Tapas & track pants… Lululemon’s taking its athleisure biz to Spain — its first new European market since 2019. Shares of the legging legend jumped 8% yesterday after it announced plans to open two brick-and-mortar stores in Barcelona and Madrid this fall. Lulu is also set to debut a Spanish e-comm site this month as it expands its global footprint.
- Poised passport: Lulu has 40 stores in 8 European countries, including France and Germany, but earns most of its sales from North America.
- Tourist hotspots: As recreational travel rebounds, Lulu’s eyeing Europe’s top destinations (think: Paris’ Champs-Élysées and Italy) as expansion targets.
Layover leggings… in every color. Lots of pandemic thrivers have seen slowing growth as “normal” life returns, but Lulu fans are still splurging on $80 sports bras and biker shorts. Last year Lulu’s sales popped to a record $6B (beating rival Under Armour). And Lulu boosted this year’s sales outlook to $7B+ after sales grew 32% last quarter.
- By adding Spain to its portfolio, Lulu’s building on a key pillar in its long-term growth plan (dubbed: “Power of Three x2”) to double revenue by 2026.
- Lulu’s “PoT” strategy includes quadrupling international revenue and doubling sales for its e-comm and emerging men’s biz.
- So far so good: Lulu’s brand appeal has helped it gain more global market share than any other active apparel brand since 2019.
To find your base, you may have to leave home… Lulu’s already crushing it at your outdoor mall — now it’s going for splurge-happy tourists. It’s not forsaking its core North American customer base, just finding them where they’re most likely to spend. Lulu could attract wealthy regulars on long layovers, but also new foreign customers who’ve seen it hyped on Insta.