Southern California-inspired activewear brand Vuori announced the hire of e-commerce veteran Peter LaBore as its first COO and global executive Andy Lawrence as its first vice president of international. LaBore, who started August 23, and Lawrence, whose position is effective immediately, will report directly to Vuori Founder and CEO Joe Kudla.
“As we continue to optimize our growth, we couldn’t be more excited to have Pete and Andy come on board,” said Kudla. “Our ambition is to bring quality activewear that is styled for life to new markets and create world-class operations at home and abroad while doing so. Pete and Andy’s energy and leadership, coupled with their remarkable experience will help elevate our brand to the next level.”
LaBore comes to Vuori with 20 years of experience in e-commerce, most recently as COO, Reformation, an LA-based sustainable women’s clothing and accessories brand. Before that, he spent ten years at Backcountry holding several positions, including vice president of e-commerce and senior vice president of operations before being appointed chief operating officer in April 2016. As COO, he managed its domestic fulfillment, customer service, marketing, and merchandising teams.
Assuming the COO role at Vuori, LaBore will work closely with the brand’s senior leadership team. He will provide a strategic vision to scale operations to support growth and ensure a seamless customer experience across the company’s business and retail channels.
“As a long-time customer, I am very excited to be joining the dynamic group of people at Vuori,” said LaBore. “The company has rapidly become one of the most popular active brands for men and women and has done so by remaining true to its roots, investing in their product and their team. I look forward to my role in helping their vision flourish and reaching more customers in the years to come.”
Andy Lawrence has spent the past 15 years leading international expansion for consumer brands, focused on building sustainable, profitable growth across all channels such as e-commerce, retail and wholesale. Lawrence recently served as head of international for Reiss, a UK-based, private equity-backed contemporary apparel brand. He led the brand’s expansion into new markets in Asia and oversaw its repositioning in North America.
Before Reiss, Lawrence spent six years working for Ralph Lauren, advancing through leadership roles before becoming senior director of business development, Asia, then as GM, Taiwan, responsible for all brands and channels for that market. His time at RL culminated as vice president and head of retail, South Korea. He also played a key role in the international rollout and U.S. restructuring for the grocery store chain Dean & Deluca.
Lawrence’s role at Vuori will be to expand its omnichannel presence in key markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, and beyond. Currently, Vuori’s omnichannel retail footprint is in the U.S. It operates Vuoriclothing.com, ten directly-owned retail stores and a wholesale business with more than 500 specialty accounts in the U.S., Canada and Japan, including Nordstrom and REI.
“I was introduced to Vuori a few years ago and fell in love with the product and the brand,” said Lawrence. “Joe Kudla and the Vuori team continue to successfully break down the boundaries of traditional activewear and amass a devoted following among consumers and retailers alike. I’m thrilled to be joining them at this critical stage of the company’s growth and to help support its momentum.”
In 2021, Vuori said it is investing in its brick and mortar retail stores, honoring its commitment to being 80 percent sustainable by 2022, expanding into international markets, optimizing its operations, and investing in key employees. The appointment of LaBore and Lawrence are two of its efforts to align with its goals.
Photo courtesy Vuori
