Lululemon continues to see strong growth in China as it prepares for summer

This month, global athletic apparel brand Lululemon kicked off its Summer Sweat Games, its signature community event, as its Chinese market saw a 52 percent net revenue increase in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2024.

Now in its fourth year, the event invites participants to form teams of two men and two women to compete in various activities at the store level, with the winning teams advancing to regional finals. From there, eight regional finalists will compete in the national final. Interested participants can register through the Lululemon WeChat Mini Program.

Meanwhile, Chinese director and actress Jia Ling has joined Lululemon as its newest brand ambassador. In 2022, Jia began a transformational journey, training for over a year for her role in "Yolo-You Only Live Once". In this movie, she portrays a woman who finds purpose and self-love through boxing. The inspiring story became a box office hit during the 2024 Spring Festival and won her accolades in China.

Welcoming Jia to the brand, Lynn Cheah, vice-president of Brand Marketing and Community at Lululemon China, said: "At Lululemon, we believe that when you feel your best, you perform your best. Her unwavering spirit, dedication to personal growth and championing a purposeful life is truly remarkable."

The brand has recently opened a pop-up store in Chengdu, Sichuan province, and optimized its store in Sanlitun, a business center in Beijing.

For the first quarter of 2024, the company saw its net revenue increased 10 percent to $2.2 billion, or increased 11 percent on a constant dollar basis.

Net revenue on the Chinese mainland was up 52 percent on a constant dollar basis, with the total international up 40 percent during the quarter.

Calvin McDonald, chief executive officer of Lululemon, said that new store openings in 2024 will include five to ten stores in the Americas, with the remainder primarily on the Chinese mainland.

Megan Frank, chief financial officer of Lululemon, said: "We're very pleased with our business in the Chinese market and continue to see very strong trends in the first quarter. From a competitive landscape perspective, we see strong business on our side, are closely monitoring the environment, and believe we are still early in our growth journey there."