Lululemon sues Costco over alleged sale of ‘dupes’ – Business News
Athletic attire giant Lululemon is suing Costco for allegedly promoting low-cost “dupes” of its dear pants and sweatshirts.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in California, Lululemon alleges Costco has “unlawfully traded” on the model’s “reputation, goodwill and sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel employing knockoff, infringing versions” of its merchandise.
Lululemon, for instance, sells its fashionable ABC males’s pants for $128 – and alleges that a pair of Costco pants that retail for simply $10 rip off their design.
Leggings and yoga pants on show in a Lululemon store in New York. Bloomberg through Getty Images
Its Scuba hoodies sell for $118, whereas Costco’s personal label Kirkland Signature sells copycat sweatshirts for $8, the company alleged within the swimsuit.
“As an innovation-led company that invests significantly in the research, development and design of our products, we take the responsibility of protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights very seriously and pursue the appropriate legal action when necessary,” Lululemon instructed The Post in a assertion.
The Vancouver-based company is accusing Costco of main clients to consider that these dupes, slang for duplicates, “are in fact manufactured by the authentic supplier of the ‘original’ products.”
Lululemon and Costco didn’t instantly reply to The Post’s requests for remark.
Lululemon claimed it despatched the Washington-based massive box retailer a letter in November 2024 accusing it of promoting hoodies utilizing the Scuba design.
Costco “subsequently removed at least some of the products that infringed lululemon’s SCUBA,” however later began promoting comparable merchandise, based on the lawsuit.
The retailer continues to be promoting the alleged dupes in the present day, Lululemon stated within the swimsuit.
Clothing folded on tables at a Costco store in New Jersey. Bloomberg through Getty Images
The luxurious leggings maker is looking for to “fully recover” financial losses by unspecified damages and a court docket order to dam Costco from promoting the merchandise.
Lululemon has gone after alleged copycats up to now, suing stationary bike giant Peloton in 2021 for allegedly promoting attire utilizing comparable designs.
That swimsuit was settled in 2022, and the businesses introduced a five-year partnership the next 12 months to sell co-branded clothes.
Lululemon not too long ago slashed its full-year forecast, citing a “dynamic macroenvironment” with added prices from tariffs, low demand amid financial uncertainty and heated competitors from different athletic manufacturers.
Shares of Lululemon jumped 2.2% Tuesday.
The stock is down 36% to this point this 12 months.
