Nasty Gal

Last updated

Nasty Gal Inc.
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Apparel
Founded2006;19 years ago (2006)
Founder Sophia Amoruso   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Key people
Robert Ross, CFO [1]
Sheree Waterson, CEO [2]
ProductsApparel, accessories
RevenueIncrease2.svg £98.8 million [3]
Owner Debenhams Group
Number of employees
200 est. (2014)
Parent Debenhams
Website nastygal.com

Nasty Gal is an American fast-fashion retailer that specializes in fashion for young women. The company has customers in over 60 countries. [4] Founded by Sophia Amoruso in 2006, Nasty Gal was named "Fastest Growing Retailer" in 2012 by Inc. magazine. [5] Nasty Gal is based in Los Angeles. In 2017, the company was acquired for $40 million by British retailer BooHoo Group following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [6]

Contents

History

In 2006, while working as a campus safety host at Academy of Art University, Amoruso launched an eBay store based in San Francisco, selling old pieces of clothing. The store was named Nasty Gal Vintage, the name being inspired by Betty Davis. [7] The eBay store sold vintage fashion that Amoruso sourced from secondhand stores. [8]

MySpace was the primary form of communication for the store in its early days. [9] [10] In June 2008, Amoruso moved Nasty Gal Vintage off eBay and onto its own destination site. [11] In 2009, Nasty Gal moved into its first warehouse space in Berkeley, California, and soon after to a 7,500-square-foot warehouse in Emeryville, California. [4] Amoruso has emphasized in interviews the importance of social media to Nasty Gal's growth. [12]

In 2010, Nasty Gal moved its headquarters to Los Angeles, California. [13] The company received $9 million in investments in early 2012, followed by $40 million in August 2012 from venture capital firm Index Ventures. [14]

By 2012, the online retailer employed approximately 110 people and had opened an additional distribution center in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, while its 2011 revenue reached $24 million, marking an 11,200% three-year growth rate. [8]

In 2014, Nasty Gal opened its first brick and mortar store in Los Angeles at 8115 Melrose Avenue. [15] The store had Nasty Gal footwear, apparel, accessories and intimates. [16]

On January 12, 2015, Amoruso announced that Sheree Waterson would take over as CEO of Nasty Gal. [17] Waterson, formerly president of Nasty Gal, became partners with Amoruso to evolve its retail presence on a larger scale. Amoruso continued as founder and executive chairman. [18] Waterson also joined the Nasty Gal board of directors alongside Amoruso and Index Ventures partner, Danny Rimer. [18]

In March 2015, a second brick and mortar store opened in Santa Monica. [19]

In 2016, Nasty Gal filed for bankruptcy. [20] The British-owned BooHoo Group announced in February 2017 that they had purchased Nasty Gal. [21]

In November 2017, Nasty Gal opened its first UK pop-up shop on London's Carnaby Street. [22] [23]

Controversies

In 2015, a lawsuit was filed accusing Nasty Gal of allegedly firing four employees because of pregnancy, in violation of California laws. [24]

It has faced criticism online in a variety of publications due to its allegedly "toxic" work environment and numerous negative reviews on Glassdoor from unhappy employees. [25] [26] [27] [28]

Original collections

Nasty Gal's original label launched in 2012 and consists of limited-edition styles. [29] In September 2012, Nasty Gal debuted its first Fall/Winter 2012 Collection, Weird Science, during New York Fashion Week. [30] Since then, the company has continued to launch various collections. It launched its first footwear collection, Shoe Cult by Nasty Gal, in August 2013. [31] In 2014, Nasty Gal debuted three additional in-house collections: the vintage-inspired Nasty Gal Denim Collection, [32] Nasty Gal Swimwear, [33] and Nasty Gal Lingerie. [34] Nasty Gal also collaborated on a swimwear line with Minimale Animale in 2014. [35] They collaborated with M∙A∙C Cosmetics on a capsule collection of lipsticks and nail polish in December 2014. [36]

Expansion into publishing

In 2012, the company released the first issue of what was planned to be a semiannual "lifestyle magazine", titled Super Nasty, which featured spreads on "fashion, music and culture," and was included free in customers' orders. Amoruso functioned as an editor-in-chief. [37] Contributors and photographers for the first issue included Terry Richardson, Hugh Lippe, Jeff Hahn, Alexandra Richards, Syd tha Kyd, Langley Hemingway, and Girls writer Lesley Arfin. [38]

The second issue was in spring 2013 and included Kesh, model Sidney Williams, Io Echo, Haley Wollens, Phoebe Collings-James, Charli XCX, and Akiko Matsuura. [39]

In 2014, Nasty Gal founder Amoruso published the book #GIRLBOSS. [40] Following the book's release, Amoruso launched the GIRLBOSS Foundation to inspire women to take their careers into their own hands. The foundation awards grants each quarter to women with creative projects. [41]

In April 2017, Netflix released a show, Girlboss , loosely based on the book. The series was cancelled after season 1. [42]

