Anyone reconsidering going long at these price levels?
I was just at a conference and during one of the breakout sessions the presenter discussed LULU. Apparently they’re going to really make a go at the male market. This seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Sure, it might make my ass look terrific, but I’m not wearing that at my gym.
I assume it won’t be spandex but attire more suited for the male population, right?
I own a dri-fit LULU shirt and it is extremely comfortable. Probably my favorite shirt to work out in. I’d be more concerned with the prices these things go for. Mine was a gift. I don’t think I would have bought it otherwise.
I also went long the stock yesterday so i’ve gotten burned a little today. I’m betting on them expanding into menswear and into Europe and Asia. I know they were a overpriced but that should recover somewhat when they appoint a new CEO.
Menswear is the logical expansion, but I think they will meet a lot of resistance there. I’m guessing here but think men have more brand tendency to Nike or Under Armour and recreating that at LULU wont happen particularly at the premium prices they charge.
The CEO change seems to foreshadow the change in strategy as well, where expansion isnt the sole focus and now its diversifying a bit of the product mix…will be interesting to see who comes in as a potential catalyst to either get me off the sideline or keep me there.
LULU has a very strong brand among women but has a feminine name / logo. Maybe if they had a separate male brand they could do well, since they seem to have quality apparel. Anyone know if this is the plan?
Either way, they have a strong brand, quality product, and great growth. It’s a bit expensive, but I just went long with 3-5 year focus on the recent dump.
LULU MEATLINE! We might do yoga, but we still eat bacon!
Well, when I look in the windows of LULU stores, there’s always very attractive women working the counters, and also shopping there.
Having a men’s line will only give men a reason to go into the store, and pretend to look at clothing.
I’m considering it. To be fair they’ve had men’s stuff for some time now, they just haven’t been marketing it. I went into my local store back before Christmas looking at a potential gift and started chatting up this effing hot chick that was working there. I should go back in there and go fishing…
Anyway I like the company and now with this hugh stock fall I think it might be worth a small position. They’ve got huge brand loyalty, and aside from the see thru pants issue, a quality product that people have shown they’re willing to pay for.
“this quarter we averaged 100,000 male visitors per store, resulting in zero sales and 100 instances of harassment”…great YOY growth
Their men’s clothes are very comfortable and high quality. I just can’t see very many dudes spending that much money on workout clothes that they will sweat through in a year or two. Even dudes that do yoga.
If you look at the M:F ratio in yoga classes, it should be pretty clear that LULU has limited room to grow in the men’s yoga market. If they want male customers, they need to introduce a brand name that is not “Lululemon”, and they need to market the clothing for a different sport.
two things regarding menswear: aren’t LULU stores incredibly small (on average) meaning they’d have to remove some higher volume women’s clothing to display men’s clothing? and no self-respecting non-hipster or gymrat man over the age of 25 would wear LULU in its current form. removing women’s clothing from the shelves which are marketable to all women age 12-60 and replacing with men’s clothing for girly men age 18-25 and all-age marathon runners doesn’t seem like a great earnings growth opportunity. i know possibly one man out of maybe 40 who would ever buy a LULU men’s product and it would probably be too expensive for that one man. btw, the one man is a physical trainer so he’s clearly a unique case.
Probably the most sensible strategy is to try to get women to buy it for their BFs, rather than get a whole new class of people to come in the store.