Team project1

-Lululemon-

Multimedia Case Study

Group 5
 1. What advice would you give an incoming CEO?
- Be fully aware of Lululemon’s unique approach unlike other companies.
CEO - Abandon performance-oriented thinking and internalize the core value of Lululemon,
himself/herself such as Quality, Product, Integrity, Balance, Entrepreneurship, Greatness, and Fun.
- Need expertise in technology and quality, which played a key role in growth.

- Encourage employees to communicate and cooperate from the perspective of integrity,

not from top-down directives.
For employees - Motivate employees by making them have goals and responsibility in their lives
and believe that individual growths will result in company’s growth.
- This should apply not only to employees but also to the board of directors ,
who determine the future of a company.

- Stores should be carefully placed based on in-depth observation and pattern analysis of the area, Real estate
not factory-style reckless placement. Focus on what influences its core customers.
- Active supervision in the field and open feedback acceptance are required.
strategy

- Customized production should be done through demand analysis of each product.

- Need a system to predict demand for scale and prepare inventory appropriately Inventory
according to the individual regions. system
2. In 2005, what did Advent International and Highland Capital see
in Lululemon?

In 2005, Advent International and Highland Capital saw growth potential and profitability in Lululemon.

•Lululemon is beginning to gain support among consumers who appreciate high-quality fabrics and
1 unique designs.

•Lululemon has unique products that could appeal to more fields beyond the yoga clothes field.
2

•It is expected that it will continue to grow as it has a stable management team and focuses on innovation
3 and product development.

Advent International and Highland Capital invested, believing that Lululemon had the potential
to become a leader in the sports apparel industry. Eventually their investment proved successful
as Lululemon grew into a global company with a market capitalization of over 50 billion.
3. How important is LLL’s culture?
The biggest cultural feature of Lululemon is that company values employees themselves.
Core value and Manifesto
Their core values and
manifesto include
integrity, work / life balance,
fun, as well as
entrepreneurship and good
merchantability,
which helps the company
hire people
who meet these core values.
This not only makes human
resource management easy,
but also has the advantage
of providing consumers with
their beliefs intuitively.
After all, their culture can be seen as important because of the above characteristics,
and their culture can make a very successful organization
Employee training Goal setting
Lululemon places great
Their employee training
emphasis on training for
doesn’t focus on the
employees. Management team
company's goals
even says that training
but sets the person's goals.
employees is more important
It focuses on personal
than making money.
development of employees.
The training includes
That way, employees will
personal responsibility,
naturally be encouraged by
helping employees set goals,
their own morale,
and inculcating them with the
and they increase work
company's culture. Through
efficiency based on a
this training, the company can
healthy mind, which can
make its employees more
lead to corporate success.
suitable for the company.
 4. Why was Bob Meers hired in 2005?
First Major Expansion:
Lack of Experience
Lululemon’s
Circumstances
Lack of infrastructure&

Lululemon needed Operational Systems:

Hiring Bob Meers experienced outsiders to
Obstacles for Scaling up
expand the company stably
with internal workers.
as CEO
Passion for Lululemon:

acted and thought like CEO

even before contract, amazed
Bob Meers
at Lululemon’s business
(Source: NewYork Post) Personal Traits of
Bob Meers
Experience at Reebock:
experience at women athlete
Chip Wilson, the founder,
industry, knows traditional
thought that Bob is the one
that can synergize with him, organizations as a CEO
and overperform any other
individuals.
 5. In June 2008, Christine Day took over. What should she do first?
What must not change? How fast can LLL grow while maintaining its culture?

What should she do first?

•Confronting imminent tasks : mismanagement of the real estate strategy, poorly supervised construction, struggling to
implement new inventory, decreasing consumer confidence, fractured company’s leadership team
•Redesigning the management team working system: obsession with speed of work, organizational tension and
communication deficit resulted

What must not change?

• Brand Proposition : NEED TO DEFENSE ITS DIFFERENTIATED BRAND PROPOSITION (Fit + Function + Fashion)
• Her attitude as a CEO : stays current, not blaming to external factors, try to communicate with workers on the line

How fast can LLL grow while still maintaining its culture?
•Difficult to grow as fast as the LLL has been
- Management working process with no explanation will hinder the cross functional working process of management team
- Current inventory system (direct-sales Web sites) will be a dissatisfaction of its retailers, which will cause dissonance of its
vertical retail model
- If brand expansion fails, it may harm the existing customers’ demand buying women’s yoga apparel
•If LLL captures competitive advantages during brand expansion, It will succeed in entering new markets and
grow at a faster rate than existing growth.
THANK YOU