Set Active navigates growth and holiday sales risks in U.S. activewear market

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Set Active growth & holiday risks

Highlights

Set Active cancels Black Friday and Cyber Monday product launches in 2026, risking over $10 million in projected sales due to delivery delays.
Despite industry slowdown with women's activewear spending up only 2% from October 2025 to September 2026, Set Active posts eight-figure net sales and remains profitable.
U.S. activewear still comprises 30% of apparel spending, with consumer preference shifting toward casual loungewear supporting Set Active's broader assortment.

Growth path and operational setbacks

As first reported by CNBC Make It, Carter says she launches Set Active in May 2018 after identifying a gap in the market for matching activewear sets that work beyond workouts, including for errands, coffee meetings and working from home.

Before founding the brand, Carter runs her own social media company. She says the business idea takes shape after an associate connects her with a production professional, allowing her to order samples, gather feedback from friends and mark up product changes by hand before returning designs to the manufacturer.

Carter says the early financial strain is significant, including taking on $20,000 in personal credit card debt to officially launch the business. She adds that later challenges extend beyond startup financing, and in 2026 the company struggles to deliver customer orders on time as the holiday shopping period approaches.

On Oct. 19, Carter writes on Instagram that Set Active is canceling its Black Friday and Cyber Monday product launches until further notice. The company will not release clothing until products arrive at its Los Angeles warehouse, a move she says puts more than $10 million in projected sales during the busiest shopping days of the year at risk.

She says the decision reflects the brand's focus on transparency and customer relationships, even if it means stepping away from a substantial revenue target. Carter adds that she would rather correct the customer experience than meet a sales goal under current operating conditions.

Market context and leadership pressures

Set Active brings in eight figures in 2025 net sales and is profitable, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. That performance comes as growth in the wider U.S. activewear market slows, with women's activewear spending rising 2% between October 2025 and September 2026, down from 7% in the prior 12-month period, based on Circana data.

Activewear still accounts for 30% of U.S. apparel spending, according to Circana apparel industry analyst Kristen Classi-Zummo. She says consumers are gravitating more toward casual outfits and loungewear, such as sweatpants and sweatshirts, than toward more performance-oriented items like leggings and sports bras, a trend that may support Set Active's broader product positioning.

Carter also describes the personal cost of building the company. She says she has two children after starting Set Active and never takes maternity leave, a choice she now calls one of her biggest mistakes.

She says she experiences symptoms of postpartum depression in 2023 while continuing to run the startup, affecting her relationships with friends and employees. Although difficult workdays still disrupt her sleep, Carter says she now approaches problems with more perspective and views setbacks as part of the entrepreneurial process rather than proof that something is going wrong.

Our earlier article on rising U.S. toy prices ahead of the holiday shopping season explained how import duties and higher fuel, shipping, and raw-material costs were pushing retail shelf prices up and squeezing manufacturers’ margins. We noted that even after some tariff relief, pricing often reflects earlier cost structures for months, keeping pressure on retailers as consumers plan peak-season purchases.

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