Will Lululemon Disappear in 2015?

According to a U.S. website, Lululemon has made 24/7 Wall St’s list of “10 brands that will disappear in 2015.” This surprising prediction was affected by the threatening affair in February 2014, and the radical comment made by its founder in November 2013. I deemed the misfortune would probably happen as these two events resulted in the declining sales and falling value propositions.

In February 2014, it was reported that customers were being banned from Lululemon for “reselling products over the internet.”² The customers felt “shocked”, “victimized” and “humiliated” after receiving the threatening call. As loyal buyers, they supported this company with large effort because they loved the yoga culture of Lululemon. However, this event would greatly decrease their loyalty to this brand and then turn to another company. In my perspective, this behavior of Lululemon was not sensible because it did not solve the problem essentially, but lost a large number of loyal customers instead. 

The company failed to present its value propositions before in November 2013 as well. During the interview with Bloomberg TV, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson said “recently-reported problems with pilling” were “not necessarily a quality issue”, and he blamed “some women’s bodies just don’t work for it.”³ As a yoga-inspired athletic appeal company, it was Lululemon’s responsibility to provide customers with comfortable yoga clothes. However, after receiving the problem of its material, Lululemon did not search for solutions to the problem in order to see if it “[got] the job done” first. Instead, the founder turned to complaint about customers’ body shapes and thus caused the failure in value propositions.

 

Endnotes:

1. “Lululemon, BlackBerry on List of Brands ‘that Will Disappear in 2015′” CTVNews. CTVNews.ca Staff, 10 July 2014. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. <http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/lululemon-blackberry-on-list-of-brands-that-will-disappear-in-2015-1.1908720>.

2. “Lululemon Apologizes after Threatening to Ban Customers for Reselling Products Online.” CTVNews. CTVNews.ca Staff, 16 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. <http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/lululemon-apologizes-after-threatening-to-ban-customers-for-reselling-products-online-1.1689588>.

3. “Lululemon Founder Blames Women’s Bodies for Pants Problems.” CTVNews. CTV British Columbia, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. <http://bc.ctvnews.ca/lululemon-founder-blames-women-s-bodies-for-pants-problems-1.1531351>.

Picture reference:  

Retrieved from <http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/lululemon-blackberry-on-list-of-brands-that-will-disappear-in-2015-1.1908720>.

Article Reference:

“Lululemon Apologizes after Threatening to Ban Customers for Reselling Products Online.” CTVNews. CTVNews.ca Staff, 16 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. <http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/lululemon-apologizes-after-threatening-to-ban-customers-for-reselling-products-online-1.1689588>.

“Lululemon, BlackBerry on List of Brands ‘that Will Disappear in 2015′” CTVNews. CTVNews.ca Staff, 10 July 2014. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. <http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/lululemon-blackberry-on-list-of-brands-that-will-disappear-in-2015-1.1908720>.

“Lululemon Founder Blames Women’s Bodies for Pants Problems.” CTVNews. CTV British Columbia, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. <http://bc.ctvnews.ca/lululemon-founder-blames-women-s-bodies-for-pants-problems-1.1531351>.

Osterwalder, Alexander, and Yves Pigneur. “The Business Model Canvas.” Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010. Print.

Read more:

Lululemon’s official website: <www.lululemon.com>.