Third Sports Brands Born Behind Nike Adidas

In the global sports market, Nike, Adidas, Puma and Anta are the brands that we are familiar with but are also the best selling brands in the industry. But that does not mean that other manufacturers have no chance, for example, Andemar is relying on Sports tights to quickly start the brand. And lululemon, a less concerned boy, has also quietly become a leader in the niche market. The brand has started with women's Yoga wear, and has rapidly accumulated large fans through Yoga Culture and community ties. It has become a popular sports brand in recent years.

According to Lulu lemon's second quarter performance data released in 2019, its revenue grew by 22% to 883 million 400 thousand dollars (about 6 billion yuan), and the growth rate over 20% in 6 consecutive quarters. By contrast, sales growth of Nike and Adidas slowed to 4%, while Andemar's growth rate was only 1.4%.

The company has grown 10 times its scale in ten years, and its market value has reached US $26 billion 900 million (equivalent to about 188 billion yuan), becoming the third largest sport brand in the world this year. Behind the rapid growth, Lulu lemon continues to expand the market. Up to now, there are 460 stores all over the world. In the two quarter of this year, revenue growth in Europe and the Asia Pacific region exceeded 30%. Among them, the Greater China region has the most brilliant performance, with sales up to 68%, and e-commerce's year-on-year sales growth by more than 70%.

Let me give you a brief introduction to the development of this brand: in the late 90s of last century, Chip Wilson Chip Wilson founded Lulu lemon in Vancouver, Canada. At that time, the sportswear industry began to subdivide, and the shoes and clothes and equipment for different sports came out. However, yoga clothing still stayed in the stage of cotton polyester blended fabric. This material is neither physically nor sweaty, and comfort is very low. Many women do not want to wear this kind of sportswear, but there is no better choice.

The emergence of consumers' potential demand and the vacancy in the market made Wilson smell tremendous business opportunities. He made quick improvements to the market's functional defects in the Yoga dress and achieved great success. In North America, Lulu lemon has long been the first choice for yoga, fitness and other activities.

In addition, in recent years, consumers are more and more enthusiastic about sports and leisure. Lulu lemon cling to this draught, so that the product design is tight enough to meet the consumer's functional needs and fashion for clothing, and is suitable for different combinations of gym, work, dinner and other scenes. Nowadays, lululemon has become the standard of many successful women. As a young North American woman's favorite sportswear brand, a nearly $100 Yoga Pants often sell to break codes.

Behind the rapid growth and development of the brand, apart from the precise market positioning and the trend of sports and leisure, it is also closely related to its unique way of promoting "community building". Specifically, they regularly organize offline yoga training activities in major cities to attract local Yoga communities and enthusiasts to spread the brand concept related to healthy lifestyles. In this way, Lulu lemon has the social and fashion attributes in the eyes of consumers, far beyond the scope of functional yoga products.

In addition, the company did not set up a marketing department before, nor did it do too much publicity. It is through the mouth, such as fitness coaches, yoga teachers and other professionals, to accumulate brand reputation. Up till now, Lulu lemon has more than 1600 Brand Ambassadors all over the world. Its main job is to experience products and promote social interaction. Through good reputation, we gradually establish brand image in the minds of consumers.

As a lifestyle brand, Lulu lemon has gone out of its own way. Based on women's yoga clothing, they also actively develop new businesses and enter fields such as costumes, backpacks, personal care, men's wear, sports shoes and so on. The brand, which was born in niche market, will inevitably collide with giants such as Nike, Adidas and Puma. Insiders pointed out that yoga clothing is a relatively small category, and it may encounter bottlenecks after a period of hot fire. If brands want to maintain sustained growth, they need to develop more products and get rid of their dependence on women's market.