The Lululemon Community

When Lululemon came into my neighborhood in Cincinnati a couple of years ago I don’t remember very many people in the neighborhood who knew what it was. Being an 18 year old high school senior that went to to all male school with over 1600 guys, Lululemon was not on the radar for any of us and if it was, it wasn’t for the clothes it was because they were the company making yoga pants, and when you go to a school with over 1600 guys you can bet there were conservations about yoga pants, just not maybe about the quality of them.

However, Lululemon grew very rapidly in Cincinnati. I progressed very quickly from a store that had a female only stereotype, to a store that a lot of friends shopped at but no one really wanted to admit, to a store where we have taken an active role with the brand by attending some events.

Every Week, there is a run club that is organized by the store and it has grown to become a pretty big community event for our urban Cincinnati neighborhood. As a high school student I did not really think anything of this, but now as almost a college graduate I really appreciate the microculture that LuluLemon Cincinnati has been able to create. According to Babin and Harris chapter 10 the concept of micro culture is, “a group of people who share similar values and tastes that subsumed within a larger culture” (Babin and Harris 191).

Lululemon has created a microculture within the larger running and yoga culture that is very prevalent already in my neighborhood. By offering these classes no longer is Lululemon just a chain-store from Vancouver, British Columbia that offers very high quality work out clothing, it is now a part of a community were the those who share a passion for running and yoga can meet and train.

This summer I took an internship away from Ann Arbor and Cincinnati, and moved to an apartment building where I did not know anyone, and it was really hard living in a downtown high rise building where I did not have any friends or family. Most days I would come home from work and go on a run. However, when I got home from my 12 week program I was shopping at the Cincinnati Lululemon when I heard an employee tell a recent graduate who had just moved to the area that they running club was a great place to meet new friends that have similar interests.

This is when it hit me that the store is creating relationships and a culture of connecting people within the larger work out culture. When I move again this summer to start my career, I am going to look to join a new Lululemon microculture to help in my adjustment to post college life.

Works Cited

Babin, B., & Harris, E. (2014). Chapter 10. In CB: Consumer behavior : Student edition 6 (Student ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Community Events. (2015, January 1). Retrieved March 24, 2015, from http://www.lululemon.com/stores/us/cincinnati/hydeparksquare/events

Motivated to Perform...Lululemon

The first time I walked into a Lululemon, I was pretty sure I wanted nothing to do with the store. I had gone in with my mom, I think that I was a freshman in high school at the time, and as much as she tried to get me to try on the some of the clothes, I was confident that I only wanted to wear Nike, and maybe Adidas.

This was the image I had for guys that wore Lululemon, no offense to those who actually do yoga, but I thought that no way would these work for playing other sports, or even to simply work out in. My opinion did not change; it was really changed for me. I received some Lululemon shorts and a shirt for Christmas that year. 

After going to a few of my high school practices and working out a few times in these, I was hooked. Not only did the clothes fit well, I actually felt that I was more motivated to work out when I wore them. An added bonus for the clothes is the silverescent technology, having this in the Lululemon clothing was a big plus for my basketball locker. This silverescent technology fights the stink that occurs in athletic apparel when you work out, silverescent "can stop the naturally occurring bacteria that feeds on your sweat and causes that the bad smells that build up in your clothes over time" (lululemon.com). If you ever been into a high school locker room anything that reduces the smell is a huge plus. 

The reason I keep shopping at Lululemon is that it gives me both hedonic and utilitarian motivation. Hedonic motivation is a drive to experience something personally gratifying (Babin and Harris chapter 5), when I purchase something new at Lululemon the gratification that I receive is that I get clothes that I can immediately wear to a variety of different occasions from working out to hanging out with friends. 

The utilitarian motivation, "a drive to acquire products that can be used to accomplish something"(Babin and Harris Chapter 5) that I receive from Lululemon is that I have clothes that I can feel comfortable in and that motivate me to do my best during a work out. 

Fighting the yoga stereotype is something that I was trying to avoid when I did not know what Lululemon really was, but now that I know what the company and brand is all about, I know that it goes way beyond yoga. While the store near my house in Cincinnati has daily yoga classes, they also have running clubs, workout groups, and sports leagues that they offer to customers. Lululemon is a brand that pushes you to better yourself through every day and every work out and has done an excellent job on changing my view on the person that wears this brand. 

 

Works Cited 

Babin, B., & Harris, E. (2014). Chapter 5. In CB: Consumer behavior : Student edition 6 (Student ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Innovation in the science of stink. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.lululemon.com/education/fabricsandtechnologies/silverescent

Lululemon The Male Experience

Lululemon

The Male Experience

Over the past couple of years, Lululemon Athletica has become a prominent figure in the athletic wear industry. The company started making apparel for yoga and shared half the first store with a yoga studio. Since the inception as a Canadian yoga apparel provider Lululemon has expanded its line of clothing to more general athletic wear and has opened stores across the globe.

While Lululemon has been very successful with the female demographic, and I would challenge you to walk into any college classroom and count the amount of females wearing Lululemon yoga pants, the company also has a wide variety of men’s clothing.

As a male consumer of Lululemon, who also owns a large amount of performance apparel, the product, the store experience, and the company motto that Lululemon has to offer are a big separator from the rest of the market.

I.               The Products

For men, Lululemon has a wide variety of options ranging from shorts and t-shirts, to sweatshirts and jackets. Each of the products are designed with the athlete in mind, so that you are comfortable working out and are able to achieve all of your goals.

Personally I love the shorts, you may want to go a size up if you are looking for the more traditional length. Other than that, every Lululemon product that I have decided to buy definitely exceeded my expectations as workout apparel.

Every item has a high utilitarian value, meaning that it serves the purpose of helping me complete my workout (Babin and Harris 2014). From the sweatpants keeping me warm for a run in the winter or the shirt allowing for flexibility to complete a lift in the weight room, it helps my workout.

  

II.             The Store

The experience in store at a Lululemon is a major reason that I am still a consumer. One of the main reasons that I think this is is consistency. No matter where I am, from school in Ann Arbor, home in Cincinnati, or to working in Pittsburgh, when I go into the Lululemon in that area I have found the experience to be the same.

The staff is helpful but not to the point where it becomes annoying. The products are all organized by gender, type, and size so it is very easy to find what you are looking for without looking at everything in the store.

Lululemon also has a differentiated marketing strategy, meaning that they offer many products for many different market segments (Angell 1/20/15). However most stores have the small general layout so that men’s clothes are in the same area, as are the women’s and children’s.

As a consumer, you shop alone or get as much help as you need from the staff, but I would always recommend trying on the product before you leave to make sure it is the fit that you desire.

III.           The Final Word

The Lululemon brand is growing with more and more men’s clothes coming out each year. The product is designed to suit anyone’s workout so whether you run occasionally to stay in shape or run competitively, I’d recommend male athletes to give Lululemon a try as you train to accomplish your next goal.

Sources

Angell, Amy. (1/20/15). Marketing 313 Lecture. Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

                 Babin, B., & Harris, E. (2014). Internal Influences. In CB: Consumer behavior : Student edition 6 (Student ed., pp. 25-40). Stamford, CT: Cengage.