Lululemon Athletica Inc. is a Canadian athleisure brand that sells high-quality sports apparel, accessories, and lifestyle items.
The brand is most known for its signature lululemon leggings and yoga pants, but it has expanded its product range to include workout shirts, sports bras, and men’s sportswear.
Lululemon has a strong brand identification and a loyal customer base, but the athleisure business is competitive. There exist many apparel brands like Nike, gym shark, Columbia sports, alo yoga, etc. This blog will look at Lululemon’s competitors in detail.
Who are Lululemons Main Competitors
When it comes to Lululemon competitors, brands like Nike, Adidas, Gap, and Fabletics, among many others give tough competition to Lululemons!
So, without wasting time, let’s look at the top 13 lululemon competitor brands closely!
Nike
Nike began its career as Blue Ribbon Sports and currently owns various other brands; like Jordan, Umbro, Converse, etc. Nike is undisputedly the world leader in sportswear.
In the year 1970, Phil Knight from the University of Oregon and his coach Bill Bowerman launched the first Nike shoe with the Swoosh logo. Blue ribbon Sports was changed into Nike Inc. in 1978.
Nike became the sportswear giant that it is today because of its “Just Do It” ad campaign (first released in 1988) and several athlete sponsorships like Michael Jordan. The corporation has sponsored some of the world’s top sportsmen throughout the years, including LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Tiger Woods.
The partnership with Michael Jordan has led to another sub-brand of the Jordan series.
Nike’s yearly revenue was $49.107 billion in 2022. Its brand power is further demonstrated by the over 45 percent profit it earns on every sale. Currently, the company employs over 75,000 people and has over 1,000 retail outlets across the world.
Adidas
Adi Dassler and his brother Rudolf used to own a shoe factory together. They convinced renowned sprinter Jesse Owens to wear their shoes at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Adi later established Adidas, which is a mix of his first and last name, after the two had a falling out. Adi paid roughly €1,600 for the now-famous 3-stripe trademark from the Finnish athletic apparel and footwear brand Karhu Sports in 1952.
Adidas, which employs over 55,000 people globally, achieved €22.511 million in2022 in revenue for the fiscal year 2022, a 6% rise over the previous year.
Gap
Donald and Doris F. Fisher founded Gap Inc. in 1969. It’s headquartered in Fransisco, California, and sells activewear through its 7 brands namely, Gap, Hill City, Intermix, Athleta, Old Navy, Janie and Jack, and Banana Republic.
Currently, it operates over 3,700 stores all around the world. In 2012, the company made revenue of $15.89 billion with a workforce of 1,29,000 employees.
Gaps sells athletic apparel for women like leggings through its brand, Athletica. In comparison to Lululemon, it’s more cost-effective. With a low cost, it also makes the largest plus-size for its customers.
For men’s sports clothing, Gap established the Hill City brand. Hill City is more expensive in comparison to the Gap brand.
Fabletics
When it comes to athletic apparel products that are exclusively for athleisure, Fabletics is perhaps the greatest Lululemon competitor. The company’s founder and CEO is the actress Kate Hudson, who used her fame to launch an athleisure brand as a less expensive alternative to more expensive high-end clothing companies like Lululemon.
Fabletics frequently collaborates with other famous people, such as the actor Liza Koshy, Vanessa Hudgens, and Demi Lovato.
The business is owned and run by TechStyle Fashion Group, which Goldenberg and Ressler started back in 2010. Fabletics has over 50 retail locations all over North America, employs over 800 people, and brings in about $500 million annually.
Puma
Rudolf Dassler, the brother of Adi Dassler (founder of Adidas) started Puma after they had some personal falling out.
Sponsoring different great football clubs, Puma became one of the leading brands in sports. In 1970, during the FIFA world cup, Football star Pelé tied his shoes in between the match. All cameras then pointed to Pelé’s Puma shoe and hence millions of viewers get to know about the brand Puma.
Puma now sponsors world-class sportsmen like Neymar and Lewis Hamilton, as well as celebrities such as Selina Gomez and Dua Lipa.
This activewear company now employs over 15,000 people and has over 830 outlets worldwide. Its present brand momentum has resulted in a record-breaking year. Puma’s sales are expected to be $7.7 billion in 2021.
Sweaty Betty
Sweaty Betty is an apparel and athleisure company based in the United Kingdom. It was established by husband-and-wife partnership Simon and Tamara Norton after they got annoyed with the lack of female sportswear alternatives. As a result, the brand continues to market only female sportswear.
Simon resigned from his job to join her wife. Together they built many more businesses around London over the next few years. Haper’s Bazaar crowned Sweaty Betty as the Retailer of the Year in 2001. And Tamara got the fame as Entrepreneur of the Year by Chanel and Haper’s Bazaar.
