Lululemon founder Chip Wilson says that the famous Lululemon name had nothing to do with either lemons or any gal named Lulu.
The truth is, he sold an earlier company to a group of Asians at a premium in large part because the name of that company had a lot of l’s in it….For the venture that turned out to be Lululemon, he didn’t want to buck the trend of previous successes. L’s were a top priority, and Lululemon…. Branding experts may weep, but that’s what the man said. I wouldn’t lie to you.
Wilson leveraged his knowledge of high-tech athletic fabrics into a multi-billion dollar publically traded company. Annual revenue runs around $450MM. His market timing – different forms of yoga appeal to both aging baby boomers as well as the six-pack ab crowd, was impecable. As one woman told me, “Even guys love Lululemon on women. You know, you don’t jiggle so much in Lululemon.”
Apparently, I’ve been living under a tortise shell,
Having bought my first pair of Lululemon yoga pants as quickly as I could when I returned to Dallas a few weeks ago, I agree with my friend’s assessment of Lululemon fit. The high-tech stretchy fabrics do, indeed, emphasize sleekness while minimizing the jello-like quivering of less than perfect thighs.