Lululemon enters the shoe market, and the first women's shoe will be released at the end of the month

Canadian athletic apparel retailer lululemon is moving into footwear , as the maker of leggings and sports bras opens up a new product category and steps up its competition with giants like Nike and Adidas.

It is reported that lululemon's first women's running shoe is called Blissfeel , which will be released in specific markets such as North America , Mainland China and the United Kingdom on March 22. The running shoe is priced at US$148.

This marks lululemon's official entry into the sports shoe industry . For this sportswear retailer, the men's and women's footwear business may become another important sales growth channel .

At the same time, lululemon will launch a men's shoe series next year, and will also launch special edition sneakers and seasonal sneakers , and expand its women's shoe series. In addition, it will launch two women's cross-training sneakers, a sliding heel shoe for post-workout wear, and a training sneaker with a supportive midsole this summer .

As consumers prefer to wear comfortable shoes when working from home during the epidemic, sales of sports shoes have surged . NPD Group data also shows that compared with 2020, sales of men's sports shoes in the United States increased by 17% in 2021 , and sales of women's sports shoes increased by 24%.

Matt Powell, sports analyst at NPD, said the most popular sports shoe brands for women are Nike, Skechers, Adidas , Brooks and New Balance. This year, sales of men's and women's sports shoes will increase compared to last year, but the growth rate will remain below single digits. Compared with the second half of the year, the first half of 2022 will face greater challenges.

Although the sales prospects of sports shoes are good, the industry is highly competitive . From giants such as Nike and On Running to small brands such as Allbirds , all will be lululemon's competitors .

The editor learned that lululemon 's sales in the 12 months ending January 31, 2021, increased to US$4.4 billion from US$3.98 billion a year ago. However, its stock price has fallen by more than 20% so far this year .

By comparison, Nike had sales of $44.5 billion in the fiscal year ended May 31 , up 19% from the same period last year . Adidas has not yet reported its 2021 results , but in the 12 months ending December 31, 2020 , its revenue was 19.8 billion euros, or about $21.6 billion.

In fact, as early as before the epidemic in 2019 , lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald saw the development prospects of the footwear market and said that lululemon would start selling its own footwear at some point.

Today, lululemon has officially entered the sports shoe industry and joined the fierce competition. We will have to wait and see how this company specializing in sportswear performs in the footwear market.

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