Description
Stitch Fix is an online personal styling service in the United States. It uses recommendation algorithms and data science to personalize clothing items based on size, budget and style. The company was founded in 2011 and had an initial public offering in 2017 with a valuation of $1.6 billion. Stitch Fix generated more than $1 billion in sales during 2018 and reported 3.4 million customers in June 2020. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California and employs 8,000 people worldwide.
History
Stitch Fix was founded in 2011 by Katrina Lake and former J.Crew buyer Erin Morrison Flynn. The business was originally called Rack Habit, and was initially run out of Lake's apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company began by catering only to women, but it has subsequently expanded to men's clothing, plus sizes, maternity wear, and kids.
In 2014, Stitch Fix started to be profitable. In July 2016, the company ended its fiscal year with recorded sales of $730 million, and in May 2017, the company had raised $42 million from outside investors.
In November 2017, the company went public on NASDAQ. It was the first female-led company to launch an IPO in over a year.
In October 2018, several class action lawsuits were brought against Stitch Fix alleging that the company had violated federal securities laws by making misleading statements about its growth prospects.
As of 2019, the company had 8,000 employees including 5,100 stylists and more than 100 data scientists.
On June 2, 2020, the company announced layoffs for 1,400 employees, which was 18% of its total workforce, all of whom are remote workers in California. The affected employees were given the option of remaining with the company if they relocate. The online retailer also announced it will hire roughly 2,000 stylists in cities that have a lower cost of living than those in California such as Austin, Cleveland, Dallas, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh.
