Key takeaways:Â
- Reformation filed an S-1 to go public on the NYSE under the ticker REF.
- The brand reported $507.1 million in net revenue for fiscal 2025.
- Reformation borrowed $92 million through new term loan commitments shortly before filing and used the proceeds to fund a roughly $90 million dividend to existing stockholders.
The brand that turned vintage-inspired dresses and a sustainability pitch into a half-billion-dollar business made its move on June 25, filing to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “REF.”
Yael Aflalo started Reformation in 2009 out of a vintage clothing boutique on Melrose Avenue. Seventeen years and one Permira buyout later, Reformation has grown into a profitable, direct-to-consumer business with customers who keep coming back, some of them for a decade and counting.
Reformation describes itself as the largest sustainable womenswear brand in the world, with price points ranging from about $40 to $1,500 across its five core product groups: dresses, bottoms, tops, sweaters and accessories.
Permira, the global private equity firm, acquired a majority interest in 2019, when Reformation operated 14 stores. Today the company operates 70 stores across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and France, sells into 142 wholesale doors, and counts approximately 1.14 million active customers. CEO Hali Borenstein has led the company for 12 years, having previously served as President.
Reformation reported $507.1 million in net revenue for fiscal 2025, and said first-quarter 2026 net revenue increased 30.4% from the prior-year period, extending what the company described as a streak of 20 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth.
The company remained profitable in fiscal 2025, though net income fell to $12.6 million from $32.9 million in fiscal 2024. Reformation also disclosed that IEEPA tariffs pressured gross margin, which was 60.2% in 2025, or 63.9% excluding their impact.
Reformation’s clothing styles. Photo courtesy of Reformation’s S-1 filing.Â
Six Things to Know About Reformation’s Business
1. Its Stores Are Built More Like Showrooms Than Traditional Retail Floors
Reformation’s proprietary Retail X concept, introduced in 2017 and now featured in roughly 75% of its stores, sets up each location with a single sample garment on display per SKU. Customers build their fitting room order using an in-store touchscreen, their own phone, or with help from an associate, similar to building a cart online.
The company says the format also generates a unique stream of data, including fitting room and product-level conversion, that feeds back into merchandising decisions. In 2025, Reformation reports Retail X stores produced about 8.5% higher average order value and roughly 270 basis points higher conversion than its non-Retail X locations.
2. The Merchandising Model Leans on Small Batch Testing and AI-Assisted Demand Forecasting

New styles are produced in small initial quantities and tested twice weekly online and once weekly in stores before the company decides what to reorder. Reformation says approximately 90% of its 2025 DTC apparel net revenue came from styles informed by data on customer shopping patterns and feedback.
The filing also discloses that the company uses third-party AI models to support product concept development and trend identification, and applies AI and machine learning tools to product allocation and inventory decisions across its store fleet.
3. Customers Who Shop Both Online and in Store Generate Notably More Revenue Than Single-Channel Shoppers

Reformation reports that customers who shopped across both ecommerce and retail in 2025 generated 3.1 times more net revenue per customer than those who shopped only one channel, and made about 4.8 purchases annually on average. The company also points to new store openings driving a reported increase in customer acquisition of as much as six times in that market the following year.
4. Non-Dress Categories Have Grown into a Larger Share of the Business Than the Category the Brand Built Its Name On

The company is known for dresses, but since 2021 it has added more than $200 million in annual non-dress net revenue, quadrupling that part of the business. Dresses have moved from roughly 60% of DTC net revenue to just over a third today.
Denim, launched in 2017, grew at approximately a 30% compound annual rate from 2022 to 2025. According to the company’s internal July 2025 customer survey, 81% of customers expressed interest in buying additional categories from the brand, with intimates and lingerie cited most often.
5. Returning Customers Drive Most of the Business, and Some Stick Around for a Decade

Nearly 70% of DTC net revenue in 2025 came from returning customers, and 54% of customers acquired before 2025 have purchased more than once. The company reports that nearly 20% of its original 2015 customer cohort is still shopping with the brand a decade later. Reformation also says about 75% of new DTC customers in 2025 were acquired through unpaid channels, including organic search, email and word of mouth, rather than paid advertising.
6. The Company Borrowed $92 Million to Pay Its Owners a Dividend Eight Days Before Filing to Go Public

On June 17, 2026, Reformation amended its credit agreement to add $92 million in new term loan commitments and used the proceeds to fund a dividend of $233.30 per share, an aggregate payout of roughly $90 million to existing stockholders.
Dividend recapitalizations ahead of private equity-backed IPOs are not unusual, but the timing — new debt added and cash paid out to stockholders eight days before the S-1 filing — is noteworthy.
Looking Ahead
The S-1 does not yet disclose how many shares Reformation plans to offer, the expected price range or the valuation the company might command. Those details are expected in a later amendment as the offering moves toward pricing.
