TakeAway: Upstart retailer Lululemon Athletica, a Vancouver-based maker and retailer of athletic wear, enlists fitness instructors as “ambassadors” to distinguish itself from sportswear giants who typically hire high-priced sports celebrities to model their outfits.
Lululemon spends almost nothing on advertising beyond occasional print ads in yoga and running magazines; instead, ambassadors receive up to $1,000 of free apparel in return for modeling it for their clients.
Word of mouth is certainly powerful.
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Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal, “Lululemon Grows Fast on a Slim Budget” By Kevin Helliker, September 13, 2010
Lululemon belongs to an emerging class of retailers focused primarily on designing, making and selling athletic wear to women—and grabbing growing shares of the estimated $15 billion market for women’s fitness attire.
The companies’ believe that traditional sportswear giants have treated female athletes as an afterthought resonates with many women.
Even amid the recession, Lululemon’s high-priced apparel is selling briskly.
The company has expanded its roster of ambassadors to include running, spinning and resistance-training gurus, including some men.
In keeping with the peace-and-love ethos of yoga, Lululemon publicly describes its primary purpose as promoting good health and well-being rather than making profit.
The company says it offers free yoga classes in its stores to introduce people to yoga’s stress-relieving benefits, not to sell clothes.
Similarly, the company says its ambassador program offers vital feedback on new apparel from fitness experts.
Edit by AMW
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Full Article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703960004575481890366935552.html#printMode
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The Homa Files 
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