Sports wear company Lululemon Athletica Inc. has been beleaguered in the press for several months now. Though the company is strong overall, its share prices dropped this week to $42.28 — that represents a 44% decline over the past year. The company has been in hot water since last May, when it had to recall yoga pants because of reports that the material was see-through.
Lululemon’s founder stirred the pot further — rather than accepting the company’s mistake he instead blamed the mess-up on his customer’s thighs. “Some women’s bodies just don’t work” for their yoga pants, he claimed. Understandably, many customers were irate. Traffic in stores was lower for the rest of 2013.
Consequently, it’s been rumored that the company is due soon for an acquisition. It seems more likely than not that either Nike, Columbia, or V.F. Corp will make an attempt to buy the company — each has a vested interest in expanding their lines of yoga products.
In what other instances has athletic apparel been in the news recently? Here are three stories that have been making the rounds this week.
Nike Continues to Grow
It’s impressive that Nike continues to grow, considering that the company already is one of the world’s larger companies with a very wide geographical reach. This year Nike found better luck with Chinese consumers, with three quarters of 20% growth in that market. While the company was rumored to be leaving the wearable tech market, it seems likely instead that Nike is deciding to concentrate on sports software rather than hardware.
Sports Uniforms Used as Symbolism
The bigger they are, the harder they fall — former Clippers owner Donald Sterling was banned from the NBA after he was recorded making racist statements to his then-girlfriend. Before the ban took place, Clippers players protested Sterling by showing up to practice wearing their basketball uniforms inside out in order to hide the logo.
Football Uniforms in Need of Reform
Bleacher Report has released its annual list of 10 college football teams in need of new uniforms, and Wyoming is high on that list. The team allowed Nike to experiment with their uniform a bit, and the results are eye-scorching. A digital camouflage pattern in brown and yellow makes it look like the team is splattered with paint — and not particularly flattering paint colors either.
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