case study2
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COMPANY BACKGROUND
A year after selling his eight-store surf-, skate-, and snowboard-apparel chain called
Westbeach Sports, Chip Wilson took the first commercial yoga class offered in
Vancouver, British Columbia, and found the result exhilarating. But he found the cotton clothing used for sweaty, stretchy power yoga completely inappropriate.
Wilson’s passion was form-fitting performance fabrics and in 1998 he opened a
design studio for yoga clothing that also served as a yoga studio at night to help pay
the rent. He designed a number of yoga apparel items made of moisture-wicking fabrics that were light, form-fitting, and comfortable and asked local yoga
instructors to wear the products and give him feedback. Gratified by the positive
response, Wilson opened lululemon’s first real store in the beach area of Vancouver in November of 2000.
While the store featured yoga clothing designed by Chip Wilson and his wife
Shannon, Chip Wilson’s vision was for the store to be a community hub where
people could learn and discuss the physical aspects of healthy living—from yoga and diet to running and cycling, plus the yoga-related mental aspects of living a
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powerful life of possibilities. But the store’s clothing proved so popular that dealing
with customers crowded out the community-based discussions and training about the merits of living healthy lifestyles. Nonetheless, Chip Wilson and store
personnel were firmly committed to healthy, active lifestyles, and Wilson soon
came to the conclusion that for the store to provide staff members with the salaries and opportunities to experience fulfilling lives, the one-store company needed to
expand into a multi-store enterprise. Wilson believed that the increasing number of
women participating in sports, and specifically yoga, provided ample room for expansion, and he saw lululemon athletica’s yoga-inspired performance apparel as a
way to address a void in the women’s athletic apparel market. Wilson also saw the
company’s mission as one of providing people with the components to live a longer, healthier, and more fun life.
Several new stores were opened in the Vancouver area, with operations
conducted through a Canadian operating company, initially named Lululemon
Athletica, Inc. and later renamed lululemon Canada, Inc. In 2002, the company expanded into the United States and formed a sibling operating company,
Lululemon Athletica USA Inc. (later renamed as lululemon USA, inc), to conduct
its operations in the United States. Both operating companies were wholly-owned by affiliates of Chip Wilson. In 2004, the company contracted with a franchisee to
open a store in Australia as a means of more quickly disseminating the lululemon
athletica brand name, conserving on capital expenditures for store expansion (since
the franchisee was responsible for the costs of operating and operating the store), and boosting revenues and profits. The company wound up its fiscal year ending
January 31, 2005, with 14 company-owned stores, 1 franchised store, and net
revenues of $40.7 million. A second franchised store was opened in Japan later in 2005. Franchisees paid lululemon a one-time franchise fee and an ongoing royalty
based on a specified percentage of net revenues; lululemon supplied franchised
stores with garments at a discount to the suggested retail price.
Five years after opening the first retail store, it was apparent that lululemon apparel was fast becoming something of a cult phenomenon and a status symbol among
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yoga fans in areas where lululemon stores had opened. Avid yoga exercisers were
not hesitating to purchase $120 color-coordinated lululemon yoga outfits that felt comfortable and made them look good. Mall developers and mall operators quickly
learned about lululemon’s success and began actively recruiting lululemon to lease
space for stores in their malls.
In December 2005, with 27 company-owned stores, 2 franchised stores, and record sales approaching $85 million annually, Chip Wilson sold 48 percent of his interest
in the company’s capital stock to two private equity investors: Advent International
Corporation, which purchased 38.1 percent of the stock, and Highland Capital Partners, which purchased a 9.6 percent ownership interest. In connection with the
transaction, the owners formed lululemon athletica inc. to serve as a holding
company for all of the company’s related entities, including the two operating subsidiaries, lululemon Canada Inc. and lululemon USA Inc. Robert Meers, who
had 15 years’ experience at Reebok and was Reebok’s CEO from 1996–1999,
joined lululemon as CEO in December 2005. Chip Wilson headed the company’s design team and played a central role in developing the company’s strategy and
nurturing the company’s distinctive corporate culture; he was also Chairman of the
company’s Board of Directors, a position he had held since founding the company in 1998. Wilson and Meers assembled a management team with a mix of retail,
design, operations, product sourcing, and marketing experience from such leading
apparel and retail companies as Abercrombie & Fitch, Limited Brands, Nike, and
Reebok.
