Lululemon (LULU) has announced plans to launch a new line of men's shoes this spring. It also includes Cityverse, the athletic apparel brand's first sneaker collection. The shoes represent Lululemon's continued efforts to expand its men's business, with the goal of doubling men's revenue by 2026.
Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma, Pras Subramanian and Allie Canal tell us more.
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Editor's note: This article was written by angel smith
video transcript
Plus Suburmanian: What I'm watching is Lululemon branching out into new territory with the launch of a men's shoe line. The new men's collection, arriving this spring, features a casual sneaker called Cityverse and running shoe models named Beyond Feel and Beyond Feel Trail. The company aims to double its men's wear business by 2026. Where is Josh Schaefer? Get out, come here, dude. I know he's buying these shoes.
– He's literally there, watching the pre-sales.
Plus Suburmanian: I know he's buying those shoes. He's hiding over there.
– I think he participated in the advance sale.
– That's actually why he's not here today.
Plus Suburmanian: He is in line.
– What he's buying is…
Plus Suburmanian: He's standing in line on Lafayette Street. But here's the thing: If you're someone who buys pants, I think it's easy to buy shoes. But for me, I already had Nike. I got a new balance. Why should I buy this shoe?
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
– How do we bring you to market?
– I think it's a really smart way to incorporate saturation into menswear. Lulu's growth is a little slow. They attract the attention of women with their crossbody bags. But yes, if you look at some of these photos here, they look like every other men's white sneaker out there. And I'm wondering how they can differentiate this.
Plus Suburmanian: I have to say, they had a black model with a nice gum sole that looked pretty cool.
– Ah, gum sole.
– It's gum sole.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
Plus Suburmanian: I was surprised. I saw all the white things. And I thought these were boring. But maybe I'm wrong. But Lulu, this just doesn't work for me as a sexy shoe brand.
– Maybe it will eventually. There has been a turnaround —
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
– Yeah.
– They love ABC pants.
– This trend, the casualization, the post-pandemic vibe, this is probably what they needed to embrace to have a complete capsule of different apparel. On will also enter the apparel field. Of course, they started with shoes. And this really is probably the perfect feel and look that men can go to at Lululemon.
– This brand is captivating men and women.
Plus Suburmanian: Some men. But there are also shoes for women, right?
– yes.
– Yes, but for me Lulu is not known for–
– From a woman's point of view, they look like yoga pants. It is known–
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
– I got a body suit for yoga.
– It's also becoming a trend.
– –I really loved it. Yoga mat ~That’s the direction I feel~
– My lululemon yoga mat, yeah, yeah.
– But men are actually getting them. It's how you dress to go to work and do those things.
Plus Suburmanian: I think Lulu needs transformational technology like Adidas' Boost, right? Something that makes you want to go to a brand. Otherwise, the market will become saturated.
– Okay.
– But Wall Street loves Lululemon stock. They are increasing significantly every year.
