Lululemon Athletica
lululemon athletica (; styled in all lowercase) is a Canadian athletic apparel retailer headquartered in Vancouver. It was founded in 1998 as a retailer of yoga pants and other yoga wear, and has expanded to also sell athletic wear, lifestyle apparel, accessories, and personal care products. The company has 491 stores internationally, and also sells online. History. Lululemon was founded in 1998 by Chip Wilson in Vancouver, British Columbia,Canada, with its first standalone store opening in November 2000. Wilson created the name to have many L's so that it would sound western to Japanese buyers, who often  have difficulty pronouncing the letter. He later remarked that he found it "funny to watch [Japanese speakers] try and say it". The company's initial public offering was in July 2007, raising $327.6 million by selling 18.2 million shares. Christine Day, a former co-president of Starbucks, became chief executive officer in 2008. In 2013, the company made its third consecutive appearance on "Fortune"'s Fastest-Growing Companies list. In December 2013, founder Chip Wilson announced his resignation as chairman, and that the president of TOMS Shoes, Laurent Potdevin, would become CEO. In 2014, Lululemon opened its first store  in Europe, a flagship shop in Covent Garden, London. In February 2015, Wilson announced that he was resigning from the board, and that Michael Casey, former lead director of the board, would replace him. In 2018, Laurent Potdevin resigned as CEO and from the company's board due to misconduct. In 2019, Lululemon announced an investment in Mirror, a fitness startup that sells an interactive mirror with a camera and speakers for at-home workouts. The companies planned to create new content for the device, starting with meditation classes. In June 2020, Lululemon announced a $500 million deal to  purchase Mirror, capitalizing on a growing trend of people conducting virtual workouts at home instead of going to a gym due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Management. From its founding through 2015, Lululemon incorporated elements of Landmark Forum into its leadership and development training. According to a company source, seventy per cent of managers are hired internally. Store managers are responsible for their store's layout, color coordination, and community involvement. Products. Lululemon sells athletic wear including tops, yoga pants, shorts, sweaters, jackets and undergarments, as well as hair accessories, bags, yoga mats, water bottles, and personal care products such as  deodorant and dry shampoo. Lululemon trademarked its original fabric, Luon, which included a higher-than-average amount of nylon microfiber, in 2005. Since then, the company has produced several different types of fabrics, including compression and moisture-wicking designs. Lululemon is primarily known for their leggings, which first made the brand popular. Lululemon maintains a research and development lab, "Whitespace," within its headquarters. It has around 50 employees including scientists and physiologists. In 2019, the company launched a luxury streetwear brand called Lab in a few of its stores. In The company planned to double its men's business in  the next five years beyond its women's and accessory business, competing against other athletic wear such as Nike and Under Armour. Marketing. Originally known for women's yoga apparel, by 2019 Lululemon had grown by acquiring more male customers, adapting its product and marketing strategies accordingly, and plans to increase awareness of the brand among men. The company has been stated to use "holistic guerrilla marketing", aiming to make customers feel that by wearing Lululemon clothing they are part of a larger community. Lululemon uses social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as one of its main methods of  marketing the company and its products. Lululemon also has its "Sweat Collective" which allows for instructors of fitness to receive 25 percent off their order. Lululemon has a wide network of stores around the world with 270 as of 2018. It also sells all its products online to provide customers with a better shopping experience. In terms of product development, Lululemon is also trying to develop new fabrics to provide customers with more comfortable use experience, like their Nulu fabric. Lululemon also increased its liquidity by 2018, making it easier to raise capital and capture market growth opportunities. Controversies. False  advertising. In November 2007, "The New York Times" reported that Lululemon made false claims about its Vitasea clothing product; the firm had claimed that the clothing, made from seaweed, provided "anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hydrating and detoxifying benefits" but laboratory tests failed to find significant differences in mineral levels between ordinary T-shirt cotton and Vitasea fabric. Lululemon was subsequently forced to remove all health claims from its seaweed-based products marketed in Canada, following a demand from a Canadian oversight agency, the Competition Bureau of Canada. Product quality. In 2013, some customers complained that the clothing was of poor quality , with some items being "too sheer", having holes appear, and falling apart after a few uses. In December 2010, Lululemon recalled some of the store's reusable bags that were made from polypropylene, based on reports of high levels of lead. In 2013, Lululemon recalled its black yoga pants that were unintentionally transparent and "too thin"; the recall, which amounted to approximately 17 percent of all women's pants sold in its stores, impacted its financial results. The resulting financial loss and damage to the brand led to the forced departure of the company's Chief product officer, Sheree Waterson , and of its CEO, Christine Day. Founder's statements. Founder Chip Wilson has made numerous controversial statements. In a 2004 interview, Wilson mocked Japanese pronunciation of the company's name. In 2013 he said that the company did not make clothes for plus-size women because it was too costly. In an effort to explain away excessive pilling in the brand's clothing, he blamed some customers for wearing Lululemon's clothes improperly or for having body shapes inconsistent with his clothes. In an interview for Bloomberg TV in 2013, he stated that some women's bodies were unsuitable for  the brand's clothing. "Time" called the remarks "fat shaming". Comments such as these reportedly led to Wilson's resignation as chairman. In June 2016, Wilson published an open letter to shareholders stating that the company had "lost its way" and given up market share to Nike and Under Armour, after he was denied the opportunity to speak at the company's annual meetings. Since then, Wilson has used his website "Elevate Lululemon" to criticize the brand and business. Legal disputes. In 2012, Lululemon filed a lawsuit against Calvin Klein and supplier G-III Apparel Group for infringement of three  of its design patents for yoga pants. The lawsuit was somewhat unusual as it involved a designer seeking to assert intellectual property protection in clothing through patent rights. The case was settled out of court the same year. All Lives Matter. In 2021, a "Business Insider" report revealed that an unnamed company director pushed employees to create an All Lives Matter campaign to be displayed on its website in response to the murder of George Floyd. Employees pushed back but were told to move forward and create a mock up with the All Lives Matter copy, however they also created  a Black Lives Matter artwork mock up that in the end was selected instead. The director apologized to 200 members of the company over conference call and subsequently left the company.