Kit and Ace lays off 10% of head office staff

Kit and Ace, the high-end clothing chain launched by the family of Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, has laid off 35 people in its Vancouver head office in a corporate restructuring.

After the cuts, Kit and Ace will have just under 600 employees worldwide across roughly 60 locations in Canada, the U.S., Australia, Britain and Japan.

The chain has grown rapidly since being founded in 2014 by the wife and son of Lululemon founder Chip Wilson. But the company is streamlining its head office staff even as it plans to expand by opening more stores in the coming months.

"Many of the start-up initiatives are now complete, and the initial positioning goals have been accomplished," CEO Paul Wilson said. "As we organize ourselves for the year ahead, we have reduced our head office staff level by about 35 people – approximately 10 per cent of that team's size."

The company said in an email to CBC News that the positions being eliminated will not be replaced this year, but the company has plans to expand and hire in other areas.