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.
This is so interesting- when I worked at lulu in 2007, it was very product-led, but they had the quality to back that up. Since then, the quality has slipped, so that is no longer aligned with that reality. In fact, they used to claim that every single design choice on any particular item was primarily function-driven- not for looks. And that unlike many competitors, they didn’t design to a specific price point. They designed the piece they wanted and whatever the price ended up being, that’s what it would be.
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
Lululemon has been racist from the start. There's a quote from Chip where he said he intentionally chose the name because he finds it funny when Japanese people struggle to pronounce the letter L 🙄
As a fat person who was once a skinny person (lol) I think the decline in quality of lulu lemon products since chips departure is noticeable, and I think the brands market was skinny girls with washboard abs and… that’s fine. Of course he could have said it more tastefully, but it was precisely after that when the brand tried to become everything for everyone that it lost both identity and quality. They had a brand identity and when they said they didn’t make clothes for fat or even normal sized people we all got mad… and now we accuse them of not having a brand identity. I remember at one point they didn’t even seem to carry sizes above a medium. As someone who also sews clothes, I think most brands would probably produce more quality products if they did focus on the size they want to market to. Ideally there would be brands just for petite/skinny people, midsize people, and plus size people. The silhouettes for each are generally different (with exceptions) which is part of what is most disappointing about mass produced clothing.
I completely agree with your take on Lululemon, specifically about their design. I have been shopping there for over 10 years, and the store, the clothes and the designs look the same today as they did 10 years ago.
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.
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.
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.
This is so interesting- when I worked at lulu in 2007, it was very product-led, but they had the quality to back that up. Since then, the quality has slipped, so that is no longer aligned with that reality. In fact, they used to claim that every single design choice on any particular item was primarily function-driven- not for looks. And that unlike many competitors, they didn’t design to a specific price point. They designed the piece they wanted and whatever the price ended up being, that’s what it would be.
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
Omg did they really?? Sigh
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
Lululemon has been racist from the start. There's a quote from Chip where he said he intentionally chose the name because he finds it funny when Japanese people struggle to pronounce the letter L 🙄
not good- definitely would want to see them address this troubled origin in some way
Lulu has definitely peaked. They had a good long run though. Most fads don’t last 20 years.
it's true- and i'm sure they'll reinvent themselves & have a comeback
As a fat person who was once a skinny person (lol) I think the decline in quality of lulu lemon products since chips departure is noticeable, and I think the brands market was skinny girls with washboard abs and… that’s fine. Of course he could have said it more tastefully, but it was precisely after that when the brand tried to become everything for everyone that it lost both identity and quality. They had a brand identity and when they said they didn’t make clothes for fat or even normal sized people we all got mad… and now we accuse them of not having a brand identity. I remember at one point they didn’t even seem to carry sizes above a medium. As someone who also sews clothes, I think most brands would probably produce more quality products if they did focus on the size they want to market to. Ideally there would be brands just for petite/skinny people, midsize people, and plus size people. The silhouettes for each are generally different (with exceptions) which is part of what is most disappointing about mass produced clothing.
I completely agree with your take on Lululemon, specifically about their design. I have been shopping there for over 10 years, and the store, the clothes and the designs look the same today as they did 10 years ago.
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
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.
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
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!
Era?