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Lululemon Footwear Marketing Opportunity
- 2. New Footwear Marketing Opportunity: Creating a Lifestyle Brand
The area of opportunity that our group is trying to harness is to make lululemon a fully
developed lifestyle brand to keep up with competitors, such as Nike and Under Armour. This
idea represents an opportunity because of the rise in demand for active leisure apparel and the
commonality of brands to offer everything an active consumer could need to suit their everyday
life. Lululemon’s major competitors provide clothing, equipment, shoes, etc. to their customers,
thus filling every active demand those customers could have. When completing a brand
inventory for lululemon, the shoe market has yet to be penetrated. They offer every kind of
active leisure and performance clothing that both males and females could need, along with
equipment such as mats, water bottles, bags, and even socks, but there are no shoes to fit with the
toandfrom category that lululemon suggests they encompass. The shoe market was chosen as
the area of opportunity because the active leisure apparel market has been on the rise, so
maintaining market share in this category is a very powerful position to hold. Our team believes
that a great next move for the company would be to release a line of lightweight shoes for
women that could be used for toandfrom travel, running, and even left on for activities like
yoga and pilates.
As a company, lululemon is already associated as a lifestyle brand that promotes healthy
living and exercising with their products. Lululemon specializes in performance athletic apparel
and targets young, active, onthego women (Overview: Lululemon’s Target Market and Product
Assortment). One way they do this is by offering a yoga run life blog on their website where they
highlight tips and tricks in healthy living. The targeted consumer should be able to walk into
lululemon and buy all of their leisure wear from head to toe. Without the option to buy shoes,
- 3. lululemon is failing to provide for their consumers’ every need. To compete with competitors,
they must offer similar products that Nike or Under Armour sell. The lack of a shoe line causes
consumers to look to other competitors, like those two companies, causing lululemon to lose
potential sales. Every targeted customer must wear shoes, and lululemon is missing out on the
full lifestyle brand marketing strategy by not offering options. If lululemon were to implement
this extension, consumers would now have shoes that are the same brand as the rest of their
lululemon apparel, that also fill the active needs of that apparel.
The nature of lululemon’s target market for their new female shoes would be the same
target market of women that they have for their company as a whole: young, active, onthego
females (Overview: Lululemon’s Target Market and Product Assortment). If lululemon
introduced a shoe line, they would target generally the same consumer and by offering a shoe
line they can further develop themselves as a lifestyle brand and be able to compete with
companies like Nike and Under Armour. This would enable lululemon to expand their overall
market consumption. Lululemon’s new shoe line will penetrate a new market for consumers who
love lululemon’s to and from, running, and yoga markets already, as well as potentially attract
new customers to the brand. Taking advantage of the lifestyle brand concept would be a very
successful marketing opportunity to keep lululemon competitive and successful for years.
Assessment of the lululemon Footwear Opportunity
Although lululemon is a very popular and successful company, they will not be able to
keep up with other competitors if they do not strive to innovate and create new brand interests.
Since lululemon has already adapted itself into the lives of many women and men as a lifestyle
brand, their ability to launch a shoe line should not be too difficult to make successful.
- 4. Lululemon provides almost everything to satisfy the everyday needs of their consumers
wardrobe. They carry a variety of yoga inspired products, and Lululemon consumers are able to
walk into a lululemon store and buy nearly anything they want for comfortable and active
clothing. But what’s missing? Providing a shoe line for lululemon would benefit the company
itself, as well as their consumers. This shoe line will make it more convenient for customers to
walk in and find everything they need, versus only most of what they need. Plus, if loyal
consumers are already buying their whole yoga inspired wardrobe at lululemon, there is nothing
to stop them from wanting to buy, or at least try out, the shoe line. This shoe line would be
beneficial to lululemon because it will prevent customers from looking at competitors to find
shoe wear, which will gain lululemon extra sales.
Lululemon’s market is mainly targeted towards young and professional men and women
between the ages of 1834 who live and participate in healthy lifestyle activities (Lululemon).
The women that lululemon targets are well educated as well as have a generous income to spend
on their products (Lululemon). Lululemon’s products are categorized as consumer discretionary
products. This means that when income levels and are in good standing and the economy is
healthy, consumers tend to purchase more (Soni, 2014). Lululemon’s customers are very brand
loyal because of their brand mission tying in an entire lifestyle based on being active and feeling
good and at peace with life and yourself.
Other companies targeting the same female segment as lululemon are Nike and Athleta.
Nike is a larger and more universally known company over lululemon. Nike uses a unique and
highly effective marketing strategy to gain customers. They implement an emotional branding
strategy to trigger the inner hero within their customers. For example, Nike knows how people
- 5. struggle with exercising early in the morning, or even by pushing a little further, and they
incorporate that in their advertising (Nike, 2013). Athleta is another competitor of lululemon.
Athleta uses an interesting market strategy when it comes to sizing. Athleta carries sizes 014 in
stores while lululemon carries sizes 212. If a woman tried on a size 8 in Athleta yoga pants and
lululemon yoga pants, the Athleta pants would be a lot looser, while the lululemon pants would
be tighter. Athleta does this as a marketing strategy because a woman is more inclined to buy a
pair of pants from a brand if they can wear a smaller size because it makes her feel slimmer and
better about herself (Alindogan, 2014). The power and strength of Nike’s marketing strategy, as
well as the way Athleta allows their consumers to feel better about themselves through sizing,
are both competitive advantages and unique approaches to the active leisure market that
lululemon has not captured.
