taking off. “Much more rapidly than it was in Europe at the time,” Lara said, and realized a hole in the European market.  “There was nothing really that we felt that translated to a European woman’s wardrobe,” Lara

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