How did a fashion retailer built around music festivals and parties go from one of the pandemic’s obvious losers to one of its few winners? “Revolve really looks like a retailer that was built for the 21st century,” said BMO Capital Markets analyst Simeon Siegel. Revolve really looks like a retailer that was built for the 21st century. Revolve’s stock ended 2020 at $31.17, up 65 percent on the year. It’s still profitable too, a rarity among online retailers In the third quarter of 2020, the retailer’s net income reached $19 million, up 103 percent year-over-year, hitting a record third-quarter gross margin at 55.3 percent.

Sales in the second quarter fell 12 percent compared with a year earlier, less than many of its competitors and a far smaller decline than the 27 percent average drop predicted by analysts, according to B.Riley. “The buying team literally had to cancel a whole season of buys and re-buy the whole season from home,” said co-founder and co-chief executive Michael Mente.Īnd then, improbably, the pivot worked. Its share price plunged 65 percent in the space of a month, hitting an all-time low in mid-March. The company’s Instagram-friendly dresses and jumpsuits suddenly seemed to be from another era. Plans for tricked out Hamptons houses and scenic Amangiri trips were on hold. Coachella, where Revolve hosted dozens of influencers for its own elaborate mini-festivals, was cancelled.

The coronavirus reached the US just before the spring festival season, the crowded calendar of concerts and parties that in the previous year helped drive nearly one-third of the Los Angeles-based e-commerce retailer’s annual sales. Revolve had all the signs of becoming one of the pandemic’s early fashion casualties.

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