Brisk expansion ensued. The company ended fiscal 2006 with 41 company-owned stores, 10 franchised stores, net revenues of $149 million, and net income of $7.7
million. In 2007, the company’s owners elected to take the company public. The
initial public offering took place on August 2, 2007, with the company selling 2,290,909 shares to the public and various stockholders selling 15,909,091 shares
of their personal holdings. Shares began trading on the NASDAQ under the
symbol LULU and on the Toronto Exchange under the symbol LLL.
In 2007, the company’s announced growth strategy had five key elements:
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The company grew rapidly. Fitness-conscious women began flocking to the
company’s stores not only because of the fashionable products but also because of the store ambience and attentive, knowledgeable store personnel. Dozens of new
lululemon athletic retail stores were opened annually, and the company pursued a
strategy of embellishing its product offerings to create a comprehensive line of apparel and accessories designed for athletic pursuits such as yoga; running and
1. Grow the company’s store base in North America. The strategic objective was to add new stores to strengthen the company’s presence in locations where it had
existing stores and then selectively enter new geographic markets in the United
States and Canada. Management believed that the company’s strong sales in U.S. stores demonstrated the portability of the lululemon brand and retail
concept.
2. Increase brand awareness. This initiative entailed leveraging the
publicity surrounding the opening of new stores with grassroots marketing programs that included organizing events and partnering with local
fitness practitioners.
3. Introduce new product technologies. Management intended to continue to focus
on developing and offering products that incorporated technology-enhanced fabrics and performance features that differentiated lululemon apparel and
helped broaden the company’s customer base.
4. Broaden the appeal of lululemon products. This initiative entailed (1) adding a number of apparel items for men, (2) expanding product offerings for women
and young females in such categories as athletic bags, undergarments,
outerwear, and sandals, and (3) adding products suitable for additional sports and athletic activities.
5. Expand beyond North America. In the near term, the company planned to
expand its presence in Australia and Japan and then, over time, pursue opportunities in other Asian and European markets that offered similar,
attractive demogr1aphics.
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general fitness; technical clothing for active female youths; and a selection of fitness
and recreational items for men. Revenues topped $1 billion in fiscal 2011, $2 billion fiscal 2016, and $3 billion in fiscal 2018.
For fiscal year 2019, lululemon revenues grew by 21 percent over fiscal 2018 to just
under $4 billion. lululemon products could be bought at its 368 retail stores in the
United States and Canada, 38 stores in the People’s Republic of China, 38 stores in Australia and New Zealand, and 47 stores in the rest of the world. The company’s
e-commerce web site, www.lululemon.com, was available to customers worldwide. In
the company’s most recent fiscal year ending February 2, 2020, retail store sales accounted for 62.8 percent of company revenues, web site sales accounted for 28.6
percent, and sales in all other channels (sales at outlet centers, showroom sales,
sales from temporary locations, licensing revenues, and wholesale sales to premium yoga studios, health clubs, fitness centers, and a few other retailers) accounted for
8.6 percent.
Exhibit 1 presents highlights of the company’s performance for fiscal years
2015–2019. Exhibit 2 shows lululemon’s revenues by business segment and
geographic region for the same period.
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EXHIBIT 1 Financial and Operating Highlights, lululemon athletica, Fiscal Years 2
2019 (in millions of $, except per share data)
Selected
Income Statement Data
Fiscal
Year 2019 (Ending
Feb. 2,
2020)
Fiscal Year
2018(Ending Feb. 3,
2019)
Fiscal Year
2017(Ending Jan.28,2018)
Fiscal
Year 2016
(Ending
Jan 29, 2017)
Fiscal
2015(E Jan.
201
Net revenues $3,979.3 $3,288.3 $2,649.2 $2,344.4 $2,06
Cost of goods sold 1,755.9 1,472.0 1,250.4 1,144.7 1,06
Gross profit 2,223.4 1,816.3 1,398.8 1,199.6 99
Selling, general,
and administrative
expenses
1,334.3 1,110.5 904.3 778.5 62
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Selected
Income Statement Data
Fiscal
Year 2019 (Ending
Feb. 2,
2020)
Fiscal Year
2018(Ending Feb. 3,
2019)
Fiscal Year
2017(Ending Jan.28,2018)
Fiscal
Year 2016
(Ending
Jan 29, 2017)
Fiscal
2015(E Jan.
