Over the past 25 years, Lululemon Athletica has gone from a single store in Vancouver to a global sensation, redefining the landscape of activewear and carving a niche for the much-maligned category, ‘athleisure’ — a category that seamlessly blends fitness with fashion. Although this blend is true for lululemon I’m not sure it fully does the brand the justice it deserves.
lululemon’s inception in 1998 was more than the birth of a brand; it was a foray into uncharted territories of the fashion landscape. The brand didn’t merely change activewear, it revolutionised apparel, transmuting niche segments like yoga into a phenomenon across North America and beyond. Their mantra was simple: create high-quality athletic wear that transcends the gym and meshes with the daily fabric of life.
Cassandra Sze is the Senior Manager of Franchise Innovations for lululemon, and has been an integral part of the brand for almost all of their 25 years. “I’ve been with lululemon for 22 years, since I started as an intern”, she says. “The biggest challenges I’ve encountered are the quick growth of our company and our ability to keep up with our people, processes, and systems. Somehow we are always able to make everything happen, even at our quick pace in growth”. Growth is a key word for lululemon as their unprecedented journey continues to take the sporting world by storm, and admiring glances from afar have turned into serious stares from their competitors. But their success is not dependent on aggressive marketing campaigns like so many other brands – there’s a considered and controlled approach.
A big factor in this unique strategy is Chief Product Officer Sun Choe. Choe has previously held positions at Levis, Marc Jacobs, and the Gap and joined the company in 2016. “Our continued strong performance demonstrates that consumers are seeking brands that offer innovative, versatile products and a strong community connection that they can’t find anywhere else”, Choe says. “At lululemon, we truly believe our offering is unique – from our superior quality and innovative products created with our guests’ and ambassadors’ unmet needs in mind. Once a consumer tries our products, and experiences the brand, it resonates. For 25 years, incredible products and a connected community have been at the heart of our brand and will remain some of our most meaningful competitive advantages as we continue to grow”.
We can’t ignore the fact that although lululemon built on the success of its yoga audience to become a cult brand, it also developed a slightly unfair tag of ‘posh yoga mum clothing’, a stereotype they’ve worked hard to discourage and erase. At the same time, they are quite rightfully proud of their yoga associations. Nothing highlights this more than the in-house reference of ‘yogo’ instead of ‘logo’. It’s not just the womenswear side of lululemon that’s faced unjust criticism – their menswear offering was at one time seen as limited, and only worn by BBQ dads or personal trainers. This again was, and continues to be, wildly off the mark – the brand has an impressive menswear offering that is, as with other areas of the business, growing rapidly.
The brand’s narrative is centred around an ethos of community, a trait inherent since its inception. The first store in Vancouver wasn’t just a retail outlet, it was a social hub; a nexus where yoga enthusiasts could find not only high-quality gear, but also a like-minded community. This kernel of community engagement developed as the brand expanded. Now, with a global footprint, the brand continues to echo its community-centric ethos, fostering a culture of human connections and lifestyle enrichment that transcends mere commerce. lululemon’s journey is also a narrative of industry transformation. It stood at the vanguard of the yoga trend, while also leading the charge in the redefining of casual wear. The brand’s merging of performance with style has resonated across the fashion spectrum, inspiring a shift towards a more relaxed, aesthetically appealing casual wear. lululemon, along with a few other brands, replaced the conventional jeans and t-shirts with chic, comfortable, and versatile performance and non-performance clothing.
First and foremost a sports performance brand, as the company evolves the possibilities become endless. With a hugely talented team across design, innovation, merchandising, brand, and creative, there really is so much more to come – especially as the sport world continues to evolve. The lululemon model has the potential to influence not only sport, but fashion itself as their ethos continues to filter through the industry.
As lululemon strides into the future, its past reverberates with lessons of innovation and a keen understanding of evolving guest preferences, painting a hopeful and inspiring picture for the fashion industry at large. Here’s to 25 years of a modern day sporting phenomenon. It feels like they are just getting started.
