lululemon
Background:
Canadian athleisure wear brand, launched in 1998, grown from a family-run store to a global publicly listed brand. They developed an international ambassador programme to help drive business growth.
Solution:
Lululemon developed a global offering by focusing on local growth. It empowered local stores, giving significant autonomy to its store manager - treating them much like entrepreneurs of their own business.
The very effective ambassador programme is an extension of this positioning. Store managers approach local trainers and yoga teachers to join the programme to provide feedback on, and also to showcase, the products.
Lots of people buy from Lululemon but they wanted to connect with people who have a following and who know, and are known in, the local community. Yoga and fitness teachers were a perfect cohort – yes, they could show off their products effectively, but they were also on the ground connecting with potentially large groups of people. Lululemon gets to know potential ambassadors before they invite them to join the programme. The programme is structured and has a clear pathway for each ambassador. It is a partnership - Lululemon is supporting the ambassador in their career progression and the ambassador is supporting Lululemon in getting their message out to potential new customers.
Results:
Annual turnover is now over $6Bn US.