201
Operating profit 889.1 705.8 456.0 421.2 36
Net profit (loss) $ 645.6 $ 483.8 $ 258.7 $ 303.4 $ 2
Foreign currency
translation
adjustment
(7.8) (73.9) 58.6 36.7 (6
Comprehensive
income
$ 637.8 $ 409.9 $ 317.2 $ 340.1 $ 2
Earnings per
share—basic
$ 4.95 $ 3.63 $ 1.90 $ 2.21 $
—diluted $ 4.93 $ 3.61 $ 1.90 $ 2.21 $
Balance Sheet
Data
Cash and cash
equivalents
$1,093.5 $ 881.3 $ 990.5 $ 734.8 $ 5
Inventories 518.5 404.8 329.6 298.4 28
Total assets 3,281.4 2,084.7 1,998.5 1,657.5 1,3
Stockholders’
equity
1,952.2 1,446.0 1, 597.0 1,360.0 1,02
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Selected
Income Statement Data
Fiscal
Year 2019 (Ending
Feb. 2,
2020)
Fiscal Year
2018(Ending Feb. 3,
2019)
Fiscal Year
2017(Ending Jan.28,2018)
Fiscal
Year 2016
(Ending
Jan 29, 2017)
Fiscal
2015(E Jan.
201
Cash Flow and
Other Data
Net cash provided
by operating
activities
$ 669.3 $ 742.8 $ 489.3 $ 385.1 $ 2
Capital
expenditures
283.1 225.8 157.9 149.5 14
Store Data
Number of
corporate-owned
stores open at end
of period
491 440 404 406
Sales per gross
square foot at
corporate-owned
stores open at
least one full year
$ 1,657 $ 1,579 $ 1,554 $ 1,521 $ 1
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Selected
Income Statement Data
Fiscal
Year 2019 (Ending
Feb. 2,
2020)
Fiscal Year
2018(Ending Feb. 3,
2019)
Fiscal Year
2017(Ending Jan.28,2018)
Fiscal
Year 2016
(Ending
Jan 29, 2017)
Fiscal
2015(E Jan.
201
Average sales at
corporate-owned
stores open at
least one year
$5.18
million
$4.78 million $4.68 million $4.47
million
$4.57 m
Source: Company 10-K reports for fiscal years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
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EXHIBIT 2 lululemon athletica’s Revenues and Income from Operations, by
Business Segment, Geographic Region, and Product Category.
Fiscal Years 2015–2019 (dollars in millions)
Revenues by
Business Segment
Fiscal
Year 2019
(Ending
Feb. 2, 2020)
Fiscal
Year 2018
(Ending
Feb. 3, 2019)
Fiscal
Year 2017
(Ending
Jan.28, 2018)
Fiscal
Year 2016
(Ending
Jan 29, 2017
Fiscal
Year 2015
(Ending
Jan. 31 2016)
Corporate-owned
stores
$2,501.1 $2,126.4 $1,837.1 $1,704.4 $1,516.3
Direct-to-consumer
(e-commerce sales)
1,137.8 858.9 577.6 453.3 401.5
All other channels* 340.4 303.1 234.5 186.7 142.7
Total $3,979.3 $3,288.3 $2,649.2 $2,344.4 $2,060.5
Percentage
Distribution of
Revenues by Business
Segment
Corporate owned
stores
62.9% 64.7% 69.3% 72.7% 73.6%
Direct-to-consumer
(e-commerce sales)
28.6% 26.1% 21.8% 19.3% 19.5%
All other channels* 8.5% 9.2% 8.9% 8.0% 6.9%
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Revenues by
Business Segment
Fiscal
Year 2019
(Ending
Feb. 2, 2020)
Fiscal
Year 2018
(Ending
Feb. 3, 2019)
Fiscal
Year 2017
(Ending
Jan.28, 2018)
Fiscal
Year 2016
(Ending
Jan 29, 2017
Fiscal
Year 2015
(Ending
Jan. 31 2016)
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Income from
Operations (before
general corporate
expenses), by
Business Segment
Corporate owned
stores
$ 689.3 $ 575.5 $ 464.3 $ 415.6 $ 346.8
Direct-to-consumer
(e-commerce sales)
482.4 354.1 224.1 186.2 166.4
All other channels* 72.6 62.6 35.6 22.3 5.8
Total Income
from
Operations
(before general
corporate
expenses)
$1,244.3 $992.2 $724.0 $624.1 $519.0
Revenues by
Geographic Region
United States $2,854.4 $2,363.4 $1,911.8 $1,726.1 $1,508.8
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Revenues by
Business Segment
Fiscal
Year 2019
(Ending
Feb. 2, 2020)
Fiscal
Year 2018
(Ending
Feb. 3, 2019)
Fiscal
Year 2017
(Ending
Jan.28, 2018)
Fiscal
Year 2016
(Ending
Jan 29, 2017
Fiscal
Year 2015
(Ending
Jan. 31 2016)
Canada 649.1 565.1 491.8 447.2 416.5
Outside of North
America
475.8 359.8 245.6 171.1 135.2
Total $3,979.3 $3,288.3 $2,649.2 $2,344.4 $2,060.5
Percentage
Distribution of
Revenues by
