Stitch Fix was founded in 2011 by Katrina Lake and former J.Crew buyer Erin Morrison Flynn. The business was originally called Rack Habit, and was initially run out of Lake's apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company began by catering only to women, but it has subsequently expanded to men's clothing, plus sizes, maternity wear, and kids.In 2014, Stitch Fix started to be profitable. In July 2016, the company ended its fiscal year with recorded sales of $730 million, and in May 2017, the company had raised $42 million from outside investors.In November 2017, the company went public on NASDAQ. It was the first female-led company to launch an IPO in over a year.In October 2018, several class action lawsuits were brought against Stitch Fix alleging that the company had violated federal securities laws by making misleading statements about its growth prospects.As of 2019, the company had 8,000 employees including 5,100 stylists and more than 100 data scientists.On June 2, 2020, the company announced layoffs for 1,400 employees, which was 18% of its total workforce, all of whom were remote workers in California. The affected employees were given the option of remaining with the company if they relocated. The online retailer also announced it would hire roughly 2,000 stylists in cities that have a lower cost of living than those in California, such as Austin, Cleveland, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh.In August 2021, Elizabeth Spaulding replaced founder Katrina Lake as CEO.
