Lululemon is relaunching its development in France. The Canadian sporting goods brand opened a 515 square meter store on Friday, December 2, at 38, avenue des Champs-Elysées, in Paris. Neighboring the American sports shoe brand Foot Locker and the Nike and Adidas stores, this point of sale symbolizes the group’s new European ambitions.
Although it has been present in the French capital since 2015, with three boutiques located in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Marais and Louvre districts, the brand born in a Vancouver yoga studio in 1998 is still unknown to the French. This should change.
Last April, Calvin McDonald, the president of the group with 29,000 employees, set the goal of reaching 12.5 billion dollars (11.9 billion euros) in turnover worldwide. by 2026. This is double its activity recorded in 2021. The adoption of this plan comes after a surge in sales over the past three years; in 2018, the brand achieved 3.3 billion dollars (3.1 billion euros) in turnover.
Understated style and high-end positioning
The development of sporting activity among women, running, yoga, pilates or fitness has boosted its sales of leggings. Despite its price of around 100 euros, this long form-fitting polyamide boxer shorts, available in dozens of colors, is still one of its best sellers.
The confinements imposed to combat the spread of Covid-19 have also boosted its sales of flexible clothing to wear at home on a daily basis. The brand finally benefits from its sober style and its high-end positioning, taking the opposite view of Nike and Adidas products, whose logos are often conspicuous. Its men’s collections, including pants and jackets, have hit the bull’s eye.
In the second quarter of its financial year, ending at the end of July, its sales had jumped by 29% overall and by 35% abroad compared to the same period of 2021. As a result, the brand says it is able to quadruple its international activity by 2026, to reach 3.8 billion dollars in sales (3.6 billion euros).
Europe, Middle East and China
For two years, its vice-president, André Maestrini, former manager of Adidas in France, has been responsible for boosting activity in Europe, the Middle East and China. The company will not use sales in the usual sporting goods distribution networks, whose European leaders are Decathlon, champion of low prices, or Intersport, a brand known for its international brands. It relies on its own network, whether in store (600 worldwide today) or online, a circuit that already represents 40% of its outlets.
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