On February 8th, a reporter from New Beijing News and Shell Finance learned that Lululemon's first unisex sports and leisure shoe, Cityverse, will be launched in China on February 20th. This is Lululemon's first official men's shoe series. In addition, the Beyond Feel running shoes and Beyond Feel Trail off-road running shoes, which cover both men's and women's styles, will be launched on March 19th and May 7th, respectively. It is worth noting that in late January 2024, the brand's first men's clothing store in the Asia Pacific region opened in Yidi Port, Beijing, which Lululemon referred to as a "space specifically designed to serve male customers.".
As a yoga clothing brand that caters to middle-class women, lululemon's optimism towards the male market began in 2013. After several years of development, when the brand proposed its first "Power of Three" five-year plan in 2019, it explicitly stated that expanding the male market would be the core of its development, while setting a goal of doubling male product and e-commerce revenue by 2023 compared to 2018. In 2022, Lululemon reiterated the importance of the male market and set a goal to double the revenue of the male business by 2026 compared to 2021 when releasing the "Power of Three × 2" new five-year growth plan.
According to the financial report, in 2022, Lululemon's male business net income increased by 27.3% year-on-year to 1.96 billion US dollars; In the third quarter of 2023, Lululemon's net revenue from its male business increased by 15% year-on-year to $505 million. Although the female business remains the main contributor to revenue, the proportion of revenue from the male business has increased to 23%.
A reporter from New Beijing News and Shell Finance noticed that in addition to expanding the male market, lululemon has also been continuously expanding its product categories in recent years. Since 2019, Lulu Lemon has successively launched products such as men's clothing, personal care, tennis, men's golf, and hiking series.
With the rapid development of the yoga market, Lulu Lemon is facing increasingly fierce competition. Traditional sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Li Ning have all entered the market, while sports and fitness apparel brands are emerging. Especially in the second half of 2023, Anta's acquisition of Maia Active has driven competition in this niche market.
Under pressure, Lululemon is also accelerating its expansion into new markets. However, senior brand management expert and founder of Shanghai Liangqi Brand Management Co., Ltd., Cheng Weixiong, pointed out in an interview that while expanding categories can bring some growth to Lululemon, there are also some challenges that cannot be ignored. In the newly expanded fields of Lululemon, there are already leading brands, such as Nike's comprehensive training sports category, and it is difficult to surpass them.