Humm...
Don't know what to think of this... Check it out!
Notoriously not a big fan of road cycling, I find this interesting nonetheless. For a while now, I have been trying to understand what Lululemon see in this new venture. Are they really trying to attract female cyclists to their brand? Or what else?
Anyone who has ever stepped into a Lululemon store knows how big of a stretch this is: it is a master split to perform.
Yep, I agree, cycling is on the rise... Yet their last two attempts at targeting the cycling community were major flops. This is how I got my Batwoman kit almost half price, remember? And this, in spite of the fact that a great deal of yoginis and yogis do cycle around (here in Montreal).
So...?
Lululemon is a very "girly" brand. Ok, not girly in a pinky marshmallow way. In a "inspirational", fulfillment seeking, self-realisation, lovey-huggey kumbaya way. It is very "Yin" despite all the achievement talk.
Road cycling and all, that's very "Yang". Yeah, I know they host running clinics and man! Hot yoga is *NOT* all that "Yin"...
Still, something is off. They can't even attract men as a market: the male line is incredibly anemic and has been so for years, despite several attempts to spice it up. Their previous "commuter" lines were fiascos, contrary to their recent ballet line which sold like hot dogs. And now we are to believe they are into road cycling... Female road cycling... Are they really that many, seriously? More than the troves of dance ladies desperately waiting for Lululemon to actually launch a stable and permanent line of basics? Pllllease!! We (almost) see as much Lulu as Sansha in dance studios nowadays... All yoga and running gear...
And assuming they really are enough road cycling ladies, do they need yet another cycling brand, what with all the Pearl Izumi et all already on the market? Why should Lululemon hop into a battle for a market that is foreign while turning its back on a captive one? Go figure!!!
Maybe they are assuming their cycling venture will turn out to be similar to their running venture?
Anyways...
And assuming they really are enough road cycling ladies, do they need yet another cycling brand, what with all the Pearl Izumi et all already on the market? Why should Lululemon hop into a battle for a market that is foreign while turning its back on a captive one? Go figure!!!
Maybe they are assuming their cycling venture will turn out to be similar to their running venture?
Anyways...
Well, good luck to them. Hope it works out...
"I have been trying to understand what Lululemon see in this new venture."
ReplyDeleteThe clue is here:
"The lululemon name was chosen in a survey of 100 people . . ."
Come on there!
ReplyDelete"Come on there!"
ReplyDeleteOh, did you vote for it? Sorry.
The point is that they don't know what they're doing. They didn't even know what to call themselves. They don't market ideas, they idea markets. They are survey (and probably focus group) driven.
Or perhaps, being a hip and "girly" company they are "Working in the contemporaneous gestalt to form a consensus and foster a new and harmonious paradigm with a strong sense of community cohesion."
i.e., they're clueless and trying to make up for it with a gossip session.
You can't tell what a survey driven company thinks they're up to unless you have access to their surveys.
Their girly stuff doesn't actually look too bad, but why does the men's stuff look just like the ugly gym crap I can get at the mall for a fraction of the price? Why can't I get a nicely tailored It's Happening jacket (which doesn't cost any more than the ugly sweat)? Why is the hoodie explicitly intended for cold and rainy weather made of the same cotton fleece as a mall sweat when their raison d'être is that damp, cold cotton sucks?
I don't know. I can only surmise there's a survey somewhere that explains it.
LOL!!! I laughed my ass off!!
ReplyDeleteAnd *NO* I did no vote for it... But I admit I find it cute...
Seriously, we'll see where that takes them... You're so righ about the men line.