Bethany Biron/Business Insider
- Lululemon exceeded investor expectations in the second quarter of 2020, reporting a comparable sales increase of 2% and e-commerce sales that rose a whopping 157%.
- Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald said the brand has proven “ideal for enabling the work-from-home and versatile lifestyle that has grown exponentially” during the pandemic.
- The company also reported early success from its June acquisition of Mirror, the high-tech at-home fitness startup company it bought for $500 million.
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As Americans trade in office wear for leggings and skip group classes in favor of living room yoga sessions, brands like Lululemon have become uniquely positioned to respond to emerging trends in both fashion and fitness.
The company exceeded Wall Street expectations in the second quarter of 2020, reporting on Tuesday that comparable sales increased by 2%, while e-commerce sales grew by a whopping 157% in a period riddled with coronavirus-related store closures.
Speaking on a call with investors, Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald said the brand has proven “ideal for enabling the work-from-home and versatile lifestyle that has grown exponentially” during the pandemic
“Some of the trends we’ve seen in fashion — and what guests are going to expect in apparel, how they dress, and how they want their apparel to perform — are here to stay and that benefits our brand and our positioning in a number of ways,” McDonald said.
Specifically, McDonald said Lululemon is finding success in expanding beyond performance wear by testing new categories like pants while experimenting with more lifestyle-focused marketing campaigns. Lululemon has also pushed to reach new audiences and announced on Tuesday it will offer select products at up to size 20 by the end of September, with plans for its entire inventory to be inclusive by the end of 2021.
"We are seeing a shift in behavior in terms of working from home, sweating from home, and the increase importance of living an active and healthy lifestyle," McDonald said on the call. "This plays to our strengths and helps us innovate."
McDonald said the company is also seeing early momentum from its acquisition of Mirror, the high-tech, at-home fitness startup Lululemon purchased for $500 million in June. Moving into the end of the year, Lululemon will soon begin selling Mirror at up to 15 stores, with plans to expand into more locations in 2021, McDonald said on the call.
According to Meghan Frank, senior vice president of financial planning and analysis at Lululemon, the company has "increased marketing spend for Mirror to take advantage of current trends" related to the pandemic. As a result, the company increased its forecast for Mirror sales through the remainder of 2020, she said on the call with investors.
"We've begun the process of bringing [Mirror] into the Lululemon family so we can benefit from both of our strengths," McDonald said.