- Gen Z underwear brand Parade has been sold to lingerie manufacturer Ariela & Associates International.
- Founder and CEO Cami Téllez told staffers via Slack that she might be forced to leave the company.
- Parade gained a cult following for its inclusivity and sustainability when it launched in 2019.
The Gen Z-favorite underwear startup Parade struck a deal to be acquired by the lingerie manufacturer Ariela & Associates International on Monday afternoon, Cami Téllez, the company’s cofounder and CEO, told Insider.
Three days earlier, Téllez informed 48 members of her team via Slack that Parade was in the “final hours” of closing a deal with AAI and that she could be forced to leave the company, according to an internal Slack message obtained by Insider.
Téllez dropped out of Columbia University to cofound Parade with Jack DeFuria in 2019. The company gained a cult following for its inclusivity and sustainability efforts and, as of last year, was valued at more than $200 million.
According to a separate Slack message viewed by Insider, Parade had been in talks with AAI, which produces garments for companies like Fruit of the Loom, for at least a month. In the message, Parade employees were informed that meetings with AAI associates would be placed on their calendars so the team could better understand how their roles functioned.
In Friday’s Slack, Téllez told employees that they should be receiving offers for positions at AAI “within the next 72 hours at the latest,” but that AAI had decided Téllez is “no longer a part of the deal” because they don’t feel she’s “essential to continuing the mission of Parade.”
She wrote: “I am heartbroken to not be joining you guys in this next phase. It was my greatest wish to see this brand swell to new heights and work with all of you to continue to lead the category so fearlessly.”
The CEO wrote that she is “not making even a single dollar in the sale of Parade” and that she “pushed for this deal so that Parade would have a future and to protect all of you guys + ensure your positions.”
Téllez thanked employees and reflected on her time building the direct-to-consumer company, which offered bright, playful styles made with eco-friendly materials in a wide range of sizes. “This weekend marks five years since I started working on this brand, and I know one thing for certain: the world is a better place with Parade in it,” she wrote. “And that’s for one reason — the contribution you all have made in writing a new underwear story.”
She offered to help employees search for new opportunities. “No matter what happens with Parade under AAI, the incredible work that you guys have done has set fire to this industry,” she wrote.
When Insider first reached out to Téllez on Monday, she declined to comment on the Slack messages. A few hours later, however, Téllez confirmed the sale and told Insider in a statement: “The truth is this: I’m incredibly proud of what we built with Parade. In three and a half short years, this awe-inspiring team generated over 125m in revenue, acquired 750k passionate customers and captured over 1% of a highly competitive market. I turned 26 yesterday — this is the first inning of my story. Stay tuned.” Téllez declined to share any additional details of the sale.
In a press release published Tuesday morning, AAI CEO and President Ariela Esquenazi said, “We admire the extraordinary impact Parade has had in such a short time and are thrilled to bring a brand that shares our values of authenticity, inclusivity, and sustainability to the AAi portfolio.” AAI did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Parade raised $13 million in venture capital in September 2022 and was backed by investors like Stripes and Greycroft Partners. In March, Parade inked a deal with Target to be sold in nearly 400 of its stores nationwide. The company rose to prominence during the pandemic as online shopping soared and capitalized on using social-media brand ambassadors who endorsed Parade products.
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