When Life Gives You Lemons… LuluLemon faces product recall.

 

Lululemon Athletica is a high class fitness brand geared toward yoga and running. Their products are known for the technology of their signature breathable fabrics. The company was started in 1998 as a response to the surge of women participating in sports.

 

All of their products are designed for extreme quality, and they offer a five year guarantee for anything bought at one of their stores from the date of purchase.

 

It was recently discovered that their products seem to be showing a little bit more than desired. It’s been revealed that their tight fitting yoga pants are see-through, creating an extremely awkward situation when caught in a compromising yoga position.

 

Lululemons appropriate response was to recall their product, and it has been expensive.  With the loss accounting for about 17%  of their stock of pants. Their monetary loss is said to be about $6 million. All pants purchased after March 1, 2013 are available for recall with no questions asked.

 

Unfortunately this accidental sheer introduction has shed light upon Lululemon’s labor policies, and the consequences of going cheap. Their previous high standards helped them to reach a monumental gain in profits the year before, of 31%.

 

Globally their sock has already seen a 3.5% drop compared to last year’s soaring numbers.

 

Lululemon’s response to this crisis needs to be proactive in their response to this crisis. Their entire brand depends upon the fact that their products are made from high quality materials—and with customers paying a high price they will be angry if they aren’t receiving it. Here are a couple suggestions for how they could better maintain their image

 

1. They need to be proactive in revealing their factory outlets. It’s better for them to say where their products are coming from than for news sources to be revealing it.
2. They shouldn’t maximize the problem  by creating  situations like THIS
3. They should remain cautious about their newer products during the next few months, especially when working with new suppliers.

Here’s a video that has some great responses from loyal customers and a good outlook of the entire situation.