Lululemon accuses Costco of selling bargain dupes of its luxury athleisure

The activewear giant, famed for its $100-plus yoga pants, has struggled with slowing demand and rising competition for some time. Now, it’s facing tariffs and affordable knockoffs.

Millie Giles

7/1/25 11:58AM

Weeks after cutting its full-year profit guidance, leading to the stock’s worst day in over five years, Lululemon shares are still looking exhausted, with the stock down more than 36% year to date.

But one way that the Canadian athletic apparel retailer is trying to gain back some strength is by exercising control over “unauthorized” versions of its renowned yoga pants, hoodies, and jackets.

As reported by CNN, Lululemon has filed a lawsuit against Costco, accusing the wholesale giant of infringing on its intellectual property and “unlawfully” trading on its “reputation, goodwill and sweat equity” by selling knockoff versions of its products in Costco’s Kirkland range.

When life gives you lemons...

The 49-page lawsuit details several alleged similarities in design, as well as stark price differences in products —including Lululemon’s Scuba hoodie, which retails at $118, compared with the version from Costco that’s priced at just under $8.

One of the alleged Costco “dupes” — Screenshot from Lululemon vs. Costco, Case Number: 2:25-cv-5864

Having notched seemingly unstoppable sales growth after launching its first store in 2000, with revenue growing by 34% on average per year for the last 20 years, the company’s sales have stagnated in recent quarters. Since the end of 2022, LULU’s sales growth has fallen flat in North America — its biggest market, accounting for ~75% of revenue in FY 24.

Lululemon Americas sales growth — Sherwood News

While headline revenue growth for the US and Canada was still just about in the green (up 3%) in Lululemon’s first-quarter results for FY 25, comparable sales decreased by 2%, with executives citing consumers remaining “cautious” and the impact of tariffs in the earnings call.

Though LULU has pushed on with price hikes and layoffs as a way to mitigate tariffs squeezing margins, mounting competition in the athleisure space from buzzy rivals like Alo and Vuori was already threatening its position as America’s go-to for quality workout gear… let alone replicas available for ~7% of the original’s price tag.

Same difference

The “dupe” economy has become big business, especially among Gen Z consumers — 71% of which said they would at least sometimes buy knockoff products, per a 2023 Business Insider survey — as counterfeit versions of all sorts of viral items, from Labubu dolls to Birkin bags, keep flying off shelves.

Lululemon itself previously sued exercise equipment company Peloton for ripping off its clothes in 2022… before announcing a five-year partnership with the brand only a year later.

Max Knoblauch14h

The Trump administration is reportedly planning a 50% made-in-America requirement for USMCA tariff relief

Qualifying for USMCA-related lower tariffs may soon require more US-made vehicle components, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to introduce a 50% US content requirement for vehicles covered by the trade pact to receive lower tariffs. The content would be measured by cost, according to the WSJ.

There currently isn’t any US-specific requirement for those lower tariff rates, but in order to receive preferential tariffs, vehicles are must contain at least 75% regional content (components made in North America). Per Reuters reporting, the Trump admin is seeking to raise the regional requirement to 82%.

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Overall, Tesla will likely have the easiest time qualifying for any stricter requirements. The automaker’s vehicles contained the highest amount of US/Canadian content in 2025, according to American University research. Ford, GM, and Stellantis all scored lower.

Notably: the underlying government data that many domestic content measurements rely on intentionally combines US and Canadian components, so it’s difficult to know exactly how much of any given vehicle is specifically US-made.

Exclusive | Trump Administration Wants Autos Under USMCA to Be at Least 50% Made in America

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Tom Jones20h

The $640,000 Luce makes the average Ferrari look like a bargain

Put aside the shape; put aside the smoothing out of Ferrari’s iconic sharp edges; put aside, even, the calls from former Chairman and President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo to “take the Prancing Horse off.” On the grounds of price alone, Luce detractors might have a point.

By now, many of us will have read the criticisms of Ferrari’s first fully electric vehicle, as the Luce — which was unveiled to the world earlier this week and promptly saw the company’s shares crash out in New York and Milan — gets subtly shaded by competitors online and not-so-subtly shaded by basically everyone else.

What makes all of this worse for Ferrari is that, even by the luxury car maker’s notoriously high standards, they’ve slapped a pretty hefty price tag on the Luce, and the company’s CEO, Benedetto Vigna, has already been forced to defend the €550,000 ($640,000) price point, saying yesterday that it’s “fair to pay for innovation,” per Reuters.

While Ferrari’s cars have been getting more expensive of late, as recently as 2022, Ferrari’s average revenue per car sold was around $340,000. At nearly twice that price, this new electric model is obviously proving a little much (visually, conceptually, and financially) for many loyal and long-standing fans of the Prancing Horse to stomach.