SAN DIEGO — When you're working from home, you want to be comfortable. For a lot of people, that means putting on a pair of stretchy pants or sweatpants.
The demand for loungewear has grown so much during this stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic, that some companies are having a hard time keeping up.
"Everybody wants to be comfortable, right, [because] we're working from home," said Joe Kudla, founder and CEO of Vuori, an Encinitas-based company that specializes in athleisure wear.
Kudla said overall sales are up 400% compared to this time last year. Their most popular item is the women's joggers. He said women's joggers sales are up 1,000%.
"We have a really hard time keeping it in stock," he said. "From the middle of March to present day, it's been absolutely astounding growth."
Kudla said sales have been so strong that they've been able to avoid lay-offs at all five of their Southern California retail stores. The stores temporarily closed their doors during the stay-at-home order.
The founder of The Lomas Brand, Sean Feeney, said that he's seeing large growth as well. The number-one selling item on their website is sweatpants.
"It makes sense," he said. "They’re the first pants you put on of the day. Then, you don’t have a reason to take off sweatpants if you're just staying at your house."
Feeney said sales of the sweats at the Solana Beach-based company are up 183%.
"Comfort is above anything in terms of importance when it comes to the clothing you wear," he said.
Feeney said a lot of his customers are local and have sent him e-mails saying they want to support small businesses like his. He said the spike in sweatpants sales has actually saved his business.
"We have had such an incredible support system," he said. "Small business is important. It's the lifeline of the country. We all really love what we do."
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