Activewear brand Ten Thousand raises $21.5M

Dive Brief:

Men’s activewear brand Ten Thousand has secured $21.5 million in Series A funding, signaling its intent to grow and expand the brand, per a press release.
The investment was led by Provenance with participation from Fernbrook and Alfa. Existing seed investors include Warby Parker co-founder Dave Gilboa, Blue Scorpion and Elizabeth Street Ventures.
The brand also announced a three-year partnership with Life Time Athletic Country Clubs, making Ten Thousand the exclusive men’s training apparel brand for the club’s personal training team, as well as its Studio, GTX, Alpha and Ultra Fit classes.

Dive Insight:

In making the two announcements, the company said the additional funding will allow it to grow its team, add inventory, grow its retail footprint, explore larger partnerships and scale up marketing.

“While we have done our best to keep inventory at a necessary level to meet the demand, the fast rate at which we’ve grown combined with supply chain issues stemming from the past few years has made it difficult at times,” Ten Thousand founder and CEO Keith Nowak said in an email. “With this new investment we look forward to dedicating more resources to alleviate this.”

Nowak, who managed a venture capital firm prior to starting Ten Thousand in 2017, said that the brand has a high customer retention rate, which bodes well for them as they increase their marketing to expand that base. “While we’re always looking for ways to connect with our current customers to better understand their needs and honest feedback, we are also looking to grow our community by reaching new audiences,” he said. “Whether it’s expanding the channels we currently have on platforms like YouTube or TikTok or adding new ones, we want to make sure we are utilizing every resource available to us to provide the best product and customer experience possible.”

Ten Thousand has been profitable since 2020 and their financial partners saw the opportunity to grow with them.

“In an incredibly short period of time, they’ve established themselves as a true best-in-class brand and are in pole position to take advantage of the massive opportunity in the market to become the next great American activewear brand,” Anton Romash, Ten Thousand board director and principal at Provenance, said in a statement. “We’re very excited to help fuel that growth.”

Ten Thousand’s new financial partnership comes as the menswear category continues to tick upwards with brand expansions and strong revenue numbers. DTC men's suit company Indochino reported a 40% revenue increase in 2022. And Madewell has begun to focus more on the segment, opening stores dedicated to its men's assortment.