RYU Pitch Deck: 25-Slide Breakdown

The RYU Apparel investor deck from August 2018 outlines a turnaround story, beginning with the inheritance of a failed business model in 2014 that carried CAD $31.2M in deficit. By 2018, the company had established a foothold in Vancouver and Toronto, aiming for a massive US expansion into markets like Venice, NYC, and Newport Beach. The deck relies heavily on a 'Milestone' structure to demonstrate traction, showing revenue growth from CAD $1.3M in 2016 to a projected CAD $129.4M by 2022. While the deck excels at visual branding and geographic roadmapping, it lacks specific details on the 'pr…

Key takeaways

• The company inherited a failed business model in 2014 with CAD $1.6M in liabilities and a CAD $31.2M deficit (Slide 4).
• Revenue grew from CAD $1.36M in 2016 to CAD $3.01M in 2017, maintaining a consistent 46% gross margin (Slide 16).
• The 'RYU Quick Pack' was recognized by Carryology as a top 3 worldwide 'Best Work Backpack' (Slide 10).
• Geographic expansion plans targeted 12+ new major markets including London, China, and various US metros (Slide 13).
• Financial projections show a steep path to profitability, with EBITDA remaining negative until 2021 (Slide 22).
• The business model relies on an 'integrated retail approach' combining physical stores with e-commerce (Slide 19).
• By 2022, the company projected reaching 29 stores and CAD $129.4M in annual revenue (Slide 22).
• The deck highlights an 'undervalued share price' as a key investor takeaway, citing listings on TSX-Venture and Frankfurt (Slide 25).

Frequently asked questions

What was the financial state of RYU when the new leadership took over?

According to Slide 4, the new leadership inherited a 'failed business model' in August 2014. The company had no cash, CAD $1.6M in liabilities, and an equity deficiency of CAD $0.8M resulting from a massive CAD $31.2M deficit. They spent 2015 liquidating CAD $2.0M in old inventory before launching the new brand and e-commerce platform.

How does RYU define its product innovation?

Slide 7 lists 'Proprietary Technology,' 'Revolutionary Designs,' and 'Superior Fit & Functionality' as the pillars of their product innovation. However, the deck does not provide specific technical details, fabric names, or patent information to support these claims, relying instead on high-quality lifestyle photography to convey the brand's premium positioning.

What are the key growth drivers in RYU's five-year forecast?

The primary driver is store expansion. Slide 22 shows a direct correlation between store count and revenue: growing from 5 stores (CAD $3M revenue) in 2017 to 29 stores (CAD $129.4M revenue) by 2022. The forecast also assumes a significant improvement in gross profit margins, rising from 46% in 2017 to 65% by 2022.

What is RYU's 'Bricks and Clicks' strategy?

Slide 19 describes an 'Integrated Retail Approach' designed to achieve over 100% year-over-year growth. This involves blending traditional brick-and-mortar stores with 'tactical ecommerce strategies.' The slide illustrates this with a photo of a physical retail interior alongside a mobile shopping interface for a 'Vapor Crew Neck Tee' priced at $57.

Where is RYU planning to expand geographically?

Slide 13 maps out an aggressive global strategy. Beyond their current Vancouver and Toronto hubs, they identified 'Opening Soon' locations in Los Angeles and New York. 'Exploring' locations included major US hubs (Chicago, Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco) and international markets in London and China.

RYU pitch deck: the facts

Company

RYU

Slides

25

RYU pitch deck PDF

The full RYU deck is embedded on this page and can be read slide by slide in the browser — no download or account required. Each slide is covered in the breakdown above.

What the RYU Apparel Inc. (Respect Your Universe) pitch deck was used for

This is RYU Apparel Inc.’s investor deck dated August/September 2018, prepared while the company was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol RYU and quoted on OTC markets as RYPPF. The deck presents a brand revitalization and aggressive retail expansion strategy, emphasizing a “bricks and clicks” model and projecting significant revenue growth from about $3M to $129M over five years, supported by recent financings and warrant-related capital. Around this period, RYU had just completed several non‑brokered private placements totaling approximately $9.65M in early 2018 and a prior short form prospectus financing in 2017 to fund store expansion, inventory, and general corporate purposes. The deck appears intended for equity investors to support continued expansion of retail locations, inventory build, and marketing rather than a single, clearly labeled priced round.

Business model: Designer and retailer of urban athletic apparel, operating branded retail stores and e‑commerce (“bricks and clicks”) channels.

Year

2017–2018

Headquarters

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Industry

Athletic apparel / sportswear retail.

Round: Growth‑stage public company (TSX Venture‑listed) financing store expansion and brand growth through prospectus offerings and non‑brokered private placements.

