Lululemon abruptly stops selling new leggings amid consumer complaints

Weeks after emailing customers with a “cool innovation alert” highlighting its new Breezethrough leggings, Lululemon has already stopped selling the much-touted item. The move comes in the middle of the crucial back-to-school shopping period when many retailers are hoping to attract consumer dollars. A Lululemon spokeswoman wrote in an email that the company has decided “to pause on sales for now to make any adjustments necessary.” She added, “As a test & learn organization, we also take guest feedback seriously and there is an opportunity to incorporate what they’ve shared into future designs.” Lululemon initially sent out a promotional email about the Breezethrough leggings on July 9. “Let heat, moisture and inhibitions go in our silkiest fabric yet,” the email read. One shopping site promptly called the pants the “yoga pants of the summer.” Yet consumers had different ideas. On TikTok, Ashley Morrell, a photographer, posted a try-on video in which she said the Breezethrough pants were “so thin, too thin, like they are going to break.” Another reviewer said she was “not super impressed” for the $98 price tag. @ashleycmorrell my honest thoughts, reaction, review to @lululemon’s breezethrough high rise tight #breezethrough #lululemon #fail #imsad #fyp ♬ 10 minutes! Fashionable and bright jazz piano(1127989) - nyansuke Though Lululemon appears to be trying to fix some of the complaints, one retail analyst noted mass confusion between what the brand is marketing and selling. For example, the product just disappeared from Lululemon’s site this week. “They launched it two weeks ago and the Breezethrough is not on the website,” said Gabriella Santaniello, founder and CEO of independent retail research firm A Line Partners. “Everybody is like what is going on?” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs The snafu calls to mind another episode in the Canadian retailer’s history that also concerned a pair of yoga pants. In 2013, Lululemon notoriously recalled yoga pants that were too sheer, a quality control issue that cost the retailer more than $60 million and resulted in an investor lawsuit. Despite enjoying must-have brand status among Gen Z and Gen Alpha shoppers in recent years, Lululemon has seen sales slow of late. Last month, it reported a 10% rise in revenue to $2.2 billion, disappointing analysts who have expected more robust growth. The company’s share price hit a four-year low today. It’s not the only sportswear brand battling consumer fatigue for athleisure. Nike is also battling a slowdown as its innovation stalls and footwear rivals step in. 40 under 40 entries are open The final deadline for nominations is Aug. 2 Enter here

Lululemon abruptly stops selling new leggings amid consumer complaints

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