Dialogue with lululemon Executives: Being imitated is a form of recognition, and there is no need to be bothered by it.
Text｜Li Xiaoxia
Editor｜Qiao Qian
The gears of fate began to rotate in the winter of 2022.
After the Canadian Winter Olympics delegation appeared in their maple leaf red outfits, the craze to snap up the same style of down jackets was like a butterfly flapping its wings, setting off a tornado centered around lululemon.
At that time, this sports lifestyle brand had already gained a reputation on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, and in the brightest years of the new consumption era, it often appeared in the missions of start-ups - to become the lululemon of China. But in China, apart from being known as the "Hermès of yoga pants", consumers knew very little about it.
Overnight, the plot was rewritten, and lululemon embarked on a path to popularity in the Chinese market.
In 2023, lululemon reached a milestone in mainland China: the number of stores exceeded 100. And in the latest quarterly report, the net revenue in this market increased by 34% year-on-year. According to lululemon executives, it is expected that by the fiscal year 2026, mainland China will become its second-largest global market.
Today, lululemon is no longer just a brand that sells yoga pants in the public's impression, but has achieved full coverage of both men's and women's categories, and its footprint has also extended from China's first-tier cities to second and third-tier cities.
The potential of the Chinese market has led this brand to continuously invest more resources and energy. This year, lululemon participated in the China International Import Expo for the first time, and global executives such as the Chief Brand and Product Marketing Officer gathered rarely, as if only in this way can they show their emphasis on this potential and promising land.
Taking this opportunity, 36Kr also chatted with lululemon executives about the brand's community culture, strategies in the Chinese market, and competition. These executives include Nikki Neuburger, Chief Brand and Product Marketing Officer of lululemon, André Maestrini, Executive Vice President of International Business at lululemon, Huang Shanyan, Managing Director of lululemon China, and Xie Shuling, Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing in China for lululemon. The following is an excerpt from the conversation (translated and compiled):
(Nikki Neuburger, Chief Brand and Product Marketing Officer of lululemon)
Meeting "Unmet Needs"
36Kr: How does lululemon carry out product innovation?
Nikki: The starting point of all lululemon innovations is how to solve the "unmet needs" of guests, discover the vacancies in the market, and fill this gap. We meet the "unmet needs" of guests by creating innovative functional products with proprietary fabrics and excellent patterns.
Let me give a few simple examples. For instance, many women's shoes in the market are designed with men's shoe lasts. In fact, men's and women's foot shapes are different, so we redesign and develop with "her" as the priority; for example, the Canadian team uniforms for the Beijing Winter Olympics focus on adaptive and inclusive design. These are all powerful proofs that lululemon is committed to "solving unmet needs".
36Kr: How does lululemon meet "unmet needs" in the Chinese market?
Nikki: We launch the Asia Fit series based on global products to meet specific localized needs. At the same time, we also incorporate pattern considerations into the products, and the emergence of such new consumption preferences in the Chinese market often precedes other markets.
Last week, our global design team was in China conducting some market research to observe the characteristics of Chinese users and the trends in the retail industry. Therefore, lululemon's innovation starts from guest insights, taking the time to truly understand the local market situation and feed this information back to the product innovation team.
36Kr: Can you talk about how to do localization in China?
Nikki: Limited series is an embodiment of localized cooperation. The Chinese team has created the Chinese New Year limited series in the past few years, which can also be purchased in other markets.
André: Whenever we enter a new city, the guests' first contact with lululemon is through product educators, who are from China, understand the products, and have an insight into the guests' needs. Secondly, we have more than 200 ambassadors in China who will help you and guide you in your community activities. This is very localized because every lululemon staff member who interacts with you comes from your community.
36Kr: How would you describe the brand positioning of lululemon?
Nikki: In the past year, the lululemon global management team has invested a lot of time in determining the "Feel First" brand proposition and implementing it.
"Feel First" not only represents that we connect people through the community to bring guests a better feeling and state, but also represents that lululemon's products allow guests to feel better and perform better during exercise. These are the two connotations of "Feel First". Although "Feel First" is a new term, we have been practicing such a strategy and positioning.
36Kr: What is the core of lululemon's community culture?
Huang Shanyan: Stores are the core of the lululemon community, not just for selling products, but for building a community through the stores and advocating for a "good state" across the country. The community is not only a connection with guests, but also includes lululemon ambassadors and partners. The lululemon community starts with every ordinary person.
For us, it is crucial for lululemon to exercise with guests. Today, lululemon has opened 138 directly operated stores in 41 cities in mainland China. We must ensure that the "Sweat Life" can truly be realized and popularized in the stores.
36Kr: lululemon has created the women's yoga market. What will be the next disruptive innovation?
Nikki: We are developing some new products. Early next year, we will launch an exciting new series in the women's functional bottoms category. We are looking forward to next year, and these products will become the representatives and models of the next generation of women's functional bottoms. Just like the familiar Align™ and Wunder Train, the new products will be as classic as them.
At the same time, we will also continue to innovate in men's training products from the perspective of sports performance. From the perspective of product innovation, this will be a disruption, but from our perspective, this is only part of the innovation.
In addition, a new line of footwear products will also be launched next year. Although lululemon has just launched the footwear category not long ago, we are constantly learning and summarizing experience, understanding customer feedback, and applying it to new products.
China Will Become the Second Largest Market
36Kr: Why did lululemon participate in the China International Import Expo this year?
André : This year is a very important time. We have gone through a ten-year journey in mainland China. In terms of business scale, lululemon's net revenue in the Chinese market was close to one billion US dollars last year.