Raising: Up to $4M in a non‑brokered private placement announced February 9, 2018, consisting of up to 33,333,333 shares at $0.12 per share, including a proposed $2M investment from a strategic influencer group.

Raised: Approximately $3.74M gross proceeds from a short form prospectus offering in July 2017; approximately $5.65M and $3.99M gross proceeds from non‑brokered private placements closed on January 19, 2018 and February 19, 2018, respectively.

Use of funds as presented: Store expansion, inventory purchases, and general corporate purposes, as specified for the short form prospectus; broader growth funding and strategic initiatives for the non‑brokered private placements.

What happened after the RYU Apparel Inc. (Respect Your Universe) deck

Following the Aug/Sept 2018 deck, RYU completed multiple equity financings and expanded its retail footprint, increasing revenue but also incurring substantial lease commitments. The company later encountered regulatory and listing challenges, including a 2019 cease trade order for late filings and a 2025 delisting from NEX for non‑payment of listing fees, indicating that the long‑term trajectory

• July 25, 2017: Short form prospectus financing completed, raising gross proceeds of approximately $3.74M from the sale o
• January 19, 2018: Non‑brokered private placement closed, raising gross proceeds of about $5.65M through the issuance of
• February 19, 2018: Second non‑brokered private placement closed, raising gross proceeds of approximately $3.99M.
• As of June 30, 2018: RYU reported lease commitments totaling approximately $10.44M, reflecting significant retail expans
• May 13, 2019: Cease trade order issued due to failure to file 2018 audited financial statements and related disclosures
• December 4, 2025: Securities of RYU were delisted from NEX for failure to pay quarterly NEX listing maintenance fees.

What the RYU Apparel Inc. (Respect Your Universe) deck got right

• Public‑company status and disclosure infrastructure. RYU was already a listed public company on the TSX Venture Exchange and quoted on OTC markets, providing transparency through regular filings and established investor‑relations infrastructure, which the 2018 deck could leverage to support credibility.
• Demonstrated fundraising traction and access to capital markets. The company had successfully raised multiple rounds of capital shortly before the deck, including a 2017 short form prospectus financing and sizable non‑brokered private placements in early 2018, demonstrating investor appetite and an ability to access both brokered and non‑brokered markets.
• Clear omni‑channel retail strategy backed by tangible expansion. RYU’s strategy of combining branded retail stores with e‑commerce (“bricks and clicks”) is aligned with contemporary athletic apparel retail trends, and filings show concrete commitments to store leases and expansion, reinforcing that the deck’s growth story was anchored in actual expansion activity.
• Quantified potential capital from outstanding warrants. The deck’s inclusion of detailed warrant schedules and potential proceeds (as visible in the slideshare snippet) shows an effort to quantify additional funding capacity from outstanding instruments, which helps investors understand potential capital inflows beyond announced financings.
• Early evidence of revenue growth following expansion. Subsequent reports noted meaningful year‑over‑year revenue growth through 2018, suggesting that, in the near term, RYU’s expansion strategy did convert into higher sales, lending some support to the growth trajectory communicated in the deck.
• Differentiated brand positioning in urban athletic apparel. The brand positioning around “Respect Your Universe” and urban athletic apparel targeted a distinct niche within the broader sportswear market, potentially differentiating RYU from generic athleisure brands and giving the deck a clear thematic focus.

What could have been stronger

• Very aggressive revenue projections with limited supporting detail. The deck projects revenue growth from approximately $3M to $129M over five years but, based on contemporaneous filings, RYU’s actual 2018 revenue was far below the end‑state implied by those projections, and the deck provides limited detail on operational levers, unit economics, or scenario analysis that would support such an aggressive ramp.
• Reliance on warrant proceeds without transparent dilution and probability analysis. While the company’s filings detail multiple financings and warrant exercises totaling tens of millions of dollars, the deck’s focus on “potential proceeds from warrants” as an implicit funding source may underplay dilution risks and the uncertainty of warrant exercise, and it is not clear from the slides alone how fully investors are walked through cap‑table and overhang implications.
• Limited downside and risk discussion around aggressive retail expansion. Public filings show significant lease commitments (over $10.4M as of June 30, 2018) and rapid store expansion, but the deck centers on a bricks‑and‑clicks expansion narrative without clearly addressing downside scenarios if store‑level economics or market conditions deteriorate, which later proved material given the company’s subsequent regulatory and listing challenges.
• Incomplete integration of public‑company governance and regulatory history into the narrative. As a public issuer, RYU had a complex history of financings, listings, and regulatory events; the slideshare deck preview and context suggest the deck may not fully reconcile its optimistic growth story with the constraints and disclosure obligations evident in filings, which could leave sophisticated investors with unanswered questions about governance and compliance.

