2014/11/22

Nike Just Launched A Direct Threat To Lululemon

Nike womens storeNike
Nike is trying to win over women with a store designed just for them.
The first location opened this week in Newport Beach, California and it has all the trappings of a Lululemon store and more, including a fitness studio, footwear trials, and bra fitting and pant hemming services.
The 6,000-square-foot store will offer yoga classes in the studio, pictured below, as well as running and training clubs, the company says.
Nike womens storeNike
It will also carry casual sportswear, in addition to activewear, that could be worn outside the gym, Bloomberg reports.
"Our women’s business has never been stronger and this new store is the ultimate expression of our commitment to women who run, train and live the look of sport and fitness throughout their day," Amy Montagne, the vice president of Nike Women, said in a statement.
Lululemon started offering yoga classes and pant-hemming services in its stores years ago. Those services have been credited with helping the brand gain the loyal following that led to several years of double-digit sales growth.
But following a string of issues that started with the company's recall last year of its Luon pants for being see-through, Lululemon has suffered from an exodus of its once-loyal fans, according to analysts at Sterne Agee.
Nike womens storeNike
"Many customers have left [Lululemon] and it's hard to get them back, especially given the focus on the women's active apparel business from brands such as Nike and Under Armour, and retailers such as Athleta, Sweaty Betty, Victoria's Secret, and others which have bitten into LULU," Sterne Agee analyst Sam Poser wrote in a recent research note.
Nike expects its women's business to grow faster than its men's business, from $5 billion at the end of this fiscal year to $7 billion by 2017, according to Bloomberg. The company will open a second women's-only store in Shanghai at the end of the month.
Nike's new women's-only stores come as rival Under Armour is investing heavily in its female business. 
Under Armour, which recently surpassed Adidas to become the second biggest sportswear brand in the US, launched its largest-ever global women's marketing campaign earlier this year and signed deals with supermodel Gisele Bundchen and ballerina Misty Copeland.
Nike womens storeNike
The Baltimore-based company has grown rapidly over the last 18 years. When it was founded in 1996, it had $17,000 in revenue. This year, it's expected to bring in $3.03 billion.
That's still only a fraction of Nike's sales, which are expected to total $28 billion this year.
Nike vs Under ArmourBusinessInsider.com


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nike-just-launched-a-threat-to-lululemon-2014-11#ixzz3Jo8bsQzh

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