In reply to Nicole Godler: Customers Outraged with Lululemon’s Offensive Comments. Blog post found here: https://blogs.ubc.ca/nicolegodler/2013/11/13/customers-outraged-with-lululemons-offensive-comments/
Back in March, Lululemon was faced with a recall of their yoga pants due to the material being too sheer. The athletic branded company is once again in the hot seat due to a comment made by the chairman and co-founder of Lululemon, Chip Wilson. Wilson was attempting to address recent reports of issues with the company’s yoga pants; customers were complaining that the pants were too sheer and easily pilled. Wilson responded by blaming the pants’ problems on the women’s bodies, explaining that it’s all about the rubbing through the thighs and how much pressure on the pants there is. This of course created lots of outrage from consumers.
Like Nicole mentioned this isn’t the first time a company has prioritized a certain group of customers, with a certain “look”. Abercombie and Fitch and Hollister are definitely both guilty of it. Although I don’t agree with Wilson’s statement, I have to agree with Nicole when she says “their clothing and value proposition is too strong to be greatly damaged by this situation.” Lululemon has to big a customer basis to lose massive amounts of consumers over this. In handling the controversy in the correct manner, the company will easily recover.