Did you know that Nintendo originally started as a playing card company, decades before video games were a thing? Sometimes businesses can successfully transition into newer, higher-tech industries, but as athleisure retailer Lululemon has learned with its largely unsuccessful attempt to market fitness devices, tapping into the tech sector is easier said than done.
Lululemon enjoys premium brand positioning not just for clothing, but also lifestyle products, like yoga mats, water bottles, sports bags and more. The company tried to push into tech with Mirror, a futuristic device that designed to assist with home workouts. But so far, Lululemon's ambitions haven't panned out. In 2021, Mirror brought in just $125 million, less than half of the target $275 million.
According to modernretail.com, the Mirror looks like a conventional mirror when it's not in use. Hang it on the wall and you can catch reflections. But turn it on and see fitness routines displayed on the mirror's surface while your reflection remains visible so you can follow along and watch your own movements. A novel idea — but consumers aren't biting.
Why? For one, the Mirror cost $1,000 just for the device, with additional fees to access the workouts. Second, Lululemon jumped into at-home workouts during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic waned, so did the home fitness boom, and many consumers ditched the basement workouts for gyms and parks. Lululemon responded by setting up partnerships with local workout studios in some markets — which only served to further reduce the Mirror's value for consumers.
With this strategic misstep, Lululemon seems to have stretched itself too thin, jumping into a competitive technology space without fully understanding the customers and industry. The company spent $500 million to acquire Mirror, but with its disappointing sales performance, has been looking to offload it.
