Interesting thoughts on Lululemon. They have actually hired a ton of senior designers to head up their global brand and retail design (including Burberrys Head of Architecture) so at least they’re showing market awareness unlike many others! Will be interesting to see what changes!
Great take. Lululemon's marketing makes it seem they hired only product marketers and no brand marketers. So much emphasis on fabric technicality (how technical is it, really); it's starting to give Athleta... and while I've never bought anything from Alo, I have to admit their skill in building brand experiences is standing out. Different styles, but it's what worked incredibly well for OV back in the day
yes! It’s almost like lulu is trying to be a product led brand with a generic low quality product and a lack of innovation. Would love to see them take a big swing and do something bold with their brand in the next year.
agree with you that lulu has lost the way when it comes to brand identity! i think alo clothes are worse quality (and declining) but i think consumers have a lot of activewear in their closet and so to get them to make the next purchase it needs to stand out from a fashion perspective, which is where alo has shined. agree vuori has stolen the market share on men’s and i think also women’s, despite also not really having a brand identity (so tbd on how long that will last). agree some fun collabs could really help them - their collabs tend to be all over the place
Timeleft is cool. I’ve been to a couple of dinners and while there are occasionally awkward moments, everyone is there to meet new friends so I find it very warm and fun. The app has some glitches, though—they sent my group to a bar that was permanently closed for after dinner drinks.
Love this and love your assessment on Lulumon. Also re: Gen Alpha and YouTube, starting this summer and confirmed over this past holiday, all of my GenAlpha nieces love...Pinterest. My mind has been blown. I haven't been back to it in over 10 years. In fact my mom uses it for recipies and (I love that) she calls it, PIN-ter-ist. I couldn't believe that tweens use it and think it's cool. I feel so out of it.
Im a “run in runway type” and I’m over activewear entirely - as a former activewearaholic who had 84 pairs of black workout pants from every brand possible (and those were just the black ones) it’s all just gotten BORING. That’s my take. I don’t know if Lululemon still does their “lab” collections which were like capsule collections, but I got some of my best and most long lasting durable and let’s not forget to mention super stylish workout wear from that collection. Anywho - I just wear Nike basics now, but I remain hopefully that someday it will get interesting again.
My dad worked for Chip before he started Lulu and has quite often mentioned that he was the best boss he ever had. While it sounds corny and elitist on the surface to say that 'X' brand can't and/or shouldn't be for everybody it's unfortunately deeply true, and there's nothing exclusionary or anti-human about that, it's about setting a bar for your brand and for yourself and upholding it, unless you want to start peddling sub $50 bum bags as your flagship product!
Interesting thoughts on Lululemon. They have actually hired a ton of senior designers to head up their global brand and retail design (including Burberrys Head of Architecture) so at least they’re showing market awareness unlike many others! Will be interesting to see what changes!
oh wow did not know about that hire! Excited to see how they reinvent retail while also figuring out product and brand. Lots to figure out 😭
Great take. Lululemon's marketing makes it seem they hired only product marketers and no brand marketers. So much emphasis on fabric technicality (how technical is it, really); it's starting to give Athleta... and while I've never bought anything from Alo, I have to admit their skill in building brand experiences is standing out. Different styles, but it's what worked incredibly well for OV back in the day
yes! It’s almost like lulu is trying to be a product led brand with a generic low quality product and a lack of innovation. Would love to see them take a big swing and do something bold with their brand in the next year.
I read this post awhile ago and loved it, and immediately came back here to comment that Lululemon just dropped a collab with…. Disney.
so kind!!! i know, i mentioned this in this past week’s newsletter. feels like a sign of the times for them
agree with you that lulu has lost the way when it comes to brand identity! i think alo clothes are worse quality (and declining) but i think consumers have a lot of activewear in their closet and so to get them to make the next purchase it needs to stand out from a fashion perspective, which is where alo has shined. agree vuori has stolen the market share on men’s and i think also women’s, despite also not really having a brand identity (so tbd on how long that will last). agree some fun collabs could really help them - their collabs tend to be all over the place
I did love lululemon's dupe swap activation where you could trade in your lulu dupes for their align leggings. More of that!
true! there's potential for them, but I feel like they're still a little lost
Loved your take!! Thank you for this article!!
First post I read by You and I subscribed 1/3 of the way in!
this is so kind! thank you!!
Timeleft is cool. I’ve been to a couple of dinners and while there are occasionally awkward moments, everyone is there to meet new friends so I find it very warm and fun. The app has some glitches, though—they sent my group to a bar that was permanently closed for after dinner drinks.
good to know! they don’t have it where I am in SF yet but I’m sure it’s coming any day now
Love this and love your assessment on Lulumon. Also re: Gen Alpha and YouTube, starting this summer and confirmed over this past holiday, all of my GenAlpha nieces love...Pinterest. My mind has been blown. I haven't been back to it in over 10 years. In fact my mom uses it for recipies and (I love that) she calls it, PIN-ter-ist. I couldn't believe that tweens use it and think it's cool. I feel so out of it.
Im a “run in runway type” and I’m over activewear entirely - as a former activewearaholic who had 84 pairs of black workout pants from every brand possible (and those were just the black ones) it’s all just gotten BORING. That’s my take. I don’t know if Lululemon still does their “lab” collections which were like capsule collections, but I got some of my best and most long lasting durable and let’s not forget to mention super stylish workout wear from that collection. Anywho - I just wear Nike basics now, but I remain hopefully that someday it will get interesting again.
My dad worked for Chip before he started Lulu and has quite often mentioned that he was the best boss he ever had. While it sounds corny and elitist on the surface to say that 'X' brand can't and/or shouldn't be for everybody it's unfortunately deeply true, and there's nothing exclusionary or anti-human about that, it's about setting a bar for your brand and for yourself and upholding it, unless you want to start peddling sub $50 bum bags as your flagship product!
I’m not surprised Barbie is everywhere right now… Christmas is coming… children will be wanting their gifts!!! 🎁
Ok now that you said it I can’t unsee the cringe 😳
Vuori gang all day!!