Alo is more than just a fashion brand, it’s a true lifestyle company with a thriving fitness platform called Alo Moves, a beauty line, and 30 retail locations throughout the United States and Canada. Located just a few minutes from the Beverly Hills store, at 9830 Wilshire Boulevard, is the brand’s worldwide headquarters. This iconic four-story building is located in the city’s “Golden Triangle.” Designed by famed architect I.M. Pei, it has a noteworthy presence with the Alo logo clearly visible from the street.
First erected in 1989 as the global headquarters of Creative Artists Agency, the space was later taken over by Sony Music. After renovations in 2020, it became home to yet another iconic brand in August 2021, just as people were finally getting back to the office.
With a majestic glass top, Alo has one of the most unique corporate lobbies in Los Angeles. There’s even a living tree growing through the middle of the space. While the tree was there far before Alo, it’s coincidentally the perfect symbol for the brand which is an acronym for Air Land Ocean.
In addition to a massive marble bar space, there are black plush sofas, trendy curved bouclé chairs, and black coffee tables that feel more like they belong in a stylish downtown loft. All the seating feels as comfortable as a pair of the brand’s coveted leggings.
The space has an exclusive members club vibe, as opposed to a sterile corporate lobby. With creme-colored stone covering the floors and walls up to the super-high ceiling, the lobby has a zen air to it. Sleek clothing racks featuring the brand’s latest offerings and a huge white Alo logo assure visitors never forget where they are. There isn’t one detail that doesn’t feel thoroughly thought out.
A New Headquarters For A New Work Era
Since the company’s inception in 2008—Alo has proved itself to be more than a brand shilling trendy leggings or cool, street-wear-inspired hoodies. The design and amenities of this office are like nothing else. During a time when most corporate employees find there’s very little incentive to go back to the office, co-founder and co-CEO Danny Harris has given employees many reasons not only to work every day in what truly feels like a community but also to better themselves and as he says, “the world.”
“We are trying to get people to live a better and healthier alternative life. It’s almost a combination of Eastern and Western coming together, where the sum is greater than its parts,” he tells me. “Everything we do is proof of who we are. And what we believe. That’s the same whether it’s our corporate headquarters, whether it’s in any of our products or our clothing. The studio to street mindful messaging, building this community in this culture, starts at home, right, and this is our home.”
There’s a gym packed with lots of state-of-the-art equipment from Hoist Fitness Systems, iRope, Skierg by Concept 2, and Clmbr along with the essentials including glute drives, stair climbers, and ellipticals. In addition to just being an on-brand amenity, the facility makes it far easier for Alo’s employees to achieve their fitness goals.
There’s also a group fitness space for instructors from Alo Moves to teach fitness classes from yoga to boxing as well as offer sound baths and meditations. The intimate room is a place to invite influencers, creators, and media for special events.
One wall features Alo wallpaper while the other wall features the perfect mantra, “Feel it. Just breathe. Lift each other up. Raise your vibration. Health is health. Be here.” There couldn’t be a better office in Beverly Hills to take selfies and make TikTok videos.
A Biohackers Paradise
But it’s what’s in the basement that’s the most interesting. A true biohackers paradise, Alo’s headquarters are outfitted with everything a biohacker or the typical health-obsessed Angelino could ever want. There’s even a recording studio where celebrities come to create everything from podcasts to music. With charcoal slate floor tiles and low lighting, it’s easy to forget there’s an office upstairs.
Alo has three state-of-the-art Sunlighten red light saunas. Stylishly designed, these red light saunas have numerous benefits including aiding post-workout recovery and even for the skin.
The other side of the space features three separate cold plunge pools at different temperatures to help elevate energy and mood, boost recovery, support the immune system, aid in pain relief, and support sleep. These sleek and modern cold plunges use powerful cooling, filtration, and sanitation to give Alo’s employees and guests the ultimate experience.
But that isn’t the only cold amenity. There is also a cryotherapy chamber. These chambers reach freezing temperatures and are known to help with injury recovery, weight loss, and inflammation reduction among other benefits.
While all of these amenities come at a high cost, Harris thinks creating this unique environment is more than worth it “We are a profitable business and in and need to sustain profitability to succeed and be able to really inspire the world and to do all the things that we set out to do. But that is not our focus. The idea is when we build it—it comes. We don’t want to be conventional. We believe we are so much more.”
Is Alo’s Model The Future Of The Corporate Office?
While amenities like gyms have been a trend in recent years, most offices don’t offer anything remotely comparable to Alo. Still, Harris doesn’t see his innovative approach as what every corporate headquarters should be. “We are not IBM, or anybody else. We don’t try to be or pretend that we are. Everything we do is proof of who we are and what we believe. And that is what this headquarters is. I really believe in the law of diffusion. It has to start at home and I diffuse the same messaging into our stores, social media, our website, and to our fitness platform Alo Moves. And that includes our corporate headquarters. There are all different kinds of businesses. We just have a different outlook on things.”