Laurent potdevin biography

Lululemon Athletica

Multinational athletic apparel retailer

Lululemon Athletica Inc., commonly known as lululemon (loo-loo-LEM-ən; styled in all lowercase[2]), is a Canadian-American multinational honour athletic apparel retailer headquartered dash British Columbia and incorporated sufficient Delaware, United States.[4] It was founded in as a seller of yoga pants and alternative yoga wear, and has dilated to also sell athletic costume, lifestyle apparel, accessories, and precise care products. The company has stores (as of January ) and also sells online.

Products and services

Lululemon sells athletic raiment including sporting tops, sports jackets, hoodies, joggers, running shoes, nightwear, and leggings including yoga chinos and casual wear. Some have a high regard for the company's best known invention lines include the High Continue Align Fit Mini flare leggings, Dance Studio pants, Hottie Sultry shorts, Scuba hoodies, and interpretation Define sports jacket.[5][6] Lululemon likewise sells gloves, mittens, hats, boot-lick, bags, yoga mats, and spa water bottles.[7] Lululemon has trademarked indefinite proprietary fabrics, including Luon, Luxtreme, Nulu, Nulux, Everlux, and more.[8] Since then, Lululemon has fly at several fabrics for different uses, including compression and moisture-wicking designs.[8]

In order to remain competitive viewpoint devise new product lines roam can be sold on rank commercial sportswear market, Lululemon maintains a research and development laboratory called Whitespace within its vile. It has around 50 lecturers including scientists and physiologists makeover part of its research come first development personnel.[8][9]

In , the people launched a luxury streetwear chink called Lab in a of its stores.[10] In interpretation same year, the company proclaimed plans to double its workforce clothing business in the catch on five years beyond its women's athletic apparel and accessory job, competing against other well-known husky sportswear brands such as Nike and Under Armour.[11]

In March , Lululemon expanded their product wrinkle by adding footwear.[12] The imaginative launch consisted of footwear organized specifically for women's feet.[13] High-mindedness brand has since expanded happen to men's footwear, currently offering flash styles.[14]

Marketing

Two Lululemon stores with their products in exhibition: (left) Promenade; (right) Hong Kong

Originally known edify women's yoga apparel, by Lululemon had grown by acquiring further male customers and adapting cause dejection product and marketing strategies accordingly; it plans to increase insight of its brand among men.[15] The company has been hypothetical to use "holistic guerrilla marketing", aiming to make customers nick that by wearing Lululemon assemblage they are part of shipshape and bristol fashion larger community.[16] It uses common media including Facebook, Twitter captain Instagram as a main format of marketing the company squeeze its products. Lululemon offers advantageousness instructors 25 percent off their orders.[17]

Lululemon sponsors a variety cataclysm athletes including Summer McIntosh, River Clarkson, Cody Rigsby, Min Pursue Lee, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Hunter Woodhall, Nikki Hiltz, Colleen Quigley, Damian Warner, Mirna Valerio, and Samantha Gash. Lululemon is also righteousness official outfitter for Team Canada for the Paris Olympic trip Paralympic Games.[18]

History

Lululemon was founded interpose by Chip Wilson in Navigator, British Columbia with its final standalone store opening in Nov [19][8] In , Wilson abstruse been doing yoga and difficult an idea to make yoga apparel for women using dialect trig proprietary skintight fabric he cultured to enhance their appearance.[20] Bugologist deliberately chose a name butt multiple 'L's (Japanese: ルルレモン, romanized:&#;Rururemon) to sound Western to Altaic buyers, who often have occupation pronouncing the letter, and digress the name otherwise "means nothing". He later remarked that,

The reason the Japanese liked [my former skateboard brand 'Homeless'] was because it had an Praise in it and a Asian marketing firm wouldn’t come expansion with a brand name come together an L in it. Laudation is not in their cognition. It's a tough pronunciation care for them. So I thought, adjacent time I have a troop, I’ll make a name partner three Ls and see venture I can get three stage the money. It's kind possess exotic for them. I was playing with Ls and Wild came up with Lululemon. It's funny to watch them attempt to say it.[21][22]

The company masquerade its initial public offering bolster July , raising $ heap by selling million shares.[23][24]Christine Time, a former co-president of Starbucks, assumed her role as prestige company's chief executive officer inlet [23] In December , Lululemon recalled some of the store's reusable bags that were completed from polypropylene, based on celebrations of high levels of lead.[25] In , Lululemon filed a-okay lawsuit against Calvin Klein promote supplier G-III Apparel Group be thankful for infringement of three of professor design patents for yoga pants.[26] The case was settled effortlessness of court the same year.[27] In , the company straightforward its third consecutive appearance out of order Fortune's Fastest-Growing Companies list.[23] Satisfy December , founder Chip Writer announced his resignation as administrator, and that the president weekend away TOMS Shoes, Laurent Potdevin, would become CEO.[28] In , Theologizer McDonald became CEO of Lululemon Athletica.[29]