After raising some private equity money in 2015, the founders finally chose to sell the company in August 2021. Wolverine Global, located in the United States, spent £300 million for the acquisition of Sweaty Betty.
Athleta
Athleta, which was founded at a time when most athleisure clothing businesses focused on men, has done the opposite. Companies would frequently shrink men’s clothing and occasionally change the color, a procedure commonly known as “shrink it and pink it.”
Its founder, Scott Kerslake, an ardent cyclist, surfer, and investment banker, witnessed this personally when the ladies he cycled with had to put up with inferior gear. He rapidly built the business to millions of dollars in yearly sales after raising $700,000 in initial investment.
In 2008, Athleta was acquired by Gap Inc. for an amount of $150 million. In 2018, the company became a recognized B Corp, showing its commitment to using business to do good. It also collaborates with celebrities such as Alicia Keys, who releases special apparel lines in collaboration with the company. Its sports bra are recommended by various celebrities.
Athleta today employs about 3,000 people and has 200 outlets in Canada and the United States. According to Gap Inc., Athleta will sell more than $2 billion in goods by the end of the fiscal year 2024.
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Gymshark
This company initially was a protein powder-making company. But, the owners later pivoted and changed it into an apparel and sports clothing brand. They did this after assessing personally how gym equipment at the time was geared at larger individuals while entirely ignoring beginner and smaller-sized trainees.
To remain flexible and respond swiftly to emerging trends, the company has avoided building physical retail stores. Gymshark made £400 million in revenue in 2021. Almost 1,000 individuals work at the company’s 55,000-square-foot Solihull site.
Tracksmith
Tracksmith, a Boston-based running shoe and apparel company, has emerged as a significant competitor to athleisure wear giant Lululemon. Tracksmith has created a reputation for itself by catering to a highly specialized category of runners that appreciate style, quality, and authenticity. The brand draws influence from the sport’s heritage and wants to give runners functional and fashionable running shoes and clothing.
Its revenue is expected to be over $25 million in 2020, a significant rise from prior years. Tracksmith has a small workforce of about 50 people.
Tracksmith has collaborated with several high-profile athletes and celebrities to boost its visibility and reach. For example, they partnered with top runner Mary Cain and designed a limited-edition line inspired by her training.
Beyond Yoga
Beyond Yoga is a clothing company that specializes in the production and marketing of yoga clothing like yoga pants and joggers for both men and women.
In August 2021, the firm was successfully acquired by Levi Strauss for a brand value of $400 million. Levi stated at the time of the acquisition that Beyond Yoga’s 80 employees and brand will generate an additional $100 million to its annual income.
Beyond Yoga presently offers clothes through its online store as well as through collaborations with other stores and, yoga classrooms, yoga studios, and clubs. On Instagram alone, the brand has 370,000 followers.
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Uniqlo
Uniqlo, well known for its focus on basic apparel, began as a textile factory in WWII-ravaged Japan. It started its first unisex casual wear store, the Uniqlo Clothing Warehouse, in May 1984.
Throughout the years, Uniqlo grew to become one of the world’s biggest garment manufacturers, running over 2,000 shops worldwide and employing around 30,000 people.
The company’s relatively low costs make it a potential competitor in the apparel and athleisure apparel industry. To that goal, it made headlines in August 2018 when it secured a $300 million (ten-year) sponsorship contract with tennis legend Roger Federer.
Calvin Klien
Calvin Klien is capable of creating timeless designs that attract a diverse variety of clients. One of the trademarks of the brand’s success has been its minimalist approach to fashion, with its unique logo and simple designs helping it stand out in a competitive apparel industry.
Calvin Klein’s marketing approach has depended heavily on celebrity collaboration. Throughout the years, the company has collaborated with a number of high-profile celebrities, including Kate Moss, Justin Bieber, and Kendall Jenner. These collaborations have contributed to keeping the brand current and appealing to a younger population.
Calvin Klein is a large revenue participant in the fashion apparel industry, with a projected revenue of over $9.2 billion in 2022. The firm is owned by PVH Inc, a multinational apparel and accessories organization that also owns Tommy Hilfiger and Van Heusen.
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Victoria Sport
Victoria Sport focuses on providing high-quality apparel and sportswear at a reasonable price. While Lululemon’s products are more expensive, Victoria Sport has been able to attract customers by delivering comparable quality items at a lesser price.
Victoria Sport has been using its parent company’s (L Brands) existing customer base and marketing platforms to reach a bigger audience. In order to improve brand exposure, the company has cooperated with celebrities such as Taylor Hill, Martha Hunt, and Josephine Skriver.
Victoria Sport is a relatively young business in terms of income and staff information, having been established in 2016. The company operates 26 locations in the United States and has an online presence.