Founders Lorna Jane and Bill Clarkson opened the first Lorna Jane store in Brisbane in 1990 and since then the activewear brand has grown to encompass 125 stores in Australia,32 stores in the United States alongside online stores in both countries.
With leggings becoming the new jeans,Lorna Jane has expanded to China,New Zealand,Canada and Singapore.
Champ took a 40 per cent stake in Lorna Jane eight years ago for an undisclosed sumand at the time Ms Clarkson told Fairfax Media the private equity investment would drive the brand's national expansion.
"The deal with Champ also showed people that Lorna Jane was a serious player in the retail market,β she said. βIt was good for the company as we had to be more serious about things like having regular audits. It was inspiring for Bill and it certainly made us step up a notch.β
In Lorna Jane's most recent financial results,lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on June 30,2016,the activewear brand reported turnover of $195 million,a 4.4 per cent increase on the previous year.
Growth was mainly from Lorna Jane's overseas stores with the business reducing its shops in Australia from 156 to 151 (this has reduced further to 125 stores).