How an investor would read this deck

What draws attention

• Sustainability of the bricks‑and‑clicks model given high lease commitments (over $10.4M as of mid‑2018) and rapid store rollout.
• Alignment between projected revenue growth (to $129M) and historical performance, including 2017–2018 revenue and store‑level metrics disclosed in filings.
• Capital structure, including the large volume of outstanding warrants and options, their exercise prices, and the realistic probability and timing of exercise as a funding source.
• Governance, reporting timeliness, and regulatory history, given the subsequent cease trade order in 2019 and eventual NEX delisting in 2025.

Risks that stand out

• Execution risk on highly aggressive revenue growth projections, given RYU’s scale at the time and the competitive dynamics in athletic apparel.
• Financial and operational risk from substantial lease commitments tied to rapid store expansion, which could become burdensome if sales underperform.
• Capital risk related to reliance on ongoing equity financings and warrant exercises, leading to dilution and potential investor fatigue.
• Regulatory and governance risk, evidenced by the cease trade order in 2019 for late filings and later delisting from NEX in 2025.

Questions this deck invites

• What were RYU’s actual 2017 and 2018 revenues and margins by channel (retail stores vs e‑commerce), and how do these compare to the deck’s five‑year projection to $129M?
• Can management provide store‑level economics (build‑out cost, rent, staffing, contribution margin) and payback periods for existing locations to justify the planned expansion footprint and associated lease commitments?
• What is the fully diluted share count including all outstanding warrants, options, and RSUs as of the deck date, and how would full exercise impact ownership and future financing flexibility?
• How did RYU plan to manage regulatory compliance and continuous disclosure obligations while pursuing aggressive growth, and what processes were implemented after the 2019 cease trade order to prevent recurrence?
• What specific operational or strategic changes did management plan if revenue or financing milestones slipped relative to the deck’s optimistic cases (e.g., slower store openings, cost controls, or strategic partnerships)?

What founders can take from the RYU Apparel Inc. (Respect Your Universe) deck

• Aggressive revenue projections in a deck must be closely anchored to historical performance and clearly articulated operational drivers; subsequent filings for RYU highlight the gap between optimistic projections and realized growth, underscoring the need for realism and scenario analysis.
• Using warrant and option exercises as a prominent element of the funding story can be appealing but also risky; RYU’s capital history shows that while such instruments can raise substantial capital, they also introduce dilution and uncertainty that investors will scrutinize.
• Retail expansion strategies backed by lease commitments should be paired with transparent disclosure of store‑level economics and downside planning, as RYU’s sizeable lease obligations by mid‑2018 illustrate the importance of stress‑testing physical expansion plans.
• Public‑company decks need to integrate governance and regulatory history, because later events such as cease trade orders or delistings can significantly affect investor confidence; RYU’s experience shows the cost of under‑emphasizing compliance robustness in growth narratives.
• Consistency between deck messaging and formal filings is critical; RYU’s filings provide detailed financing and capital structure information that sophisticated investors will compare against the deck, making any omissions or glossed‑over complexities more noticeable.

RYU Apparel Inc. (Respect Your Universe) pitch deck: common questions

What is RYU and what does the Aug/Sept 2018 investor deck describe?

RYU Apparel Inc. is a Vancouver‑based athletic apparel company that designs and sells urban athletic wear through its own retail stores and online channels. The August/September 2018 investor deck positions RYU as a revitalized brand executing a “bricks and clicks” strategy aimed at rapid revenue growth and store expansion.

What fundraises was RYU involved in around the time of the Aug/Sept 2018 deck?

In the first half of 2018, RYU closed two non‑brokered private placements: one on January 19, 2018 raising gross proceeds of about $5.65M, and another on February 19, 2018 raising about $4.0M, for total gross proceeds of approximately $9.29M, along with significant warrant and option exercises. In May 2017, it also completed a short form prospectus financing raising about $3.74M to fund store expansion, inventory purchases, and general corporate purposes. These financings form part of the capital story around the 2018 deck.

How much capital was RYU seeking to raise in its 2018 private placement and what was the money for?

The February 9, 2018 announcement describes a planned non‑brokered private placement of up to 33,333,333 shares at $0.12 per share, for gross proceeds of up to $4M, offered to strategic groups including a proposed $2M investment from a strategic influencer group. The net proceeds from the May 2017 short form prospectus were earmarked for store expansion, inventory, and general corporate purposes, aligning with the expansion narrative shown in the deck.

What stage was RYU at when it presented the Aug/Sept 2018 investor deck?

The deck’s timing (Aug/Sept 2018) corresponds to a period when RYU had multiple stores open and was investing heavily in expansion, with lease commitments totaling over $10.4M as of June 30, 2018. A slideshare preview shows content on “potential proceeds from warrants” as of July 31, 2018, highlighting how outstanding warrants could generate several million dollars in additional capital, which the deck uses as part of its funding runway narrative.