Geographic Region
United States 71.7% 71.9% 72.2% 73.6% 73.2%
Canada 16.3% 17.2% 18.6% 19.1% 20.2%
Outside of North
America
12.0% 10.9% 9.2% 7.3% 6.6%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Revenues by Product
Category
Women’s products $2,791.0 $2,352.8 $1,892.6 Not
reported
Not
reported
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Revenues by
Business Segment
Fiscal
Year 2019
(Ending
Feb. 2, 2020)
Fiscal
Year 2018
(Ending
Feb. 3, 2019)
Fiscal
Year 2017
(Ending
Jan.28, 2018)
Fiscal
Year 2016
(Ending
Jan 29, 2017
Fiscal
Year 2015
(Ending
Jan. 31 2016)
Men’s products 933.8 694.9 526.5 Not
reported
Not
reported
Other categories 254.5 240.6 230.0 Not
reported
Not
reported
*The “All other channels” category included showroom sales, sales at lululemon outlet stores, sales from
temporary store locations, licensing revenues, and wholesale sales to premium yoga studios, health clubs, fitness
centers, and other wholesale accounts.
Source: Company 10-K Reports, Fiscal Years, 2017 and 2019.
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lululemon’s Evolving Senior Leadership Team
In January 2008, Christine M. Day joined the company as Executive Vice
President, Retail Operations. Previously, she had worked at Starbucks, functioning
in a variety of capacities and positions, including President, Asia Pacific Group (July 2004- February 2007); Co-President for Starbucks Coffee International (July
2003 to October 2003); Senior Vice President, North American Finance &
Administration; and Vice President of Sales and Operations for Business Alliances. In April 2008, Day was appointed as lululemon’s President and Chief Operating
Officer and was named Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of
Directors in July 2008. During her tenure as CEO, Day expanded and strengthened the company’s management team to support its expanding operating activities and
geographic scope, favoring the addition of people with relevant backgrounds and
experiences at such companies as Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, The Gap, and Speedo International. She also spent a number of hours each week in the
company’s stores observing how customers shopped, listening to their comments
and complaints, and using the information to tweak product offerings, merchandising, and store operations.
Company founder Chip Wilson stepped down from his executive role as
lululemon’s Chief Innovation and Branding Officer effective January 29, 2012, and
moved his family to Australia; however, he continued on in his role of Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors and focused on becoming a better Board
Chairman, even going so far as to take a four-day course on board-governance at
Northwestern University. Christine Day promoted Sheree Waterson, who had joined the company in 2008 and had over 25 years of consumer and retail industry
experience, as Chief Product Officer to assume responsibility for product design,
product development, and other executive tasks that Wilson had been performing. Shortly after the quality problems with the black Luon bottoms occurred, Sheree
Waterson resigned her position and left the company. In October 2013, lululemon
announced that Tara Poseley had been appointed to its Senior Leadership Team as
Chief Product Officer and would have responsibility for overseeing lululemon’s
1
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design team, product design activities, merchandising, inventory activities, and
strategic planning. Previously, Poseley held the position of Interim President at Bebe Stores, Inc, President of Disney Stores North America (The Children’s
Place), CEO of Design Within Reach (DWR), and a range of senior merchandising
and design management positions during her 15-year tenure at Gap Inc.