Looking forward to the next ten years, the Chinese market is becoming increasingly important for the global business growth of lululemon, which is why participating in the China International Import Expo is so important to us this year. We hope to take the China International Import Expo as an opportunity to showcase lululemon's unique brand concept, innovative products, and the vision of "enhancing people's well-being".
36Kr: The Chinese market environment is changing rapidly, the competition is more intense, and consumers are more cautious in spending. How does lululemon enhance its brand influence and attractiveness to customers?
Nikki: The first is store expansion. After opening a store in a new city, we work with product educators and ambassadors to invite guests in the community to experience the products and a variety of activities. Experiencing lululemon products is one of the effective ways to enhance brand awareness.
However, the number of stores is limited, so on the other hand, we make full use of digital channels. For example, on our WeChat mini-program, guests can learn about the brand, shop and sign up for community activities, which can also help us enhance brand awareness. In addition, we have also found a lot of opportunities on Douyin to help lululemon reach younger Generation Z and potential users in second and third-tier cities.
After enhancing brand awareness, guests will further understand us, but only excellent products can truly attract them, which is also our differentiated advantage. Therefore, we need to continuously pay attention to new trends and respond quickly to promote innovation, and continuously focus on the changing needs of guests and changes in consumption concepts at the product level to bring customized and more suitable products and experiences to Chinese guests.
Xie Shuling: We are also witnessing the change in guests' preferences in China. They are pursuing a more complete consumption experience. This echoes our product experience and activity experience. These people are not only concerned about sports itself, but also begin to pay attention to the balance of body and mind and the overall "good state". Therefore, in the face of these changes, lululemon has a very good positioning. We hope to connect with multiple parties to let more guests understand our vision and actively participate in it.
36Kr: How effective are these strategies?
Nikki: We feel that our efforts in store expansion, digital platforms, multi-channel expansion, and localized product innovation have achieved significant results, which can also be seen from the steady growth momentum of lululemon's business in China.
36Kr: What do you think about the future growth of the Chinese market?
Nikki: The mainland China market is an important part of our global business. It is expected that by the fiscal year 2026, mainland China will become lululemon's second-largest global market. Therefore, there are still many opportunities in the Chinese market waiting for us to explore.
The Only Market Using Douyin for Product Education
36Kr: Have you gained some inspiration from the strategies of the Chinese team?
André: This year, the Chinese team has elevated the "Summer Sweat Challenge" to a higher level, from every store to regional competitions to the national finals. The breadth of this activity is unmatched by any other market.
Product education is deeply rooted in lululemon's DNA. In the past, we have always done this through product educators. China is the first and only market where lululemon uses Douyin for product education. China has a very unique digital ecosystem, which is the best way to bring lululemon to guests.
We are also learning from the Chinese team what to do in other markets. In the future, our strategies in China will have a greater impact and help lululemon better meet the needs of guests in other markets.
36Kr: Which online channels will be expanded next?
Huang Shanyan: We are still in the early stages of growth and there is still a lot to learn. A few years ago, our online channels were only Tmall, and then it expanded to JD.com, Douyin, etc. Now, there is obviously a trend towards social platforms and e-commerce. The future is difficult to predict, but it is also very important to pay attention to the changes that are happening in the market.
36Kr: What is your impression of Chinese consumers?
André: First of all, Chinese guests are enthusiastic about various activities. Tennis used to be a niche sport, but it is very popular now; there were relatively few people running five or six years ago, but now many Chinese people are running.
In addition, the channels such as WeChat and Douyin that I just mentioned are developing at an amazing speed of innovation. Therefore, the speed at which Chinese guests accept new things, lead trends, and innovate has left a deep impression on me. I can summarize my impression of Chinese consumers with three words: Innovation, Enthusiasm, Speed.
Being Imitated Is Also a Kind of Recognition
36Kr: Many brands are also imitating lululemon. How do you deal with the competition?
Nikki: I think the most important thing is to focus on being ourselves. Sometimes being imitated is also a kind of recognition, and there is no need to worry too much about similar situations. Being imitated also makes us keep improving.
36Kr: What is the difference between lululemon and other sports brands?
Nikki: We still have to start with the brand positioning. Compared with traditional sports brands that focus more on winning in sports, lululemon not only pays attention to physical health, but also hopes to bring guests psychological well-being such as pleasure and satisfaction. At the same time, we also hope to bring guests a "good state" in the social dimension.
lululemon is committed to creating proprietary fabrics and technologies to empower customers to feel and perform better, which is also our differentiated feature.
Xie Shuling: Whether it is the sports, connections, community or the concept of "good state" that we advocate, lululemon hopes to make guests feel better about themselves. These are also our differentiated features in the market.
36Kr: Which cities will be considered for opening stores in the future?
Huang Shanyan: First of all, there are still many opportunities in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. In addition, we are also closely laying out new first-tier and second-tier cities, and these places also have great potential for future development. Our site selection not only pays attention to factors such as GDP and population, but also pays more attention to guests' shopping habits and the pursuit of a "good state".
36Kr: The influence of lululemon in second and third-tier cities in China is still some distance away from that in first-tier cities.
Xie Shuling: In places far from first-tier cities, people may not know as much about us as in first-tier cities, which also means that our expansion in these areas is still in its infancy. For second and third-tier cities, the product positioning will indeed face challenges in terms of consumption power.
We still have to be ourselves and stick to our positioning. Once you put on lululemon products, you will have a unique feeling. Therefore, we should still focus on the three keywords: breakthrough product innovation, prosperous community, and "good state" to let guests understand lululemon.
It has been eleven years since lululemon entered the Chinese market, and there is still a long way to go before more people are familiar with our products.