Lululemon slammed as brand threatens price hike – Business News
Lululemon lovers are already stretching their wallets to the restrict — and now they’ve had enough.
Fans and critics alike had been clucking their tongues Friday after the athleisure giant warned clients they’d quickly be paying even more for already-pricey exercise gear — following a whopping stock nosedive.
The wrongdoer? President Donald Trump’s tariffs — and, apparently, broke Americans tightening their purse strings.
“We experienced lower store traffic in the Americas, partially reflective of economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, lower consumer confidence, and changes in discretionary spending,” the company mentioned in a current assertion.
Translation: Even the brand’s cult-following of millennial and Gen Z yoga bunnies aren’t splurging $128 on leggings like they used to.
Even Lululemon’s loyal legging junkies — from millennial mothers to Gen Z fitness center rats — are tightening their waistbands on these $128 yoga pants. Bloomberg by way of Getty Images
Execs are scrambling as the one-time Wall Street darling fell short of analyst predictions, seeing simply a 1% increase in gross sales year-over-year, falling short of the three% forecast.
“We are planning to take strategic price increases … on a small portion of our assortment, and they will be modest in nature,” chief financial officer Meghan Frank mentioned on an earnings call, including the hikes will roll out within weeks.
“It will be price increases on a small portion of our assortments, and they will be modest in nature,” she claimed.
The blame for all this? President Trump’s tariffs — and cash-strapped customers slicing back. REUTERS
CEO Calvin McDonald admitted he was “not happy” with U.S. growth figures and blamed the belt-tightening on skittish customers.
“We experienced lower store traffic … lower consumer confidence,” he echoed.
While some might level to floundering new traces just like the Glow Up assortment or Daydrift trousers, the company is pinning the blame on tariffs — significantly these slapped on items made in Vietnam and China, the place the company sources most of its materials.
In 2024, 40% of Lululemon’s merchandise had been made in Vietnam, and 28% of its materials got here from mainland China — each hit exhausting by Trump’s commerce crackdown.
Now, Lulu says it’s working to cut prices and negotiate with distributors to offset the tariff hit. But clients aren’t precisely downward dogging in assist.
On X, disgruntled customers lashed out on the brand’s pricing and manufacturing choices.
The athleisure company says it’s trimming prices and haggling with distributors to ease the tariff ache — however customers aren’t precisely placing a warrior pose in approval. SOPA Images/LightRocket by way of Getty Images
“You better get it together. Lulu. Using tariffs as an excuse in your rest of the year outlook is not a smart move. Amazon/Walmart tried this it didn’t go well. You’re Down 65$ today. Our family was a big lulu fan not so much anymore,” one raged.
“For what they charge for their products, you’d think it was made in America,” snapped one other.
“It can’t be that yoga pants shouldn’t cost $125 a pair. No. That’s not it,” somebody joked.
Others had been more blunt: “Their stuff is ridiculously overpriced… total ripoff.”
“Lululemon’s collapse isn’t about tariffs — it’s about betting on foreign manufacturing while ignoring American resilience,” one critic seethed.
They continued, “Relocating production… was always a gamble, and now they’re paying for it.”
Some merely slammed the whole brand: “Lululemon clothing is so overpriced — always has been. Only the Gen Zers think its the name on them that make them special.”
In 2024, Lulu pumped out 40% of its gear in Vietnam and acquired 28% of its materials from China — two prime targets in Trump’s tariff smackdown. Bloomberg by way of Getty Images
Another scorched: “Stupid rich women paying exorbitant prices for stretch pants. SMH.”
Despite the backlash, Lululemon doesn’t seem like sweating simply but — however with prices climbing and clients stretching their budgets, the long run may not be fairly so versatile.
