I’m sure we have all heard of the brand Lululemon in our lifetime. This is because it is the number one athletic brand in America. They have expanded to having something for everyone even kids, men, women, and now even shoes. The brand Lululemon was established in Canada by Chip Wilson in 1998. Chip began his sales business with his business Westbeach Sports followed by a skateboarding brand called Homeless Boards. Following this he sold his brand for over one million dollars and began looking for his next project in the business world.
As Chip was looking for a new venture to start up next he happened to go to a yoga class, during this class he realized young women don’t have very many options for high quality breathable yoga wear that is still fashionable. He too this idea upon himself and the inspiration for Lululemon was born. He wanted to make high quality, breathable, comfortable, and fashionable clothing for women. This is where the brand started. MarcomCentral.com says “Lululemon name stems from Wilson’s experience with Japanese customers who were intrigued with company names that contained the letter “L.” He played around with many variations of alliterative “L” names until deciding on Lululemon, spelled with a lowercase l for a relaxed vibe.” This is how he decided on the name for his new business.
His first storefront opened in 2000 and was a yoga studio at night and a design studio during the day. The original location was the Vancouver location, which is where the brand first started to capitalize on yoga clothing. The first Lululemon product made was “little black stretchy pants” that were made from a fabric that felt like cotton but was also squat proof. The past soon become popular to people outside of yoga for activities like running, working out, and everyday wear. This prompted Lululemon to begin making other articles of clothing made for other activities. In 2007 Lululemon went public and raised 327 million dollars. They then began to compete with the high athletic brands like Nike, Adidas, and Under Armor. 
Many wonder how Lululemon gained so much fame so quickly. This is due to the fact that in the early 2000’s women didn’t have very many options for activewear. Especially high quality and cute clothing. They also fostered a very clean and vibrant lifestyle around their brand encouraging healthy and happy lifestyles. They made a great community within their stores and made people feel excited and comfortable when shopping with them.
Lululemon focused on using sweat wicking, stink proof, and lightweight fabrics making their clothing sought after by many. They also incorporated flat seams for comfort during and after workouts. They also began to tamper in leisure clothing as well.
As of January 2023 they have over 650 stores throughout the United States, China, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