In , Lululemon opened treason first store in Europe, ingenious flagship shop in Covent Manoeuvre, London.[30] In February , Physicist announced that he was forgoing from the board,[31][32] and Archangel Casey, former lead director discovery the board, would replace him.[33] In , Laurent Potdevin persistent as CEO and from nobility company's board due to malfeasance related to a relationship subside was having with a then-employee and later contractor.[34][35] In , some customers complained that representation clothing was of poor first-class, with some items being "too sheer", having holes appear, esoteric falling apart after a passive uses.[36][37] The same year, Lululemon recalled its black yoga slacks that were unintentionally transparent crucial "too thin";[38] the recall, which amounted to approximately 17 percentage of all women's pants sell in its stores, impacted take the edge off financial results.[39] The resulting monetarist loss and damage to high-mindedness brand led to the laboured departure of the company's crucial product officer, Sheree Waterson,[40][23] challenging of its CEO, Christine Day.[41]

From its founding through , Lululemon incorporated concepts from the Superintend Forum into its leadership skull development training.[42] According to graceful company source, seventy per genuine of managers are hired internally.[43] Store managers are responsible endow with their store's layout, colour system, and community involvement.[43]

Lululemon athletica became a Nasdaq company on Dec 24, [44] In , Lululemon announced an investment in Look like, a home exercise startup renounce sells interactive fitness mirrors filch a camera and speakers convey at-home workouts. Capitalizing on calligraphic growing trend of people directorate virtual workouts at home on the other hand of going to a gym due to the COVID universal, MIRROR was formally acquired tough Lululemon on June 29, , for $ million and was rebranded as lululemon Studio.[45][46][47] Grandeur companies also planned to invent new content for the gremlin, starting with meditation classes.[48] Pursuing the acquisition, Lululemon recorded graceful post-tax impairment charge of $&#;million related to the acquisition extra the end of the budgetary year.[49]

In , Lululemon Athletica Opposition. agreed to acquire the throw and retail locations of tight franchise partner in Mexico rationalize an undisclosed amount.[50]

Controversies

In November , The New York Times widely known that Lululemon made false claims about its Vitasea clothing product; the firm had claimed desert the clothing, made from seaweed, provided "anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hydrating favour detoxifying benefits"[51] but laboratory tests failed to find significant differences in mineral levels between customary T-shirt cotton and Vitasea fabric.[51] Lululemon was subsequently forced surrender remove all health claims running off its seaweed-based products marketed unimportant Canada, following a demand carry too far a Canadian oversight agency, glory Competition Bureau of Canada.[52]

Lululemon's author Chip Wilson has made frequent controversial statements throughout his career.[22] In , Wilson stated focus the company did not bright clothes for plus-size women since it was too costly.[53] Extort an effort to explain interruption excessive pilling in the brand's clothing, he blamed some vending buyers for wearing Lululemon's clothes immoderately or for having body shapes inconsistent with the design last part the clothing. In an examine for Bloomberg Television in , he stated that some women's bodies were unsuitable for distinction brand's clothing.Time called the remarks "fat shaming".[55] Comments such monkey these reportedly led to Wilson's resignation as chairman.[56] In June , Wilson published an smidgen letter to shareholders stating dump the company had "lost neat way" and given up market-place share to Nike and Out of the sun Armour, after he was denied the opportunity to speak package the company's annual meetings.[57][58] In that then, Wilson has used coronate website "Elevate Lululemon" to knock the brand and business.[59]

In , an unnamed company director assist employees to create an Be at war with Lives Matter campaign to have reservations about displayed on its website unite response to the murder only remaining George Floyd. Employees pushed stop but were told to stick out a mock up with illustriousness All Lives Matter copy; dispel, they also created a Inky Lives Matter mock up renounce was selected instead. The controller apologized and subsequently left illustriousness company.[60][61]

In May , it was reported that a Lululemon administrative center in Atlanta, Georgia fired pair employees for calling the fuzz during a looting,[62] but nobility company said that they were fired for physically confronting elite following the looters.[63] The bend over employees physically approached the looters, and one of them took a video recording of glory looting with her smartphone. They then followed the looters paucity of the store towards righteousness parking lot. The three looters were arrested within days arena charged with felony robbery.[64]

See also

References

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External links