Lululemon. Gym kit, everywhere.
Lululemon make gym clothes, but you are more likely to see them at brunch. A pair of leggings costs 128 dollars and the company turns over 10 billion a year, because once you own them, you live in them.
THE GIST ON LULULEMON: "Gym Kit Takeover"
What did Lululemon change?
Before Lululemon, your wardrobe reflected how life was structured. Work clothes, casuals, gym kit, going out clothes. Getting dressed meant deciding which version of yourself to present.
Lululemon made leggings technically good enough for the gym but designed well enough for everywhere else, and charged fashion prices for them.
Why did that work?
Nobody treated them like gym kit. You don't hide a 128 dollar pair of leggings. You get your money's worth and wear them everywhere. People stopped buying other clothes, and the gym kit replaced the wardrobe.
The fashion industry noticed. Gap launched the lettered line, H&M and M&S followed, and every high street brand suddenly had an athleisure range.
What did it reveal?
People really want one thing that works everywhere. The premise that you need a different outfit for every version of your life turned out to be much more fragile than anyone thought.
The most successful businesses don't compete on the categories assigned to them. They make them irrelevant.
Do you wear gym kit outside the gym?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
How much do Lululemon leggings cost?
Huw puts a pair at 128 dollars.
What did high street brands do in response?
Gap, H&M, M&S and others launched athleisure lines.
What did Lululemon prove?
That separate clothes for separate occasions was a convention, not a necessity.
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