Business Administration Report: Lululemon Competitive Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Lululemon's business strategy. It begins with an evaluation of the competitive environment, examining the strategic management process and the company's market positioning. The report delves into Lululemon's internal strengths and weaknesses, highlighting its leading position in the sporting goods industry, product innovation, and marketing strengths, while also acknowledging weaknesses such as overdependence on specific brand segments. The analysis extends to the external environment, discussing strategic acquisitions and agreements. The report further identifies the advantages of Lululemon's business strategy, including its distinctive shopping experience and strong ties with fitness establishments. Finally, it addresses the challenges faced by the company, such as intense competition and foreign exchange fluctuations, offering recommendations for future growth and sustainability. This report is a valuable resource for understanding Lululemon's business model and strategic approach.

Running head: BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Business administration
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Q1. Evaluation of competitive environment
The strategic management process needs to be defined as the specific way of the
organization that is considered as the strategy. There is a need to make a continuous process in
the decision of the organization Lululemon that makes a decision on the implementation of the
several selected strategies. There is a need to make a detailed plan on the implementation that
needs to keep on the appraising the successful process through their regular assessment.
The strategies that are based on the case of the Lululemon Athletica Inc of the Canadian
origin inspired by the Yoga inspired athletic apparel that is also the accessory manufacturer
created in 1998 (Strikwerda 2014). The strategies of the business needs to be viewed as a
planned process that requires involving the various techniques and the ideas that is solely for
ensuring the objectives of the business. The goal of this brand was based on the creation of the
integration capacity that has its mission and vision statements that is guided by this brand that
has been created upon the integration capacity that its vision that is for the hard working people
that includes the ethical lifestyle practices.
The strategic market planning is considered as the necessary part that includes the
different sustainability market factors in order to make it alive for the business. There is a need to
observe the different countless examples of the various other organizations so that they can
continue on the preservation of their successful business models.
The core competencies of the Lululemon demonstrate the management of the intellectual
system that has several capabilities that needs to be converted into the services. The products of
the Lululemon need to be geared up so that it becomes active in pursuing a healthy lifestyle.
There is a need to make the unique products so that there may be incorporation of the style that

2BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
has a technical quality and the functionality that may offer the best of the choices to its
customers. There are various offers for the apparel lines of the women and the men. The
distribution channel is categorized by the separation brand, Ivivva that needs to operate as a
separate entity with the other retail stores.
Lululemon Athletica
(source: Rubio, Mullor and Martín 2015)
The competitive advantage is based on the special edge that makes the Lululemon to deal
with the several market and the environmental forces that is considered better than the
competitors are. The sustainable advantage is that it is difficult to make the competitors imitate.
This is regarded as the essential factor that needs evaluation of the acquisition and its effects.
There is a need to deal with the issues such as the global positioning of the companies that has
the corporate cultures and the resource allocation. There is a need to understand the advantages

3BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
that has been gained from the renowned Adidas- Reebok merger that will eventually be analysed
on the factors of discovering the danger between the Reebok and the Adidas.

4BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Q2. Analysis of the internal strengths and the weakness
The strengths that can be considered are that it is the lead player that is regarded in the
sporting goods industry. The other strong leading brands that are considered as the leading
products that has the commitments for meeting the consumer expectations. As per the global
sportswear market there is a need to dominate the Adidas Solomon and Nike that has a certain
level of distance that also includes the various strong brands. The steady products of the
Lululemon is considered to serve as many markets possible that includes the footwear, apparel
and other products even.
There is a requirement for a steady increase in the sale revenue that is regarded from the
reflection of the last five years. This also includes the sales performance from the end of 2002.
However, the sales declined in 2003 by 3.9% and over 2002 that require the improvement in the
level of the currency translations. There is a need to achieve through a steady growth in the
revenue management system that has translations in the currency. This is the underlined
momentum of the Lululemon company that has the quarter in the improvement of the sales.
There is a record change in its momentum that has quarter of its sales that is concerned with the
sales improvement of the brands and the gross margins of the record that has an earning that is
almost 40% in marking the strongest performance in the half year in the history of the company.
There is comparatively an improvement in the sales that consists of all the brand that has a
record margin in the gross earnings that is also 40% in marking the strongest halves in the yearly
performance in the history of the company (Papadopoulos and Heslop 2014.).
There is a need for a successful innovation in the new products that includes enabling to
the different portfolios that is widened and the needs to achieve in a comparatively greater

5BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
degree of success. Lululemon has comparatively greater targeted specifications that include a
greater degree in the success. During the 2002-2003, there is a need to launch the ClimaCool
with the various running shoes category that could become a great success. The company that
also includes the division of the basketball shoes sold almost 500,000 pairs that have a division
of the T-MAC and T-MAC that are considered the best sellers in the US market over 2002.
There is a need to improve with the lead-time that requires in the footwear manufacturing
industry through the various principles of the manufacturing. In early 2000, it can be said that the
organization of the Lululemon has a comparatively take over 120 days that is known for its
apparels and by 2003 that has been reduced by 60 days (Ly, Vickers and Fernandez 2015). The
improvements processes helps in labeling the special handling of the various improvements that
helps in avoiding the warehousing.
The marketing strengths are quite high and are well planned as well as implemented from
2004. The immense size has several strong positions that can easily afford the different
opportunities that needs to be undertaken from the advertising campaigns that must be focused
on the various sectors like the TV and the print media (Allaisand Hagen2013). The campaign
that has a tag line that “Impossible is nothing” has been included with the various top athletes
and their disciplines.
The weakness that needs to be overcome includes the various unfocussed strategy that
includes the sports performance of the various products. One of its greatest rivals that can be
considered is the Puma that needs to translate on the various profitability in the high rate.
(Avineri2017)

6BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
There is a need to make an overdependence on the various brand segments that includes
the Adidas. There is also a need to purchase the Solomon that is the French maker of the
different ski and the golf gear that is also one of the equipment arenas which helps in the
generation by 79%. The over dependence of the company of the Adidas brand is to make a
segment that serves mainly the requirements of the athletes that is one of the major revenue that
is the susceptible in the various market conditions. There is a need to make a high level in the
long term borrowings (Frandsen, Johanse. and Salomonsen 2017).

7BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Q3. Conditions and the trends in the external environment
In the external environment, the Lululemon is regarded as the strategic acquision of the
different agreements that needs to be put in from 2004. There is a need to serve the small to the
mid sixed retailers that includes the sporting of the different good stores that includes the
departmental stores even. There is a need to produce and deliver in large quality the different
branded apparels and the accessories. This acquision will help the company in the market
offerings that includes the leading products of the different golf categories that will eventually
get improved in the global market that has a share of 6% (Headd 2015). The company has
eventually entered into the strategic agreement that will be from June 2003 that has the intersport
international Corporation, is a retailer that will strengthen the distribution of the network in the
sales. The agreement of the four years is an agreement that will have a strength that will enhance
the performance of the company that includes that of the sports and the casual (Lindberg, Voss
and Blackmon 2013).

8BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Q4. Advantages of the Lululemon’s business strategy
The Lululemon company was founded by Chip Wilson who took commercial yoga class
in Vancouver and considered to make it into a buisness. There is a need to spend several years in
the skating, surfing and the snowboarding business that yoga was performed using various
expertise and passion for the technical athletic fabrics that started the business yoga clothing.
The strategic objective was to add various new stores in order to strengthen the presence and
then to tap on the various new geographical markets that can be found in US and Canada
(Lakhal, Sévigny and Frenette 2015).
There si also a need to make an awareness of the brand that is of leveraging the public
surrounding that is one of the opening to the different new stores that has its grass roots in the
various marketing programs that also includes the partnering and the organizing of the different
events in the local fitness coaches.
The introduction of the various new technologies and their products that is required to
continue in order to focus on the offerings and the developments that will help in the
incorporation of the technology. There is also a need for the performance features that will
eventually be differentiated with the Lululemon that has its competitors and there is a need to
increase the level of the customer base (Foss and Knudsen 2013).
There is a need to broaden the appeals of the Lululemon products that requires division
through the three major sections that is adding the men apparels, expanding by adding the
athletic bags, sandals and the outerwear. Lastly by adding the suitable addition products like the
sports and the athletic activities that needs expansion through the North America.

9BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
A distinctive shopping experience has been provided that has a distinctive shopping
experience that needs to be complemented with the several strong ties. The fitness instructors
and the fitness establishments are considered to be the two most biggest strategic adjustments
since 2007 that can be a comparatively drawback from the selling and the franchising through
the company website (Brockhoff 2017).

10BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Q5. Challenges and the recommendations
A huge competition can be seen in the market that overlaps each other‘s in sportswear
other than the fashion garments. The traditional competitor of the company are the Nike, Puma
and the Reebok that has made the competitive level way too high that it has eventually increased
the level of the competition. Adidas is one of the premium brands that have a sportswear that has
a conscious value of the consumer. The strategy is under pressure that is comparatively cheaper
than the substitute products that are bought by the consumers by adding to the level of the
consumers that is in terms of the customer retention.
The foreign exchange fluctuations are another major challenge that is made out of the
activities of the Lululemon Company that has concentrated on the S.E Asian countries and that
of China. Most of the countries has the transaction in the US dollar that makes the generation of
the revenue that is comparatively at a much lower state. There is a need for adverse change in the
exchange rate that can be seen between the Euro and the US dollar that has a comparatively
lower impact in all the overall revenue system (Allais and Hagen 2013).
The global system is comparatively low that includes the GDP of the European country
that has a comparatively negligible rate that might be improved in the mere future. The Latin
American markets are considered in Brazil and the Argentina that needs to be continued for the
witness of the various economic conditions through the Middle East and the Southeast regions
that will be continued from the reel to the political unrest regions. The revenues of the company
will eventually be affected from the adverse economic conditions.
The impact of the scandals that is found in the US and the Germany has a severe impact
on the performance of the stock. The performance of the company in the goods and the sports

11BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
that can be adversely affected through the investor confidence of the industry. The external
factors have an adverse impact on the stock performance of the company that might affect the
brand value of the Lululemon Company (Brockhoff 2016).