Avoli, a brand focusing on volleyball-specific footwear for women and girls, announced the closing of a $2.1 million seed funding round and its first-ever retail partnership with Scheels. This collaboration highlights Scheels’ commitment to providing quality sporting goods, featuring Avoli’s special line of volleyball footwear in selected U.S. stores. This move is expected to increase accessibility to Avoli products for female athletes nationwide significantly.
Avoli was founded by footwear veterans Mark Oleson and Rick Anguilla after they identified a gap in the market for volleyball-specific gear, noting that many young volleyball athletes were repurposing basketball shoes for their games. Launched in July 2023, Avoli aims to offer equipment tailored for volleyball, including shoes with a unique cushioning system for jumping, pivoting, and diving, and an advanced ventilation system to keep feet dry during long tournaments. These shoes, manufactured in China, are expressly designed to suit the biomechanics of volleyball athletes.
The partnership with Scheels—an eminent sports retailer with 34 stores across 16 states—will help Avoli bring its products to a broader audience. Scheels is headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, and is known for offering an engaging retail experience with attractions such as aquariums, arcade games, and a ferris wheel. Scheels generated close to $1.6 billion in revenue in 2018, showcasing its substantial market presence and consumer trust.
Rick Anguilla stated, “Our partnership with Scheels will make Avoli shoes more widely accessible to women and girl athletes around the country.” This collaboration aligns with both companies' missions to promote quality and enhance the customer experience. Besides its innovative product offerings, Avoli has seen an “unprecedented demand” since its launch, underscoring the need for volleyball-specific equipment in the athletic market.