References

  1. Lockwood, Lisa (December 23, 2013). "Nasty Gal Makes Two Key Hires". WWD. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  2. Shu, Catherine (January 12, 2015). "Nasty Gal Founder Sophia Amoruso Steps Down as CEO". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  3. "Annual Report 2020" (PDF). Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Naughty in Name Only". New York Times . March 24, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  5. "Nasty Gal Inc. Profile". Inc. 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  6. Segran, Elizabeth (November 14, 2017). "Fashion Startups Aspire to Be the Anti-Bonobos". Fast Company.
  7. "Nasty Gal Clothing Company — as Red-Hot as Its Founder's Lipstick". Los Angeles Times. August 26, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "From eBay Store to a $24 Million Business", Inc. , April 16, 2012
  9. Butler, Bethonie. "'Girlboss' Is So Two-Thousand and Late". The Washington Post .
  10. Fishman, Elana (April 20, 2017). "Everything Netflix's 'Girlboss' Gets Right (and Wrong) About the Nasty Gal Story". Racked. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  11. "Sophia Amoruso, Founder & CEO, Nasty Gal". Into The Gloss. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  12. Sukhraj, Ramona. "#GIRLBOSS: How Sophia Amoruso Took Nasty Gal from eBay to $70M Empire". www.impactplus.com. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  13. "Timeline: How Nasty Gal Arrived at Bankruptcy". Glossy. November 11, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  14. Victoria Barret, "Fashion Phenom Nasty Gal Raises $40 Million", Forbes , August 26, 2012
  15. "Nasty Gal Opens First Store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles". www.prnewswire.com. November 21, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  16. Moore, Booth (December 20, 2014). "Sophia Amoruso Brings Her Nasty Gal and More to Melrose Avenue". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  17. "Nasty Gal CEO Steps Down, Names Successor | Retail Dive". www.retaildive.com. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  18. 1 2 Del Rey, Jason; Swisher, Kara. "Nasty Gal Founder Sophia Amoruso Hands Over CEO Role". Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  19. "Nasty Gal Opening Second Store in Santa Monica". LA Biz.
  20. O'Connor, Clare. "As Nasty Gal Files Bankruptcy, Founder Sophia Amoruso's Fortune Decimated". Forbes. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  21. Marfil, Lorelei (February 28, 2017). "Nasty Gal to Remain in Los Angeles, According to New Owners Boohoo Group". WWD. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  22. Roberts, Lauretta. "Nasty Gal to Open First UK Pop-up - The Industry London". www.theindustrylondon.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  23. Man, Pui-Guan. "Nasty Gal Launches First UK Pop-up". Drapers. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  24. Merlan, Anna. "Lawsuit: Nasty Gal's #GIRLBOSS Fired Employees for Getting Pregnant". Jezebel. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  25. Zarrell, Rachel; McNeal, Stephanie (June 10, 2015). "Nasty Gal Employees Describe the Company Environment as 'Toxic' After New Lawsuit". BuzzFeed. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  26. Arnold-Smeets, Leah (June 22, 2015). "What Nasty Gal Can Teach Us About the Importance of Corporate Culture". Career News. Archived from the original on June 25, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  27. Chapin, Adele (September 2, 2014). "Nasty Gal Employees Say Sophia Amoruso's a Bad GirlBoss". Racked. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  28. Merlan, Anna. "'Everything Really Hit Rock Bottom': How Nasty Gal's Culture Went Nasty". Jezebel. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  29. Wilson, Gaby (August 16, 2012). "Nasty Gal to Launch Debut Collection". MTV.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  30. Bogopolskaya, Nikki (August 24, 2012). "Nasty Gal Launches 'Weird Science,' Their First In-House Line". SheFinds.com. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  31. Bryant, Kenzie (August 19, 2013). "Here Is Nasty Gal's New Footwear Line 'Shoe Cult,' Plus Pricing". Racked.com. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  32. Yotka, Steff. "Nasty Gal Launches Denim". Fashionista. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  33. Bryant, Kenzie (March 12, 2014). "Hey Spring Breakers, You Can Now Shop Nasty Gal Swimwear". Racked. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  34. Irvin, Connie (August 21, 2013). "Nasty Gal Debuts New Footwear Line 'Shoe Cult'". Kontrol Mag. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  35. Yotka, Steff (April 18, 2014). "The Checklist". Nylon. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  36. Hou, Kathleen (October 21, 2014). "MAC Is Doing a Beauty Collaboration with Nasty Gal". NYMag. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  37. Andrea Chang, "Nasty Gal Clothing Company — as Red-Hot as Its Founder's Lipstick", LA Times , August 26, 2012
  38. "Lesley Arfin", IMDb
  39. "Super Nasty Issue 2". NastyGal.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  40. Baitz, Alison (May 8, 2014). "The 'Nasty Gal' Invasion: Sophia Amoruso Wants to Create an Army of #GIRLBOSSes". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  41. Edwards, Tanya (August 25, 2014). "Monday Morning Refresh: How to Pay It Forward Like Nasty Gal CEO Sophia Amoruso". Glamour. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  42. Otterson, Joe (June 25, 2017). "'Girlboss' Canceled After One Season at Netflix".