Lululemon Athletica Case Study I. Executive Summary Statement of problem and recommend action Lululemon is a rapidly growing company with a different niche for its products. Its philosophy as well as their business model has allowed them to increase revenue over the past years. The dilemma they faced is how to continue expanding without losing their special niche, grassroots and a nontraditional feel of the brand that sets them apart from their competitors. In order to do so, it has been recommended that they partner up with well-known retail stores such as Macy’s and Nordstrom. It has also be recommended that a representative or educator from Lululemon remains at the store at all times or that the retail stores (partners) …show more content…
Another social factor is demographics. As Lululemon products are highly prices, it is important to research the social economic aspects of the neighborhood. Moreover, Lululemon faces high rates of obesity and overweight in America and Australia, hence the importance for well-trained “educators.” As Lululemon incorporated e-commerce in 2009, a technological as well as an external factor is to ensure customer service provides the same level of customer services as the face-to-face interaction in the stores, and to maintain the website up-to date. It is important for Lululemon to maintain a user friendly website that would encourage people from all ages to buy Lululemon’s products. Lululemon’s ability to source profitably merchandise may be affected; if new trade restrictions are imposed by The United States and other countries where products are produced or sold. These may include additional quotas, duties, tariffs, or other restrictions or regulation. Moreover, China increased in labor cost and other factors associated with production could increase the cost of product. (“Lululemon Athletica Annual Report, 2012”). Industrial Analysis The fitness clothing market is growing rapidly. Customers’ new found inclination towards living healthier lifestyles has produced an increase in participation of people into various physical activities. Hence, the high levels of competition in the fitness and
Lululemon’s primary target customer is a sophisticated and educated woman who understands the importance of an
Lululemon’s success is due to its innovation in technology and fashion, as well as their use of community based marketing, and excellent customer focus. The company has positioned itself as a health conscience and fun brand that now operates 280 stores in North America, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, and Singapore (Lululemon 10K).
Lululemon is one of the Canada’s best retailers of technical athletic yoga apparel. Lululemon’s yoga inspired apparel is marketed under the two brand names Lululemon Athletica for more mature women and Ivivva Athletica for younger girls. Lululemon primary target customers are educated and hard working women, who understand the importance of healthy and active lifestyle. Majority of these women are Caucasian who are mainly urban and have higher income, since Lululemon is an expensive brand .Most of their products are design to offer fit, performance and comfort while incorporating both style and function. On another hand, American Apparel
This report has been created with the intent to analyze the athletic apparel industry with a specific focus on Lululemon Athletica, Inc., further refered to as Lululemon. In this report you will find that the strengths and weaknesses of Lululemon’s current strategies and future goals are analyzed and compared to that of its closest competitors. In conclusion to the analysis, recommendations have been made to potentially guide Lululemon Athletica, Inc. in a positive direction in regards to its future endeavors. The following
When it comes to a social aspect, Lululemon is becoming an increasing trend: a result of consumer approval. The company does take hits though for its return policy and many people feeling that their staff is not very friendly. The media took blows on the company when there was a murder that took place at one of their stores and the conflict was between two of the employees(Lawrence). They are seen as having sustainable development and being environmentally friendly. They are also conforming to demographic changes and developing lines for men and youth. As for a technological aspect, they are praised for their several forms of social media and keeping customers up to date as well as their up keep of fashion trends(MBASkool).
Consumers are always satisfied with good customer service. When it comes to retail store customer service and satisfaction it is important because department stores are large in size and finding help can be difficult. Colloquy, a company concerned with building customer value, released a survey and asked 3,000 consumers across five geographical areas to rate their personal experiences with retailers. Macy’s was ranked number one in the department store category, with the most loyal customers. To keep up with technology advances Macy’s has invested time and money into developing a more efficient online shopping site, Macys.com and Macysweddingchannel. This investment cost nearly $300 million in 2006-2008 is being used to scale-up these fast-growing businesses through improvements in delivery efficiency, online site functionality and customer service. To enhance the shopping experience at Macy’s 100 stores in 2007 experienced remodeling and began introducing the most advanced POS registers and systems to the sales floors nationwide. Macy’s passion is product and people. There continuing pursuit is to have unique fashionable merchandise ready for customer satisfaction. Macy’s promise is to always carry the best brands and the most-wanted items. They also believe in hiring the right employees. With the right employees, there will be a sense of motivation and helpfulness. The American Customer Satisfaction Index covers 200 companies’ products and
a few percent, in 2012 the gross profit margin is the highest it has ever been
Economic: Continued economic struggles, especially within the European Union, have the potential to negatively affect Lululemon’s international expansion(Thomas
Lululemon already has presence in international markets, having corporate-owned retail stores in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Singapore.
Introduction: This business analysis will define the various problems related to the manufacture of the Luon Pants made by Lululemon Atheltica Inc. The Luon product was pulled because of a higher ration of sheerness, which made the pants. Lululemon Inc. has also been negligent with handling customer service at local retail outlets. A More so, the corporate leadership at Lululemon Inc. has been negligent in acknowledging heavier weight consumers that are not part of the “physically fit” demographic. A systems analysis of these various parts of the Lululemon corporation that need to be resolved to return the company to higher performance quality in pant materials, corporate leadership, and customer service.
In the United States of America, being fit and active is an important value of the culture. Many employers give out free gym memberships or encourage their employees to take a longer lunch to go be active. According to Business Insurance, many companies in New York have been organizing midday dance parties to give their employees some time to get out from behind their desks and move. Feeling good about the way one looks can be an important part of exercise because it promotes higher self-esteem. There is no longer a need to wait until you get into shape to look good when companies like Lululemon are now producing exercise wear that is fashionable. An industry professional was quoted as saying “Our customers desire clothing that they can work out in and then head out into the world.” If clothing fits well enough, then people are going to want to wear it all the time. Although fashion trends are ever changing, Lululemon is always creating new products to keep up with them. According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the retail industry is considered a high growth industry. The retail trade sector is the nation’s largest employer. The growth rate of real output for the retail trade sector of the economy is 4.6% annually. From 2004 to 2014, the real output grew from 1.1 trillion dollars to 1.8 trillion dollars. This can be attributed to new apparel companies always entering the
The women's apparel market is highly competitive. With the launch of a new active-wear line from Harrington Collection's, more and more competitors will start to realise the potential value in in producing an active-wear line of their own. The active-wear market is growing so rapidly (expected to double turnover from 2007 to 2009), that eventually all of Harrington's competitors would likely be expected to launch a line of their own, relying on existing brand loyalty and high-scale advertising campaigns to capture market share and move units.
The industry that Lululemen operates in is the Women`s Apparel industry which is a mature, large and fragmented market that has highly sensitive to the economic conditions and trends.
This paper commences by defining the problems that were faced by Lululemon Athletica Inc in 2013. After, the author explores the causes of the issues that the company was experiencing and the effects that they had on Lululemon Athletica Inc. The next step is to look at ways in which the issues could have been addressed both for the short-term and long-term. When all is said and done, the audience will fully appreciate why “Lululemon Athletica Inc should revert to its fundamentals – that is, to concentrate on the needs of the consumer”.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. was incorporated in the month of November 2005, and is a manufacturer and vendor of practical strapping rendering attire for men, women and female adolescence. The objective of the attires is for healthful situations such as running, cycling, general fitness exercise and yoga. In the attires, it comprises aptitude britches, shorts, tops, jackets and other fitness related products like underwear, bags, bras, socks, yoga mats, yoga instruction discs and water bottles. They primarily operate in North America and Australia.