periencing a boom in business.  Market research firm 360iResearch reported that the Pilates apparel market is expected to reach US$576.1 million by the end of 2025. By 2030, the retail segment is expected to reach US$855.6 million, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.18 per cent in a five-year period. This reflects a notable growth for Pilates apparel as this market was estimated to be worth just US$533.7 million in 2024.  One brand making headway in this growing retail sector is the Canadian-born label 437. The brand’s co-founders, Hyla Nayeri and Adrien Bettio, met during university and partnered up to launch 437 in 2017. Originally, 437 was born out of an interest to fill a whitespace in the swimwear market for stylishly-designed, functional swimwear and resortwear. However, three years into launching the brand Nayeri and Bettio pivoted to activewear, a transition that ultimately reshaped the brand’s identity and positioned 437 as a standout company in the category. Today, 437 is known for its flattering fits and everyday staples that epitomize the “Pilates princess”. Carried by stockists including Revolve and SoulCycle studios, it has several celebrity fans, including Gabrielle Union, Megan the Stallion, Alix Earle, Jennifer Lopez and Emily Ratajkowski.  Inside Retail spoke with Nayeri to learn more about how 437 stands out in an increasingly competitive apparel market and the brand’s ambitious plans for North American and international expansion.  How 437 got its start Reflecting on the brand’s origins, Nayeri shared that the name 437 is derived from the house number where the co-founders lived while studying at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. However, as Nayeri told Inside Retail, she and Bettio never imagined that the brand would grow beyond a post-school side hustle into a full-blown, international business. The idea for the brand began to bloom in 2016, and Nayeri and Bettio officially launched 437 in 2017, during their last year of university. They initially offered luxury swimwear, justifying the higher price point with quality fabrics that had “an incredible fit on the body”. “We were so naive when we graduated that instead of going on a graduation trip like all of our peers did, we actually ended up going overseas to our manufacturers and were developing our product,” Nayer admitted. “Coming back from the trip, we moved back in with our parents and assumed we would have this overnight success story. Because, at the time, all we saw on social media were brands that were typically influencer and celebrity-owned,” she explained.  Nayeri remembered the disappointment of making just two sales on launch day, one of which came from a friend.  The first year involved a lot of nights spent crying, almost giving up and slowly, but surely growing the business with the help of social media and influencer marketing, which at the time was not as saturated as it is today, Nayeri explained.  Eventually, the pair ended up making approximately US$10,000 by the end of their first year. Even though the brand didn’t have as strong a start as they had hoped and they were a bit discouraged by the lack of funding available, Nayeri and Bettio had faith in the quality of their products.  “We didn’t have investors and we literally had no money, but we had amazing products. We knew that as long as we got it in the hands of the right people, they would fall in love with it. So we just held on to that belief, and used any money that we had just for shipping to influencers. Ship it out to the girls who have a following and who started wearing the product and posting it online,” she said. With that strategy, Nayeri recalled that the business began to truly take off in 2018, to the point that the co-founders were able to move operations into an official office with their first employee.  Pivoting to ‘Pilates princess’ apparel  By 2019, the brand had reached its first million in sales, and by 2020, the co-founders, along with the rest of the world, had to pivot.  Even though 437’s swimwear products were still selling fairly well during the COVID pandemic, Nayeri and Bettio noticed a pattern with customer feedback on how flattering the designs were on the female form.  Nayeri, like many other consumers during this period, was seeking out activewear that could work for various activities, ranging from lifting to Pilates to everyday activities beyond workouts.  “Buying activewear as a consumer myself, I realized that we could do a better job than brands where I thought that the design was great, but which didn’t fit my body, or where the functionality wasn’t there. I was looking for something specific, something modern yet feminine,” said Nayeri.  Over the next three years, the founders fully pivoted 437 to become a studiowear brand, be it a yoga or Pilates studio. Their target customer is the girl who “romanticizes the gym and her workout routine as the most fun part of her day.” 437’s plans for international expansion Nayeri credits a large part of the brand’s success to the fact that she and her co-founder represent the customers they are catering to. From inspiration for designs to knowing which influencers to connect with, Nayeri disclosed that a lot of her more successful insights are based off of a “gut feeling”.  For example, instead of relying soly on influencer-tracking software, Nayeri stated, “I’d rather go through the comments of a girl’s Instagram account see if there are people asking her where her leggings are from or where her purse is from? That gives me more of an indication of her audience and her conversion and the trust she’s built with her audience, rather than using any software.” Integrating a mix of strategies including strategically sending product to influencers, engaging with social media followers, between Instagram and TikTok 437 boasts over a follower count of over 500,000 and limited-edition collection drops, the brand has been able to increase profit by over 2,000 per cent between fiscal year 2023 to 2024.  Having established a strong customer base in Canada and the US, Nayeri disclosed that the brand is working on wholesale partnerships that will allow them to expand into the Australian, New Zealand and Middle Eastern markets later this year.