lululemon athletica inc. is an American Canadian multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in British Columbia and incorporated in Delaware, United States. 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 574 stores internationally, and also sells online.
| Website | lululemon.com |
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History
Lululemon was founded in 1998 by Chip Wilson in Vancouver, 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” and that “it was the only reason behind the name”.
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.
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.
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. The company eventually took a post-tax impairment charge of $442.7 million related to the acquisition at the end of fiscal 2022
With more than 29,000 employees, Lululemon Athletica Inc. is considered one of the Largest Public Companies in the World, according to Forbes.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and info.lululemon.com.
**Video published on YouTube by “Will Armstrong“
