Lululemon

Chip Wilson founded Lululemon in Vancouver, with an early space that combined design work and yoga classes. In 2000, the company opened its first standalone store in Kitsilano.⁠[1]

In 2003, Lululemon opened a store in Santa Monica, United States; in 2004, it entered Melbourne, Australia.⁠[1]

On December 5, Chip Wilson sold a 48% interest in the relevant operating companies to outside investors, and the business completed a restructuring that formed the holding structure later used for the public listing. The founding of the brand in 1998 and the restructuring into a holding company in 2005 are therefore different milestones.⁠[2]

Lululemon completed its initial public offering, with its shares trading on Nasdaq under the ticker LULU and, at the time, also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The listed entity used the name lululemon athletica inc.⁠[2]

Lululemon launched e-commerce in 2009, extending its sales channels online.⁠[1]

Lululemon published a quality update on the sheerness of some black Luon yoga pants, stating that its existing testing had not adequately covered changes in materials and fit and that some products were at the low end of technical tolerances. The company changed its testing methods, adding stretch and fabric tests, and strengthened oversight at the manufacturing level.⁠[3]

The company announced that Laurent Potdevin would take over as chief executive officer in January 2014. At the same time, Chip Wilson announced that he would step down as non-executive chairman before the following year’s annual meeting of shareholders, to be succeeded by Michael Casey, but would remain on the board for the time being.⁠[4]

Lululemon opened stores in Covent Garden in London and at the International Finance Centre in Hong Kong.⁠[1]

Advent International reached an agreement with Chip Wilson to purchase shares equivalent to 13.85% of the company for approximately $845 million. The arrangement included expanding the board of directors from ten to twelve members and conducting a governance review. The funds were paid to the selling shareholders.⁠[5]

On February 2, Chip Wilson resigned from the board of directors. Earlier disagreements over product quality, public remarks, and management direction formed the background to the changing relationship between the founder and the professional management team.⁠[6]

That same year, Lululemon launched the Align yoga leggings, made with Nulu fabric and emphasizing a soft feel and freedom of movement. The product line later expanded to tops, dresses, shorts, and other styles, becoming a long-running collection for the company.⁠[7]

Lululemon opened stores in Beijing and Shanghai, expanding its presence in mainland China.⁠[1]

On February 5, Laurent Potdevin resigned as chief executive officer and as a director, effective immediately. The company said he had fallen short of its standards of conduct regarding integrity and mutual respect, and three executives took on expanded responsibilities, reporting to executive chairman Glenn Murphy.⁠[8]

On August 20, Calvin McDonald took over as chief executive officer and joined the board. He previously served as president and chief executive officer of Sephora Americas and has experience in retail, brand, and digital channel operations.⁠[9]

Lululemon announced an agreement to acquire the at-home fitness platform MIRROR for approximately $500 million. MIRROR uses an interactive mirror device to deliver live, on-demand, and personal training content; the two companies already had an investment and content partnership in 2019. The transaction extended Lululemon’s business into at-home digital fitness.⁠[10]

Lululemon launched the Like New resale program and became the official outfitter of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic teams, in a partnership running through 2028.⁠[1]

The company unveiled its first footwear collection, designed starting from women’s athletic needs, and announced that the Blissfeel running shoe would launch on March 22 in North America, China, and the United Kingdom. The collection also covers cross-training, training, and post-workout wear, further extending the company’s product categories beyond apparel.⁠[11]

Lululemon’s name and logo appeared in news of metaverse- and NFT-related trademark applications, covering uses such as virtual apparel, virtual retail, and fitness. This is a trademark strategy concerning virtual goods and related services.⁠[12]

On September 27, Lululemon and Peloton announced a five-year global partnership under which Peloton would provide content for Lululemon’s digital fitness business and Lululemon would become Peloton’s primary athletic apparel partner. The arrangement included co-branded apparel and Peloton classes for existing lululemon Studio users.⁠[13]

In December 2023, the company stopped selling Mirror devices and new subscriptions to that business, changing its model of producing its own fitness content. The related changes resulted in approximately $98.21 million of pre-tax impairment, inventory, and restructuring charges in fiscal 2023.⁠[14]

In its presentation of Align’s 10th anniversary, the company said the collection had grown into a business of approximately $1 billion, with products extending from yoga pants to a wide range of apparel. Anniversary activities included launching styles with fewer front seams and organizing athletic community events in Beijing, London, and other cities.⁠[7]

For fiscal 2025, ended February 1, 2026, Lululemon’s revenue was approximately $11.103 billion, up 5% year over year; operating income was approximately $2.211 billion, down 12% year over year; and net income was approximately $1.579 billion. At the end of the fiscal year the company had 811 stores, a net increase of 44 for the year.⁠[15]

By region, Americas revenue decreased 1%, international revenue increased 22%, and mainland China revenue increased 29%. These figures reflect diverging performance across markets; fiscal 2025 was a 52-week year, and comparisons with the previous 53-week fiscal year must keep that difference in basis in mind.⁠[15]

Lululemon reached an agreement with Chip Wilson, who holds approximately 8.7% of the company, providing for board refreshment and further cooperation. Laura Gentile and Marc Maurer joined the board in June of that year. The agreement did not provide for Wilson himself to return to the board.⁠[16][17]

For the second quarter of fiscal 2026, ended August 2, the company’s revenue was approximately $2.4 billion, down 4% year over year; Americas revenue decreased 8%, and international revenue increased 4%. At the end of the period the company had 825 stores, a net increase of 9 during the quarter.⁠[18]

Quarterly profit included a gain of approximately $134.5 million from tariff refunds, and the full-year revenue outlook announced by the company was a range of $10.35 billion to $10.5 billion.⁠[18]

Heidi O’Neill became Lululemon’s chief executive officer and joined the board; the appointment was announced on April 22 and took effect on September 8. She previously worked at NikeNikeNIKE, Inc. is an American athletic brand company made up of the Nike, Jordan and Converse brands, with its world headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.Open the full entry for about twenty-five years. Interim co-chief executive officers Meghan Frank and André Maestrini subsequently returned to their previous roles.⁠[19][17]

Lululemon’s products cover yoga, running, training, and everyday athletic wear, and its sales channels include company-operated stores and e-commerce. The company’s corporate website is https://corporate.lululemon.com/ (opens in a new window), and its shopping website is https://shop.lululemon.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[8][19]