Lululemon becomes an ecommerce company as online sales take over
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Release the breath... Despite all evidence to the contrary, Lululemon doesn't need Soul Cycle to sell workout clothes. Spin studios and Equinoxes were closed last quarter (Lulu's worst nightmare). But the legging legend's sales surprisingly grew 2%, even though in-store sales fell. Instead of crying over germ-avoidant shoppers, Lulu made Lululemonade with ecommerce:
- Online sales soared 157% as you ordered $90 leggings and yoga tanks for that at-home pilates workout (electric blue looks great over Zoom).
- 61% of Lulu's total sales came from online, compared to just 25% during the same quarter last year. Lulu is officially a mostly-ecommerce company.
Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity... Before the pandemic, Lulu had already put in the work to flex its ecommerce muscle.
- Preparation: Online sales already made up 33% of Lulu's total sales before lockdowns, making it well-positioned for a shift to full ecommerce.
- Luck: The stay-at-home life mainly consists of chilling, working, and exercising — all things that can be done in Lulu's athleisure wear.
Lulu doesn't need 400+ stores anymore... It just proved it can grow as a direct-to-consumer company. Lulu's in-store sales plunged 51% last quarter, even as stores reopened. But online sales were strong enough to overpower those losses and deliver overall sales growth. Although Lulu is committed to continue opening new physical stores, it doesn't need them to make it into your closet. Its recent acquisition of at-home fitness company Mirror could hit closer to home (literally).