Text|Ma Lian Hong.
Lululemon, which started with a pair of yoga pants, is becoming more and more "manly". After opening its first independent store in INDIGO, Beijing, lululemon launched its first men's shoe collection.
In the sportswear market, lululemon has always been regarded as a "dark horse" - relying on its influence in the yoga market, lululemon quickly became the world's third largest sports brand alongside Nike and Adidas, and single-handedly changed the competitive landscape of the international apparel market for many years. Now, in the sneakers and "other economy" market, can lululemon create another "dark horse miracle"?
In its fifth year in the footwear market, lululemon launched its first men's shoe collection.
lululemon's idea to sell shoes began in 2019, and lululemon sees entering the footwear market as one of the key steps in the brand's five-year growth plan. Now that the five-year period is approaching, lululemon's shoe business is just beginning to take shape.
In March 2022, lululemon officially entered the footwear category and launched its first pair of shoes. There are many types of sports shoes, which can be divided into three categories according to their use: daily shoes, training shoes and competition shoes. At present, the R&D focus of most sports brands is on competition shoes, and the competition is fierce.
lululemon has taken a different path, focusing on the two fields of leisure and popular sports, and has successively launched four products: blissfeel women's running shoes, chargefeel women's sneakers, strongfeel women's training shoes, and restfeel slippers. At the same time, lululemon also signed Camille Herron, an American ultramarathon runner and multiple world record setter. In 2023, lululemon will continue to increase its size in the footwear market, with the second generation of women's running shoes and sneakers debuting one after another.
The first men's shoe series released this time, also focusing on casual and popular sports, will be available in selected online and offline stores in North America, Europe and Chinese mainland. lululemon's first unisex athleisure shoe, Cityverse, will be launched in China on February 20; **The running shoes BeyondFeel and Beyondfeel Trail will be launched on March 19 and May 7 respectively, and this collection is both unisex.
In the official introduction, Simon Atkins, senior vice president of footwear at lululemon, said that men usually have wider feet, higher insteps and longer toes, and they have developed a unique new last specifically to meet the needs of men's feet. The design of the BeyondFeel running shoe uses a combination of 7 different upper materials, foam materials and constructions to achieve better comfort, fit and athletic performance for both men and women.
Are lululemon sneakers selling well these days? At present, in lululemon's official Tmall***, the best-selling series is strongfeel, which is priced at 980 yuan and has sold more than 5,000 pairs.
According to lululemon's Q3 2023 earnings report, net revenue generated by "Other Categories" consisting of accessories, lululemon studios and footwear was 2$6.5 billion, compared to 2021, when the sneaker category has not yet been launched, the category generated a net revenue of 1$2.2 billion.
Footwear is a relatively small category for us, and we're still in the early stages of our footwear journey, but we're excited about the role it plays in providing customers with more choice," said Nikki Neuburger, chief brand officer at lululemon, in an interview with foreign media, adding that the launch of the men's shoe collection is just "icing on the cake and an added bonus" for lululemon, as the company's growth strategy is "not dependent on footwear".
*Business accounted for 22%, which became a new driving force for lululemon's performance growth.
In recent years, lululemon's original ** market is being squeezed, and Nike has been making efforts to "she economy", and its ** revenue will account for 18 in 20226%, a year-on-year increase of 1%, in the Chinese market, old sports brands such as Anta, Li Ning, Xtep, as well as some niche sports brands, such as Maya, Jiaoma, Cocofit, Maia Active, Moly Vivi, Moka Yoga, etc., are also increasing the ** market, lululemon is facing no small growth pressure.
External competition and pressure from performance growth made lululemon anxious to find a second pair of little black pants. In 2022, lululemon's revenue surpassed $6 billion for the first time before launching a new five-year plan, focusing on development** and international markets, and proposing to reach $12.5 billion in revenue by 2026, **doubling revenue from 2021 and quadrupling revenue from international markets.
Now, lululemon is on the verge of breaking the 10 billion mark. Lululemon's revenue is expected to be between $9.3 billion and $9.4 billion in fiscal 2023, according to financial information services firm Refinitiv IBES$100 million, compared to an average analyst estimate of 91$400 million. lululemon gave a higher forecast, with its fourth-quarter earnings forecast saying that it expects revenue to be 31$700 million to $31$900 million, an increase of 14% to 15% from the fourth quarter of 2022, and full-year revenue is expected to be 95.5%.$4.9 billion to $95$8.4 billion, an increase of about 18%.
In two years, the ** business achieved a slight growth. For the third quarter of 2022, lululemon** net revenue was 4$400 million, compared to $500 million for the same period in 2023**, up 12% year-over-year, contributing 22% to total net income for the quarter. (Links to related reports in previous issues: running shoes, hiking, tennis, golf, who will be lululemon's second "little black pants"?) ）
Judging from the financial report, lululemon is gradually gaining a foothold in the ** market, which also makes lululemon decide to further deepen the male market. Not long ago, lululemon's first** independent store in the Asia-Pacific region opened in INDIGO, Beijing. According to INDIGO's official introduction, lululemon's first store in China is an expansion on the basis of INDIGO's original store, and is split into two stores, men and women, continuing the brand's tough black main color.
Considering that the business market has gradually become casual in recent years, lululemon's business still has a lot of room for growth in the future, and this business is also expected to become the "second little black pants" that drives the company's continuous growth.
At the same time, the Chinese market is also becoming one of lululemon's main markets, and in its 2022 financial report, lululemon did not separately list the revenue of the Chinese market, and now the Chinese market has become the third largest market after the United States and Canada. In the third quarter of 2023, lululemon's net revenue increased 19% year-over-year to $2.2 billion, with net revenue for the China market of 2At $6.7 billion, up 53% year-over-year, it was the brand's fastest-growing regional market. This has also prompted lululemon to accelerate its presence in the Chinese market, with the total number of Chinese stores rising to more than 120 in 2023, making China the country with the most new stores this year.
In the past two years, lululemon has also attempted to launch its first comprehensive hike collection, its first tennis apparel collection, and its first golf collection, and if this growth momentum continues, lululemon will complete its plan in 2026.
It is worth mentioning that in the sneaker market, lululemon may not be able to shake the status of traditional sports brands such as Nike and Adidas in the short term. Taking Nike as an example, its footwear revenue accounts for nearly 70% of the highest revenue, and the category covers the whole scene of sports and life, and it is not easy for lululemon to find top-notch products like little black pants.
Note: The ** used in this article is from lululemon's public information.