Special interviews
Written by: Kuang Yueting
2021-03-08 07:30
The last update date: 2021-03-08 07:30
Under the epidemic, the housing economy is on the rise, and many people are paying more attention to health. Even if they fight the epidemic at home, they don’t forget to continue to exercise. Lululemon, who started out in yoga clothes and is known as the "Apple in sportswear industry", is also against the market. The beneficiaries of the wave.
Yan Yingjian, vice president of Lululemon's Asia Pacific brand, said in an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01" that the company has continuously promoted health awareness and sports life to consumers in the Asia Pacific region in the past five years. After the epidemic, people's health awareness has increased. During the period, business has risen against the market. China District business has more than doubled year-on-year, of which online store sales have increased significantly, and store sales have also recorded an increase.
"Compared with other retail industries, sports products are not too important for tourists. Sports life is always something that everyone needs. If everyone understands the importance of health, business will naturally grow!"
Lululemon has eight stores in Hong Kong, most of which are located in large shopping malls.
﹙Photo by Kuang Yueting﹚
Canadian sportswear brand Lululemon was founded in 1998 and is now the third largest sports brand in the world with a market value of US$38.22 billion (HK$296.716 billion), surpassing a Changhe (0001).
The company opened its first branch in Hong Kong in 2015. Yan Yingjian revealed that when he entered the Hong Kong market, he had set up showrooms in the Soho District and North Point offices in Central, and spent 2 years asking shop assistants to find people in major fitness centers. Come to try out the product, to test the market reaction and to study the market in depth, "It will be hard and slow at the beginning, but when we start the fruit formation, we will be very confident."
The initial efforts laid the foundation for the company's development in Hong Kong, and the number of branches has now increased to 8 branches.
Under the epidemic, public health awareness has risen. Yan Yingjian estimates that the sporting atmosphere will continue in the future, and the Hong Kong market still has good opportunities for growth.
Therefore, Lululemon took advantage of the decline in shop rents and opened a huge store with an area of 5,600 square feet in Harbour City in May last year. In February this year, it opened its 8th store in Element, which became a wonder in the retail industry.
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Yan Yingjian, vice president of Lululemon's Asia Pacific brand, revealed that the average unit price of the pants sold by the company is more than 1,000 yuan.
(Photo by Liang Pengwei)
The price of the product is 30% higher and it is called "Apple in sportswear industry"
At present, the company's three key projects are yoga, fitness and running. Yan Yingjian explained that this is because in the entire sports market, these three sports are conservatively estimated to have covered 70 to 80% of users on the market.
"A certain big brand may make football, but there may be fewer people who really play football. More people will watch the football and buy Manchester United shirts. We hope to sell the products to real users."
He emphasized that although the company's product prices are 30% higher than other sports brands, it is a burden on young people. "Everyone thinks that Lululemon products are high-quality. It is one thing whether you can afford to buy Lululemon products. One day your income level will rise. 1,000 mosquito trousers are expensive, but when you can afford it or value product quality, you will buy it!"
The market calls Lululemon the "Apple of sportswear" because both brands integrate design, style and beauty as the core of the brand.
Yan Yingjian laughed and said that Lululemon has many "famous names", Apple is just one of them, and the company is even known as the "Hermès of Yoga" in South Korea. This may be because the company is a lifestyle brand. In addition to selling products, it will also provide free yoga. Classes and fitness, community activities or cooperation with charities, hope that more people will move towards a healthy life and "make the market bigger."
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Hong Kong people do not have the habit of exercising until they are about 25 years old
When asked about the difference between the Hong Kong market and other markets, Yan Yingjian believes that local primary and secondary schools do not pay much attention to physical education. Students may only have 1 to 2 physical education lessons per week. It is difficult to cultivate students' awareness of sports. After entering the society, I was about 25 years old. It may be because my metabolism is gradually slowing down, my body is more tired or I have a belly, and I start to have exercise habits. Among them, yoga and simple fitness are lighter introductory exercises. The public is moving towards a healthy life.
Lululemon acquired the home fitness startup Mirror for US$500 million in June last year. The company’s flagship product is a fitness mirror, which can feedback users’ wrong exercises in real time, and will charge a monthly fee for pre-recorded and synchronized live fitness instructor courses. .
Yan Yingjian said that customers spend a certain amount of time on fitness every day. The acquisition of Mirror helps the company obtain huge user data, understand the fitness needs of different people, and analyze the user's lifestyle.
"A successful company not only needs to understand the current needs of consumers, but also has to acquire more user data, and use Lebanon to develop innovative products. Innovation cannot be imagined. It must be supported by data."
Yan Yingjian revealed that Lululemon plans to launch women's shoes in 2022 and will attack the sports shoes market at a competitive price.
(Photo by Liang Pengwei)
While the retail market is fading, Lululemon plans to open more branches in Hong Kong. In addition to considering opening large stores, it will also open small community stores and expand the existing store area to allow men and women products and different sports in the store. The product ratio is more even.
Yan Yingjian frankly said that if the fundamentals of doing business are strong enough, he is not afraid of high rents. Lululemon has a certain business foundation and is not too worried about rent expenses. The most difficult thing is to hire employees, because the company hopes to hire employees who pursue a healthy life and love sports. Therefore, in general, the manager goes to different yoga classes to find suitable employees.
At the same time, the clerk has to go to different yoga classes every week to meet new instructors, understand the opinions of users, strengthen the relationship with the community, and cultivate a sense of the market.
"We have been hiring people, as long as the time is right, we can start shop with the feet!" In the future, the company will increase its market share outside of North America, and will launch women's shoes in 2022, followed by men's shoes. , The company will attack the sports shoes market at a competitive price.
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