Lululemon to enter new category as it unveils its first-ever footwear collection
Lululemon Athletica is looking to outfit its customers from head to toe as part of its overall growth strategy — and taking on athletic footwear giants in the process.
The company is officially entering the footwear category, starting with its first-ever women’s running shoe, Blissfeel. Available in 10 colors, Blissfeel will debut online and in select stores across North America, Mainland China and the U.K., starting on on March 22. It will sell for $148.
Lululemon will introduce two additional women’s styles this summer: Chargefeel, a sneaker for gym training and short runs, and Restfeel, an elevated slide for post-workout. A fourth, Strongfeel, a training sneaker designed for multi-directional movement, will debut in the fall.
“We intentionally started with women first because we saw an opportunity to solve for the fact that, more often than not, performance shoes are designed for men and then adapted for women,” said Sun Choe, chief product officer, Lululemon. “That didn’t sit well with us. Innovating for women is in Lululemon’s DNA—now we’re bringing that same expertise to footwear, and women were part of this journey every step of the way.”
The company will launch men’s footwear in 2023, along with special edition shoes and seasonal collections as the brand continues to grow the category with new offerings in the future.
In January, Lululemon warned that Omicron would take a toll on its fourth-quarter results even in the face of strong holiday results.
“Footwear is the natural next step for us to expand and apply our long history of innovation in fit, feel and performance, and it represents an exciting moment for our brand,” said Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald, who announced the brand’s intention to enter the category back in 2019. “We are entering the footwear category the same way we built our apparel business—with products designed to solve unmet needs, made for women first.”
Athletic footwear sales in the United States rose 17% for men and 24% for women in 2021 compared with 2020 levels, according The NPD Group. The market is dominated by industry giants such as Nike, Adidas and New Balance.
Lululemon said it applied insights and expertise gained from 20-plus years of designing performance apparel to deliver its inaugural footwear offering. Each shoe within the lululemon footwear collection is designed to deliver a specific feeling and features different upper materials, foam compounds, construction methods and colors for the perfect balance of cushioning and support—and to help ensure a zero-distraction experience for customers enjoying the right fit from the first trial, the company said.
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