Vuori wants to tear off the label of "male version of Lululemon"
Since its inception, lululemon has become one of the brands that Vuori cannot avoid.
Although they initially targeted different core customer groups, Vuori and list of luxembourg whatsapp phone numbers do have certain similarities in terms of circle culture, channel design, and community marketing.
Lululemon's channels are mainly divided into three parts: online channels DTC (direct to consumer), directly-operated stores, and offline retail channels such as outlet stores and pop-up stores in North America. Its unique social marketing and brand culture building are considered to be the key factors for the brand to win consumers.
The Black Box of Growth once summarized Lululemon's operating model as the Charisma Effect (a sociological concept that refers to leadership often being associated with a unique personal charm). Specifically, the brand fully empowers each store in the form of community operation. Each store relies on brand ambassadors, product educators and other KOLs to penetrate surrounding yoga venues and sports and fitness venues. They can offer free yoga classes in the store on behalf of the brand, turning Lululemon stores into social circles for yoga enthusiasts.
Vuori is taking a similar approach. Since the opening of its first store, Vuori has invited professional athletes, trainers, fitness coaches, yoga coaches and other KOLs to join, plan events in stores, hold free yoga classes, art exhibitions, fundraising events, etc., share content on social platforms, attract more people to the store, and build a community for daily communication; at the same time, it cooperates with nearly 100 high-end department stores and fitness chains to increase touchpoints with users and increase sales.
While building a stable dealer channel, Vuori also invested heavily online. According to Jiemian, around 2019, Vuori began to operate social media, using online DTC channels and influencers to reach more consumers and create popular products. The explosion of online DTC channels also paved the way for Vuori to get investment from SoftBank.
Around 2020, 50% of Vuori's sales came from online, and 40% from wholesale dealers. "We want to reach customers where they shop, which is an advantage we have over pure DTC (direct-to-consumer) brands," Kudla once explained. Vuori has established communities in the United States and other regions, and community leaders will organize activities such as hiking and running to connect potential consumers and drive more consumers to become brand advocates.
In addition to the similarities in their operation methods, the two brands inevitably competed in terms of product categories after each of them accumulated seed populations. In 2022, lululemon's revenue exceeded US$6 billion, and then announced the latest five-year plan, focusing on the development of men's clothing and international markets, and proposed to reach US$12.5 billion in revenue by 2026, with men's clothing revenue increasing to twice that of 2021 and international market revenue quadrupling. Vuori, which is considered the "male version of Lululemon", is also trying to tear off this label.
