Lululemon lovers are already stretching their wallets to the restrict — and now they’ve had sufficient.
Followers and critics alike have been clucking their tongues Friday after the athleisure large warned prospects they’d quickly be paying much more for already-pricey exercise gear — following a whopping inventory nosedive.
The offender? President Donald Trump’s tariffs — and, apparently, broke People 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 corporate stated in a current assertion.
Translation: Even the model’s cult-following of millennial and Gen Z yoga bunnies aren’t splurging $128 on leggings like they used to.
Execs are scrambling because the one-time Wall Avenue darling fell in need of analyst predictions, seeing only a 1% enhance in gross sales year-over-year, falling in need of the three% forecast.
“We are planning to take strategic price increases … on a small portion of our assortment, and they will be modest in nature,” chief monetary officer Meghan Frank stated on an earnings name, including the hikes will roll out inside weeks.
“It will be price increases on a small portion of our assortments, and they will be modest in nature,” she claimed.
CEO Calvin McDonald admitted he was “not happy” with U.S. development figures and blamed the belt-tightening on skittish customers.
“We experienced lower store traffic … lower consumer confidence,” he echoed.
Whereas some could level to floundering new traces just like the Glow Up assortment or Daydrift trousers, the corporate is pinning the blame on tariffs — significantly these slapped on items made in Vietnam and China, the place the corporate sources most of its materials.
In 2024, 40% of Lululemon’s merchandise have been made in Vietnam, and 28% of its materials got here from mainland China — each hit exhausting by Trump’s commerce crackdown.
Now, Lulu says it’s working to chop prices and negotiate with distributors to offset the tariff hit. However prospects aren’t precisely downward dogging in assist.
On X, disgruntled customers lashed out on the model’s pricing and manufacturing choices.
“You better get it together. Lulu. Using tariffs as an excuse in your rest of the year outlook is not a smart move. Amazon/Walmart tried this it didn’t go well. You’re Down 65$ 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 have been extra 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 complete model: “Lululemon clothing is so overpriced — always has been. Only the Gen Zers think its the name on them that make them special.”
One other scorched: “Stupid rich women paying exorbitant prices for stretch pants. SMH.”
Regardless of the backlash, Lululemon doesn’t look like sweating simply but — however with prices climbing and prospects stretching their budgets, the longer term may not be fairly so versatile.