Did RYU achieve the long‑term growth projected in the 2018 investor deck?

Subsequent filings and news releases indicate that RYU’s growth and financing path diverged from the very aggressive projections in the 2018 deck. By 2019 the company faced a cease trade order due to late filings, later resolved, and in 2025 its securities were ultimately delisted from the NEX board for failure to pay listing maintenance fees. This shows that while RYU raised capital and grew revenue, it did not fully realize the long‑term trajectory implied in the deck.

Sources

Funding and outcome facts on this page were researched on 2026-08-22 from the pages below.

• Respect Your Universe Inc (RYU) Stock Message Board | InvestorsHub
• RYU APPAREL INC
• Ryu Fs 181231 Vfinal
• RYU Apparel Announces Revocation of Cease Trade Order
• Security Summary
• RYU Apparel Reports 52% Increase in 2018 4th Quarter Revenue and 67% Increase in 2018 Full Year Revenue
• RYU Registers RYU Trade-mark in China and Announces Grant of...
• RYU Apparel Announces Short Form Prospectus Financing

RYU pitch deck slides

What each slide of the RYU pitch deck says

Slide 2

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION This presentation contain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which includes, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the planned opening of the Corporation's retail stores. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, ‘may’, "could", “would, ‘might’, expects”, "budget", "scheduled", “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, anticipates", “believes”, “guidance” or variations of such words and phrases. While the Corporation has based this forward-looking information on its expectations about future events as at the date that such information was prepared,…

Slide 3

RYU - RESPECT YOUR UNIVERSE . IS THE APPAREL BRAND THAT IS BUILT = a AROUND YOU, THE INDIVIDUAL. he WE UNDERSTAND THAT EVERYONE'S UNIVERSE ~ Sy IS UNIQUE, WITH DIFFERENT NEEDS. _ he OUR APPAREL ENHANCES YOUR UNIVERSE BY i. 3s RESPECTING THE PERSON INSIDE. HE 2 IT'S IN OUR NAME AFTER ALL. oe WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE MORE THAN FITNESS GOALS, RYU IS HERE FOR YOUR \ LIFE GOALS. ~ 4

Slide 4

ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE 2018 AUGUST 2014 Evolution of Ecomm platform Revamped brand strategy REINHERIZED A USA retail store expansion: FAILED BUSINESS Venice, NYC, Newport Beach ~~ 2017 ober 9° retail store: Toronto 3 retail store: Park Royal International shipping on Ecomm fh 4 retail store: Toronto 59 retail store: Metrotown Inventory of CAD $2.0M Revenue for the year: $3.1 liquidated in 2015) 2016 Liabilities of CAD $1.64 Wins WGSN Futures Award 2 retail store: Vancouver Equity deficiency of CAD Revenue for the year: SL4M $0.8 due to CAD $31.24 2015 deficit Vancouver HO opens Flagship store launches Ecomm platform launched Revenue for the mont; $245k 2014 RYU Apparel Inc. is born New Leader…

Slide 5

LEADERSHIP i MARCELLO LEONE JULIET KORVER CEO + PRESIDENT VP PRODUCT + BRAND 35 years of experience in the industry 18 years developing private label products for lululemon Founder and CEO of Naturo Group Investments Inc. North Face, Vans, Marmot, Spider, Swix, Filmar, O'Neill VP Operations & President of LEONE, retailer featuring over 30,000 sq. ft. of luxury brands BRETT PAWSON ALEX BRIGLIO VP RETAIL + OPERATIONS VP MARKETING + COMMUNITY 15 years retail sales and operations with lululemon, 25 years sales and marketing in the sports industry The Body Shop and distribution for Pluggz Footwear Made Swany the #1selling sport glove in North America PEDRO VILLA SCOTT FULLERTON CHIEF FINANCIAL O…

Slide 6

A STRUCTURAL GLOBAL SHIFT TOWARDS A MORE ACTIVE AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE IS FUELING GROWTH IN THE ATHLETIC APPAREL INDUSTRY GLOBAL MARKET FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS OFFERINGS WAS $6868 IN 2016 AND EXPECTED TO GROW TO $815B BY 2021 IMPLYING A CAGR OF 3.5% Source: Euromonitor International IN 2017, CANADIAN SPORTS APPAREL GREW 21% T0 $6.78 WHILE THE US ACTIVEWEAR MARKET ROSE TO $48B [A CAGR OF APPROXIMATELY 7%] Source: NPD Group Source: Canaccord Genuity US Equity Ressarch, Footwear and Apparel, November 7, 2017 .

Slide text above is read directly from the RYU deck PDF embedded on this page.

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