Drop in Lululemon sales steeper than expected
Lululemon Athletica’s drop in quarterly revenue was more than anticipated, as the yoga wear brand contended with store closures due to covid-19 lockdowns.
Net revenue was $652 million in the first quarter ended May 3, down from $782.3 million during the same period last year. This was notably lower than the $688.4 million analysts had previously forecast, Reuters said.
The brand has done well online, however, reporting growth of 70% in the quarter, including reported growth of 170% in Europe and 150% in Australia.
“What we experienced in quarter one and will, quite honestly, for a little bit through 2020, are some short-term operational challenges,” chief executive officer Calvin McDonald said.
“But the demand for the brand and the demand for the category, I feel, has only strengthened through this (pandemic). And those short-term operational challenges will mitigate. They will go away.”
Reuters said that for the current quarter, the company expects digital comparable sales to jump about 125%, though it expects total revenue to decline in the high single digits.
“Our e-commerce growth began to accelerate late March and April,” Mr McDonald was quoted saying. “We moved into the early recovery phase, a new normal emerged, and we were encouraged to see how quickly our guests were embracing both working and sweating from home.”
