Lululemon Lays Off 100 Employees as It Reorganizes Studio Business
Lululemon has laid off about 100 employees as the company restructures its Studio business, a company spokesperson confirmed to FN.
The cuts stemmed from Lululemon’s decision to “fully integrate” the recently launched fitness platform within Lululemon, the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that a majority of impacted employees were offered other roles in the company.
“This shift, as well as our evolved strategy from a hardware-centric offering to one that is also focused on digital app-based services, enables Lululemon to better drive long-term value through our Membership offerings and create deeper connections with our community of guests,” the spokesperson added.
Lululemon acquired Mirror, the home fitness startup that sells a wall-mounted machine for streaming workout classes, for $500 million in 2020. In 2022, Lululemon launched its Lululemon Studio platform, which offers more than 10,000 on-demand and live-streamed classes that have been available with a Mirror subscription. The Lululemon Studio Membership tier initially required purchase of the Lululemon Studio Mirror, but the company later added a cheaper option that did not require the device.
Lululemon in June reported strong results for the first quarter, bucking a trend of weakness and earnings misses across retail. The athleisure brand, which typically caters to higher-income consumers, managed to maintain a full-price selling model as other retailers implement large-scale promotions.
Following these results, Lululemon boosted its outlook for the year and is now looking for earnings per share ranging from $11.74 to $11.94. Revenues are projected to land in a range of $9.44 billion to $9.51 billion.
With news of the cuts, Lululemon has become the latest retailer to reduce staff amid a turbulent retail environment. Since the start of 2023, Under Armour, REI, Amazon, Bolt, Everlane, Kohl’s, Saks, Wolverine, David’s Bridal, Gap and more retail and technology companies have announced major cuts across their workforces.