TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 2 CASE ANALYSIS 3 Five-force analysis 3 Competition 4 SWOT analysis 5 Value chain 5 Strategy 7 Financial and operating performance. 8 RECOMMENDATION 10 In term of strategy 10 In terms of management 10
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Lululemon Athletica Inc., founded by Dennis Chip Wilson, is a self-described yoga-inspired athletic apparel company, which produces a clothing line and runs international clothing stores from its company base in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Since 1998 when it was formed, Lululemon Athletica has performed as a niche market leader with a strong brand image and awareness among fitness professionals by distributing high quality products
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Limited bargaining leverage helps Lululemon Athletica, which have a short-term positive impact on this entity, which adds to its value. "Large number of customers (Lululemon Athletica)" is a difficult qualitative factor to defend, so competing institutions will have an easy time overcoming it. * Bargaining power of suppliers
The more diverse distribution channels become the less bargaining power a single distributor will have, which positively affects Lululemon Athletica
High levels of competition among suppliers acts to reduce prices to producers, which has a positive impact on Lululemon Athletica in short term, however, in long term, suppliers will try to find other consumers instead of reducing prices.
When suppliers are reliant on high volumes, they have less bargaining power, because a producer can threaten to cut volumes and hurt the supplier’s profits. This can positively affect Lululemon Athletica, but just in short term, not in long term.
* Intensity of competitive rivalry
Sport Apparel is a large industries with many firms such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Under Armour, the Gap, Athleta, Nordstrom, Lucy and Bebe store. Large industries allow multiple firms and producers to prosper without having to steal market share from each other. Large industry size is a positive for Lululemon Athletica. … This qualitative factor will lead to an increase in costs.
Few competitors mean fewer firms are competing for the same customers and resources, which is a
The brand discussed in this report is Lululemon Athletica Inc. The brand is an athletic apparel retailer, whose main objective is building a community with a healthy lifestyle. Lululemon’s target market is middle/upper class 30-year-old woman. The brand is positioned as a premium high fashion brand for the athletic community. Some of Lululemon’s main competitors include Nike, Under Armour and Gap.
Analyzing the industry using Porter’s Five Forces, it can be seen that the Outdoor Apparel industry is very competitive. The threat of entry is very high, with several large conglomerates making acquisitions in the industry and established apparel companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren making expansions into sports apparel. With several brands such as North Face in the high end of the industry, as well as Columbia and several private labels dominating the middle and lower ends, a large number of substitutes are available. Buyers have large bargaining power, as end consumers could easily switch to another brand, while at the same time wholesalers are
Finally, Lululemon’s founder, Chip Wilson, made a publicly offensive suggestion, that some women’s bodies were not made to wear his yoga pants. “The problem was that the yoga-apparel company has been having with its pants on the size of women 's thighs” (EBSCO, Nov 14, 2013). After making those comments discourage plus size customers were embarrassed and felt like they don’t want to shop at the store anymore. Some women blamed CEO for making products that don’t last long. One of the examples from Financial Post. However, despite the unfortunate occurrences last year Lululemon is in a very healthy position in the Canadian and US markets. In addition to that, Lululemon’s baggiest competitor is now Sears Canada. Sears became a new stop for consumers who want high-quality and affordable yoga gear. “The struggling department store chain says its Pure Energy Athletics line of yoga clothes has been a hit with customers since they were introduced in February. The chain says it sells yoga pants for $14.99 or $29.99 — a steal compared to similar clothing from other retailers, like Lululemon Athletica” (Edmonton Journal, May 21, 2014). However, Lululemon has a tremendous
This report has been created with the intent to analyze the athletic apparel industry with a specific focus on Lululemon Athletica, Inc., further refered to as Lululemon. In this report you will find that the strengths and weaknesses of Lululemon’s current strategies and future goals are analyzed and compared to that of its closest competitors. In conclusion to the analysis, recommendations have been made to potentially guide Lululemon Athletica, Inc. in a positive direction in regards to its future endeavors. The following
Bargaining Power of Buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is high in the department store retail industry. The volume of buyers is high, and buyers are very price sensitive in this industry. The products are not highly differentiated, and there are numerous stores that offer the same, or similar, products, giving buyers the opportunity to search for the lowest prices and information. The industry has substitutes available in the form of specialty, differentiated products and stores. This increases the power of buyers,
Bargaining power of supplier: High levels of competition among suppliers act to reduce prices to producers. This is a positive for Ford Motor Company. Standardization of parts allowed Ford to reduce dependency on fixed supplier/vendor which goes into producer’s favor.
a few percent, in 2012 the gross profit margin is the highest it has ever been
Economic: Continued economic struggles, especially within the European Union, have the potential to negatively affect Lululemon’s international expansion(Thomas
Lululemon already has presence in international markets, having corporate-owned retail stores in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Singapore.
Lululemon Inc. has a strong history of making quality fitness clothing for yoga and other athletic purposes by the founder of the company. Dennis “Chip” Wilson in 1998. After becoming “overwhelmed” by the company’s success in Vancouver, Wilson transferred management of the company to trained managers (Nicholes, 2016, p.6). During this time, Corporate CEO Christine Day’s leadership was put into question due to the low level quality of material used to make the Luon Pants, which had a “see-through problem” due to the extreme sheerness of the pant material. More so, in 2013, corporate leadership had a lawsuit brought against the company directors, including Christine Day, of massively raising the
Lululemon is a rapidly growing company with a different niche for its products. Its philosophy as well as their business model has allowed them to increase revenue over the past years. The dilemma they faced is how to continue expanding without losing their special niche, grassroots and a nontraditional feel of the brand that sets them apart from their competitors.
What are the potential retail trade and competitor reactions? Are there any potential channel conflict issues?
Instead of conducting traditional marketing which has huge marketing budgets, Lululemon heavily relays on word of mouth. Moreover, the grassroots branding strategy make them differentiated from their competitors. Lululemon providing free class and made instructors be their models which become a very successful way to promote their products.
This paper commences by defining the problems that were faced by Lululemon Athletica Inc in 2013. After, the author explores the causes of the issues that the company was experiencing and the effects that they had on Lululemon Athletica Inc. The next step is to look at ways in which the issues could have been addressed both for the short-term and long-term. When all is said and done, the audience will fully appreciate why “Lululemon Athletica Inc should revert to its fundamentals – that is, to concentrate on the needs of the consumer”.