Lululemon Fashion Film Documentary Athletic Sportswear For Everyone
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00:00 Have you unfold your map, popped a video on and found your state of vinyasa in a solid yoga session?
00:07 Or gone for a socially distanced run around the neighborhood?
00:11 Whatever your choice of athletic activity, we're going to take a wild guess it was while wearing at least one true fashionista piece of Lululemon Athletica attire.
00:22 Welcome to the Rich Rabbit, and today we'll be talking about the brief history, struggle and story of Lululemon.
00:32 But first things first, if you haven't yet subscribed to our channel, please do consider doing it.
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00:46 At just over 20 years old, Lululemon has become the de facto name for athletic attire worn by classy hipsters, committed athletes and weekend warriors worldwide.
00:59 That might have something to do with the quality and care that goes into the creation of every piece.
01:05 Dennis "Chip" Wilson established Lululemon in Vancouver, Canada in 1999.
01:12 Before founding the company, Chip had spent 20 years in the snowboard, skating and surf business and was seeking change.
01:21 After attending the Vancouver's first ever commercial yoga class, Chip loved the practice and felt amazing during and after the activity.
01:32 With his love of technical athletic clothing, Chip realized that the cotton clothing worn for power yoga at the time was not only unpractical, but well, a little inappropriate.
01:45 Movements needed flexibility, breathability and stretchiness that a person could sweat into while exercising.
01:54 Keeping this in mind, Chip built a design workroom for his new apparel.
01:59 Struggling with rent, he turned the design room into a yoga room at night.
02:04 Chip's yoga instructors were asked to try out the new outfits.
02:09 They then gave the founder useful information and feedback about the clothes.
02:15 When naming the new company, Chip interviewed 100 people and presented them with 20 brand names and logos.
02:24 After a lengthy process, he finally came up with the name Lululemon, which has neither meaning nor roots.
02:32 It is believed that Chip picked this name as he liked the sound of three L's in the name.
02:39 The logo, a stylized A, was meant for the trademark "athletically hip" which wasn't picked.
02:46 The first Lululemon store was opened in the beach location of Vancouver in November 2000.
02:53 The shop was meant to be a meeting place for people in the community to discuss matters like exercising, dieting and cycling.
03:01 But the store became so busy and popular that meeting customers' needs became virtually impossible.
03:08 Lululemon grew fast as customers took to the products, and the workforce was keen to learn, challenge themselves and expand.
03:18 From the get-go, Lululemon had a solid mission that advocated for an active, healthy lifestyle.
03:25 Inspired by philosopher and author Anne Rand, Chip built the Lululemon brand aiming to elevate it from average to great.
03:33 Lululemon strives to reflect its mission statement in its company culture.
03:38 For example, store managers are given more say in the running of the stores, and the firm runs on decentralized company culture.
03:47 Lululemon hires employees based on their commitment level and how well they're suited to the corporate culture.
03:55 In order to realize its mission statement, Lululemon employees are called educators to recognize their vital role in helping consumers lead an active and healthy lifestyle.
04:07 Today, Lululemon stores are heavily focused on interaction with local customers and community development.
04:15 Almost all stores host nightly or weekly in-house events.
04:21 These include lessons ranging from beginner yoga to advanced yoga, and self-defense and goal-setting workshops.
04:29 Workshops and events generally take place post-store hours in the sales room, after products and racks have been shifted.
04:38 Unlike many clothing stores, Lululemon offers no discounts, but sells around 95% of its merchandise at full price.
04:48 Also, products are dearer than those of competitors, reflecting the brand name's value.
04:55 Lululemon uses the scarcity concept to encourage people to buy right away.
05:01 Its shelves are often not full, and many products come with short life cycles, like six weeks.
05:08 Therefore, customers are persuaded to buy the items before they're gone.
05:14 This is believed to be a key factor in Lululemon's sustained success and popularity among customers.
05:22 In order to support its mission statement, the company has adopted seven fundamental values.
05:29 Quality, product, balance, integrity, entrepreneurship, greatness, and fun.
05:36 These values help to motivate staff and guide their choices.
05:40 In 2012, Chip stepped down from the day-to-day running of Lululemon, and officially left the firm to pursue other passions.
05:50 His blog contains his musings and worldviews.
05:54 Lululemon remains an authentic fashionista firm in the athleisure industry, despite the founder's several controversial statements in the past.
06:05 In 2016, Lululemon entered the Japanese market, and currently has a number of stores, mainly in Tokyo.
06:13 Coming to the timeline, Lululemon had its first public offering in 2007, raising over $327 million to the sale of 18.2 million shares.
06:26 In 2008, Christine Day became its chief executive officer.
06:32 In November 2007, it was reported by the New York Times that Lululemon made bogus health claims about its clothing line called Biteseed.
06:42 The company had claimed that Biteseed, made from seaweed, offered antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, and hydrating benefits.
06:52 However, lab tests didn't show any major difference in the mineral levels found in Biteseed fabric and a regular cotton t-shirt.
07:01 The company was later forced to withdraw all claims from seaweed-based products sold in Canada, after an order from the Competition Bureau of Canada.
07:11 In 2012, Lululemon sued supplier G3 Apparel Group and Calvin Klein for violation of its three design copyrights for yoga pants.
07:22 The case was eventually decided out of court that same year.
07:27 In 2013, Lululemon founder Chip made some controversial statements that many have derided as distasteful.
07:36 In 2014, the first Lululemon store in Europe was opened in London.
07:42 In early 2015, Wilson resigned from the board and was replaced by Michael Casey, the board's former lead director.
07:51 In 2017, Lululemon teamed up with Athletic Propulsion Labs to sell men's and women's footwear in 23 states all over the US.
08:01 In 2018, Lauren Poddavin quit the company's board and as CEO due to misconduct.
08:08 In 2019, the firm created a luxury streetwear product dubbed Lab in some of its stores.
08:16 The same year, Lululemon invested in Mirror, a new fitness firm that sells speakers and a camera-enabled interactive mirror for at-home exercises.
08:27 The firm's plan to make fresh content for the equipment, beginning with meditation lessons.
08:33 In June 2020, the company announced a deal worth $500 million to buy Mirror.
08:39 The company took advantage of a rising trend of people performing virtual exercises at home, instead of visiting the gym because of the coronavirus pandemic.
08:50 Originally known for women's yoga apparel, by 2019 Lululemon had grown by acquiring more male customers.
08:58 The company did that by adapting its product and marketing strategies accordingly, and plans to increase awareness of the brand among men.
09:08 The company has been stated to use holistic guerrilla marketing, meaning that they aim to make customers feel that by wearing Lululemon clothing, they are part of a larger community.
09:21 Lululemon uses social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as one of its main methods of marketing the company and its products.
09:31 Lululemon also has its Sweat Collective, which allows for instructors of fitness to receive 25% off their order.
09:40 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.
09:55 Employees pushed back, but were told to move forward and create a mock-up with the "All Lives Matter" copy.
10:02 However, they also created a "Black Lives Matter" artwork mock-up, that in the end was selected instead.
10:09 The director apologized to 200 members of the company over a conference call, and subsequently left the company.
10:17 And with that, I'm headed to the nearby mall to get my Lululemon yoga pants. Namaste!
10:24 But we sure hope that you found our video informative, and if you did, then don't forget to subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon.
10:32 Your valuable suggestions are very important to us, so do post them in the comments section. And I'll see you in the next video.
10:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]