In the aftermath of the pants recall in March 2013, the working relationship between Christine Day and Chip Wilson deteriorated. Wilson made it
clear that he would have handled the product recall incident differently and that he
did not think there were problems with the design of the product or the quality of the fabric. But the differences between Day and Wilson went beyond the events of
March 2013, especially when some consumers began to complain about the quality
of the replacement pants. Wilson returned from Australia in May 2013, and weeks later Christine Day announced she would step down as CEO when her successor
was named. A lengthy search for Day’s replacement ensued.
In the meantime, Chip Wilson triggered a firestorm when, in an interview with
Bloomberg TV in November 2013, he defended the company’s design of the black
Luon bottoms, saying “Quite frankly, some women’s bodies just actually don’t work” with the pants. Although a few days later he publicly apologized for his
remarks suggesting that the company’s product quality issues back in March 2013
were actually the fault of overweight women, his apology was not well received. In December 2013, Wilson resigned his position as Chairman of lululemon’s board of
directors and took on the lesser role of non-executive Chairman. A few months
later, Wilson announced that he intended to give up his position as non-executive Chairman prior to the company’s annual stockholders meeting in June 2014 but
continue on as a member of the company’s Board of Directors (in 2013–2014,
Wilson was the company’s largest stockholder and controlled 29.2 percent of the company’s common stock).
In early December 2013, lululemon announced that its Board of Directors had
appointed Laurent Potdevin as the company’s Chief Executive Officer and a
member of its Board of Directors; Potdevin stepped into his role in January 2014,
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and, to help ensure a smooth transition, Christine Day remained with lululemon
through the end of the company’s fiscal year (February 2, 2014). Potdevin came to lululemon having most recently served as President of TOMS Shoes, a company
founded on the mission that it would match every pair of shoes purchased with a
pair of new shoes given to a child in need. Prior to TOMS, Potdevin held numerous positions at Burton Snowboards for more than 15 years, including President and
CEO from 2005–2010; Burton Snowboards, headquartered in Burlington,
Vermont, was considered to be the world’s premier snowboard company, with a product line that included snowboards and accessories (bindings, boots, socks,
gloves, mitts, and beanies); men’s, women’s, and youth snowboarding apparel; and
bags and luggage. Burton’s grew significantly under Potdevin’s leadership, expanding across product categories and opening additional retail stores.
Tension between Chip Wilson and lululemon’s board of directors erupted at the
company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in June 2014 when he voted his entire
shares against re-election of the company’s chairman and another director. In February 2015, after continuing to disagree with lululemon executives and board
members over the company’s strategic direction and ongoing dissatisfaction with
how certain lululemon activities were being managed, Wilson resigned his position on lululemon’s board of directors. In August 2014, he sold half of his ownership
stake to a private equity firm. In June 2015, lululemon filed documents with the
Securities and Exchange Commission enabling Wilson to sell his remaining 20.1
million shares (equal to a 14.6 percent ownership stake worth about $1.3 billion) in the event he wished to do so. As of April 2020, Chip Wilson owned 10.7 million
shares of lululemon’s common stock, equal to an ownership stake of about 8.1
percent. Wilson, together with his wife and son, in 2014 formed a new company, Kit and Ace, that specialized in high-end clothing for men and women made from a
machine-washable, high performance, cashmere fabric; the innovative clothing line
was designed for all-day wear and included a range of items suitable for running errands or attending an evening event. In 2016, there were some 60 Kit and Ace
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stores in the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, and Japan; however, in
2020, the company only had 8 locations, all in Canada.
In 2018, lululemon CEO Laurent Potdevin resigned as CEO following allegations of misconduct. Potdevin was replaced by Calvin McDonald as Chief Executive
Officer in August 2018. McDonald had previously served for five years as the
President and CEO of Sephora America, a division of the LVMH Group. Mr. McDonald had been very successful in his previous position, a period during which
Sephora America grew annually by double digits. McDonald was also an
endurance athlete who had competed in both triathlons and marathons. In April 2020, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for lululemon, Patrick Guido, resigned as
CFO. Guido had not been replaced as of June 17, 2020.
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