lululemon
Stretching beyond yoga, lululemon is hitting the trail.
What’s happening: Its latest activity-specific launch, the apparel company announced its upcoming hiking collection. Details are sparse, though CEO Calvin McDonald hinted at plans to combine core offerings with new styles, tailored for the great outdoors.
lulu wearers were already going off-road in its performance gear, McDonald explained.
“We are not stepping outside of how they’re already sweating in our product.”
Leaning in, the brand is spinning up branded athleticwear while moving in on multiple lucrative markets.
Backcountry. The outdoor economy is booming, on track to top $17B by 2025. Trailblazing outdoor movement for women in particular, companies like Outdoor Voices, alder apparel, and Wild Rye have already proved out women’s activewear x trekking threads.
Launching both mens’ and womens’ hiking apparel in the coming weeks, lululemon will look to challenge Columbia, The North Face, and Patagonia at the top.
Playtime. Lifting its existing portfolio, hiking isn’t the only trend lululemon is tapped in on. As the recreation renaissance reached a fever pitch, it launched golf and tennis apparel lines—what it coined “Play” activities—to reach new audiences and diversify its collections.
In the long run. Meanwhile, it’s also riding the rise of running. Eyeing the $66B athletic footwear market, it debuted its Blissfeel performance running shoe earlier this year. Getting technical, it just dropped its endurance-improving Senseknit running collection.
AnyWEAR
As the definition of wellness evolves, lululemon is expanding its offerings to meet new consumer behaviors. To that end, McDonald explained:
“The pandemic has contributed to a fundamental change. [Our guests want] to live an active and healthy lifestyle… and as normalcy returns, their desire for versatile apparel has increased.”
Punchline: Meeting consumers wherever they sweat, lululemon hopes to bundle content, clothing, and community into one immersive fitness marketplace, propelling its revenue to new heights. So far, so good — the company anticipates a record $7.6B in sales for the year.
