Western Rise
Western Rise is a privately held US apparel company that designs and sells everyday performance clothing directly to consumers through its Shopify-based e-commerce storefront, founded in 2013 and led by founder Kelly Watters.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersTelluride, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Western Rise does
Western Rise is a US-based apparel company founded in 2013 that designs and sells everyday performance clothing. The company operates as a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand, historically selling through its own e-commerce storefront at westernrise.com, built on Shopify infrastructure. Its product focus is on performance-oriented apparel for individual consumers, with no disclosed enterprise or B2B customer segments. The legal entity, Western Rise, Inc., is a privately held Delaware corporation headquartered in Telluride, Colorado, led by founder and CEO Kelly Watters.
The company's business model is straightforward DTC e-commerce: it manufactures apparel (originally in Colorado, now in Vietnam post-restructuring) and sells directly to consumers via its online storefront. It has no disclosed retail partnerships, wholesale channels, or third-party marketplace presence. Its sole public contact channel is the email [email protected]. The company has raised approximately $4.1 million in total funding across disclosed rounds in 2018 ($1M from Alerion Ventures) and 2022 (~$2.6M-$4.1M exempt securities offering), though no specific pricing model, AOV, or unit economics were disclosed.
Western Rise filed for bankruptcy at some point prior to 2025 due to excessive borrowing, then emerged from bankruptcy by relocating its manufacturing and warehouse operations to Vietnam with the stated goal of improving logistics and reducing costs. As of the latest snapshot, the e-commerce storefront displays "The store is closed," and the company is listed with 1-10 employees, indicating a significantly reduced operational footprint. The combination of bankruptcy, store closure, and small headcount signals major operational disruption, while the Vietnam relocation suggests an attempted turnaround rather than a healthy growth trajectory. No awards, patents, certifications, or partnerships are documented in the available data.
Western Rise firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Western Rise
- Legal name
- Western Rise, Inc.
- Website
- https://westernrise.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Western Rise is a privately held US apparel company that designs and sells everyday performance clothing directly to consumers through its Shopify-based e-commerce storefront, founded in 2013 and led by founder Kelly Watters.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Western Rise industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Performance Apparel
- NAICS
- Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing (except Contractors) (31525), Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (458110), Apparel Manufacturing (315)
- SIC
- Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600), Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300), Men's & Boys' Furnishgs, Work Clothg, & Allied Garments (2320)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Activewear & Athleisure Cut & Sew (IMAOAEAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Premium & Contemporary Apparel Brands (CRAAAAAB), Tops & Shirts Cut & Sew (T-Shirts/Shirts/Blouses) (IMAOAEAE)
Keywords
Where Western Rise is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Telluride
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Western Rise business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel
Distribution channels1 record
Western Rise product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Western Rise manufactures and sells an apparel line of everyday performance clothing directly to consumers through its own online storefront. The brand focuses on versatile, performance-oriented everyday wear. Following bankruptcy, the company relocated its manufacturing and warehouse operations to Vietnam to reduce costs. The online store is currently shown as closed.
Product overview
Western Rise is a Colorado-based apparel company that filed for bankruptcy and has relocated its manufacturing and warehouse operations to Vietnam. The company sells apparel products through a Shopify-based e-commerce platform, though the store is currently showing as closed.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Western Rise
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Western Rise technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Western Rise partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Western Rise competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Lululemon: Lululemon is a large public incumbent in performance and athleisure apparel with massive brand and distribution reach. It defines the upper bound of competition in the performance-everyday category Western Rise occupies.
- Patagonia: Patagonia is an established outdoor and active-lifestyle apparel brand with strong DTC and wholesale presence. It overlaps with Western Rise in durable, performance-oriented everyday apparel, especially for outdoor and travel use cases.
Direct peers
- Mack Weldon: Mack Weldon is a DTC men's basics and apparel brand emphasizing comfort, performance fabrics, and quality. It is comparable on DTC channel, men's focus, and premium everyday apparel positioning.
- Vuori: Vuori sells premium performance apparel positioned for everyday active lifestyles through DTC and select wholesale channels. It is one of the closest direct comparables in the men's and women's everyday-performance segment Western Rise addresses.
- Ten Thousand: Ten Thousand is a men's performance apparel DTC brand focused on training and everyday athletic wear. It competes for the same premium men's performance-apparel customer that Western Rise targets.
- Outlier: Outlier is a small-batch DTC brand specializing in technical, durable apparel for everyday use. It targets the same premium technical-everyday niche that Western Rise has historically served.
- Rhone: Rhone is a men's performance apparel DTC brand offering technical fabrics for everyday wear, training, and travel. It competes directly with Western Rise in the premium men's everyday-performance category.
- Bluffworks: Bluffworks designs travel-focused performance apparel sold DTC. Its technical-fabric, everyday-use proposition overlaps with Western Rise's core positioning.
- Ministry of Supply: Ministry of Supply is a DTC apparel brand that fuses technical/performance fabrics with everyday professional wear. Its positioning and channel strategy closely mirror Western Rise's performance-everyday proposition.
Regional players
- Western Rise (regional/marketplace analogs: Huckberry): Huckberry is a U.S. DTC and curated marketplace for premium men's outdoor, adventure, and everyday apparel brands. It serves as both a channel and a comparable ecosystem player to Western Rise's target customer and product mix.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Western Rise social profiles
Digital presenceWestern Rise financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Western Rise leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Western Rise funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Western Rise M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Western Rise
What does Western Rise do?
Western Rise manufactures and sells an apparel line of everyday performance clothing directly to consumers through its own online storefront. The brand focuses on versatile, performance-oriented everyday wear. Following bankruptcy, the company relocated its manufacturing and warehouse operations to Vietnam to reduce costs. The online store is currently shown as closed.
Is Western Rise a public or private company?
Western Rise is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently closed.
When was Western Rise founded?
Western Rise was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Western Rise based?
Western Rise is headquartered in Telluride, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Western Rise's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Lululemon and Patagonia. Direct peers are Mack Weldon, Vuori, Ten Thousand, Outlier, Rhone, Bluffworks and Ministry of Supply. Western Rise (regional/marketplace analogs: Huckberry) is listed as a regional player.
Does Western Rise have an API?
No public API is recorded for Western Rise.
What industry is Western Rise in?
Western Rise's product category is Performance Apparel. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAOAEAA, Activewear & Athleisure Cut & Sew, with a secondary code of CRAAAAAB, Premium & Contemporary Apparel Brands. Its NAICS code is 31525 and its SIC code is 5600.