Company History
Dennis "Chip" Wilson founded Lululemon Athletica (usually referred to simply as "lululemon" or "lulu") in 1998 in response to increased female participation in sports and in accordance with his belief in yoga as the optimal way to maintain athletic excellence into an advanced age. Wilson had previously made a foray into the sportswear business by setting up Westbeach Sports in 1979.
Wilson opened the first Lululemon store in the Vancouver neighbourhood of Kitsilano. It included a design studio, a retail store, and shared space with a yoga studio. As of October 2012, Lululemon runs approximately 165 stores. The majority of the stores are in North America, but Lululemon has stores presence in Australia and New Zealand. There are also showrooms in Hong Kong and Great Britain. In addition, Lululemon is sold at fitness studios including Physique 57, CorePower Yoga and more.
The OQOQO brand was melded into the main Lululemon product line in fall 2009 when the company launched Ivivva Athletica, a new subsidiary targeting girls from ages 6 to 12. Ivivva Athletica was announced by Lululemon in September 2009. Ivivva started with the opening of three stores in December 2009. As of October 2012, Ivivva has 14 locations - mostly located in Lululemon's principal markets in Canada and the United States.
In 2005, Advent International (partnered with Highland Capital Partners), a U.S. private equity firm, bought a 48% minority interest in Lululemon for a reported C$225 million, and former Reebok chief executive officer Robert Meers became the new Lululemon CEO. Wilson, the founder, now has 42% ownership, with retail staff owning 10% in stocks and shares. The company formed a partnership with Descente to oversee Lululemon's Japanese operations; however, in mid-2008, Lululemon closed its Japanese operations (three stores) to focus on the North American market. As of December 2010, Christine Day, a former Co-President of Starbucks International, is the chief executive officer of Lululemon.
Lululemon Athletica announced an initial public offering in May 2007 and became a public company on July 27, 2007. Chip Wilson rang the opening bell on the NASDAQ exchange in the United States that day.
The Retail Council of Canada recognized the company as the 2003 Innovative Retailer of the Year in its "small store" classification.
In December 2010, Lululemon announced a recall of some of the store's reusable bags that were distributed since the Vancouver Olympics in February 2010. The specific bags recalled were made in China from polypropylene, a common material used in reusable bags distributed by retailers. The concerns by Lululemon were due to reports that similar bags have been found to contain high levels of lead.
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