Lululemon would benefit greatly from the shoe line if it was developed properly;
however, developing a shoe line would present many challenges. Timeconsuming and
expensive research would be needed to be able to design a shoe that is lightweight and effective
for lululemon’s consumers’ lifestyles. They would need to perform market testing for the shoes
that could be left on during activities like yoga, and the lightweight designs for running would
still need to be substantial and supportive enough to keep consumers comfortable. Lululemon
would have to make sure that their shoe line is better than competitors such as Nike and Under
Armour. This is essential because the whole purpose of creating a shoe line would be to draw
customers away from competitors, and if the shoe line brings poor results, then customers may
choose to not be as brand loyal to lululemon. When developing an integrated marketing plan,
lululemon would need to fully understand the segment they were targeting, be aware that the
- 6. shoe industry has a very high entry barrier for new businesses as well as research any regulations
regarding footwear apparel. After entering into the new market, if successful, lululemon could
design shoes for men as well.
Indepth interview
A group of five girls in Alpha Delta Pi sorority at North Carolina State University,
ranging from 19 to 21 years old, were asked to provide feedback on the new opportunity in
lululemon. The girls were asked because they are classified under lululemon’s target market.
They are young, athletic women that are interested in yoga or other activities, while also
considering comfort and style. The following girls were familiar with lululemon’s current brand
and responded with their opinions on the new opportunity: Elena Andia, Hope McIntosh, Emily
Jasmin, Aubrey Finley, and Maggie Irvin. The girls in ADPi knew we were doing a project on
lululemon and were interested in finding out more about one of their favorite brands.
To conduct an indepth interview, appropriate questions were asked to review the best
results based on the introduction of lululemon’s shoe line. The following questions were asked to
every individual:
● Would you buy/wear shoes from lululemon?
● How much money would you pay for a pair of lululemon shoes?
● Would you be more concerned with more comfort or style when buying a pair of shoes?
● What activities would you perform while wearing such shoes?
● What brand name is your current favorite pair of shoes?
The interview results were very helpful in understanding the goals behind producing a
new product for lululemon. Different opinions and reviews help to understand an unbiased view
- 7. on the product and help alter the negative feedback. The five girls in ADPi sorority had the
following remarks:
● When asked if each girl would buy or wear shoes from lululemon the result was
unanimous. Every person interviewed agreed they would be interested in buying a pair of
shoes, which is important to insure the request of the product in the accurate target
market.
● The price of lululemon gear is usually higher scaled and more expensive than their
competitors. The target market is accustomed to their prices and this scale would be used
to price their shoes. The results from the interview showed that the variety girls would
pay anywhere from $80$120 for a pair of shoes, without knowing the quality or
performance of the shoe. This highlights how valuable just lululemon’s brand name is to
their already loyal customers.
● Lululemon is known for offering a wide variety of athletic wear that is custom to the
purpose of being active. Their spandex and knit is fitted toward the performance. While
fitting the need, lululemon is also stylish in appearance and design. When asked if
comfort or style is more important in footwear, the answers were divided. Two of the
results listed they were more concerned with style, while three said that comfort was their
main concern. So, when making a shoe, lululemon needs to be consistent with their
product and offer shoes that are fitting for the activity and purpose, but also stylish.
● The result of the interview showed that many activities would be performed in
lululemon’s footwear. The results listed yoga, pilates, cycling, running, walking, hiking,
and leisure wear. With this variety of activities, the shoes would have to be adaptable and
- 8. functionable. Lululemon’s target market is not only for yoga, therefore the previous
activities of the girls being interviewed would have to be considered.
● Brands are very important to target markets because young women are known to be brand
loyal. The new product opportunity would have to consider if customer’s are willing to
give up their loyal brands of shoemakers and switch to lululemon. The results of the
interview showed that consumers top brand names were Nike, Asics, and Adidas.
Lululemon would have to know their competitors in the new product line to produce an
appropriate shoe for the customers.
Strategic Recommendations
Lululemon has a unique approach to advertising in the sense that they do not spend
millions of dollars on print ads or hiring well known celebrities to endorse their products
(Wexler 2012). They have a large social media presence and are very active on Facebook,
Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. trying to market to customers (Wexler 2012). According to
Wexler, “Lululemon markets hyperlocally by tapping into the interests of its individual
communities and building events around them.” For example Lululemon launched SeaWheeze in
Vancouver, which was their first halfmarathon, including cheer stations, a gospel choir, drag
queens, a manicure station, and a finale concert (Wexler 2012). This was a great marketing
strategy that Lululemon set up to create an experience for the market to connect to their specific
brand name. Another way Lululemon markets their products is by choosing community
ambassadors to teach free yoga, pilates, and running classes in their stores (Helliker 2010).
Having classes in their store has been a great way to advertise their products because consumers
see the merchandise offerings in the store, as well as what the instructor has chosen to wear.
- 11. Citations
Alindogan, M. (2014, October 15). Size Matters: Lululemon And Athleta's Marketing Strategies.
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http://www.neontommy.com/news/2014/10/sizematterslululemonandalthetasstrategy
Helliker, K. (2010, June 13). Lululemon Grows Fast on a Slim Budget. Retrieved October 16,
2014, from
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748703960004575481890366935552
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Lululemon Athletica Retailer Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2015, from
https://storify.com/acarron/lululemonathleticashistory
Nike Brand Strategy: Emotional Branding using the Story of Heroism. (2013, February 18).
Retrieved April 12, 2015, from
http://602communications.com/2013/02/nikebrandstrategyemotionalbrandingusingth
estoryofheroism/
Overview: Lululemon's Target Market And Product Assortment. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12,
2015,
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