Lululemon just made a risky move most retailers avoid

Fetch you ever walked thru a world airport and regarded around at all the fats-blown stores — Cartier, Dior, Gucci — and belief to yourself: Did I accidentally land in a mall?

And then you definately commence to wonder. Who retailers here? How are these stores quiet in enterprise? Who desires to fall that kind of cash earlier than a flight?

Yeah, identical.

Then it came about.

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I used to be strolling again from a family day out to London after I came upon myself on the Hermès store in Heathrow.

A pair of murky Oran sandals I in actuality had been wanting for years caught my spy. Traditional, sublime, purposeful (a minimal of that’s what I told myself). And so they had been more reasonably priced than within the U.S. on memoir of of VAT refunds. So naturally, I bought them.

Completely justified, appropriate?

What started as a passing curiosity about airport retail grew to become correct into a swipe of my bank card and a reminder that these stores would be onto one thing in any case.

And now one cult-well-liked activewear designate is coming into into that identical high-stakes airport game, making a wager big that you just’ll be simply like me.

Lululemon opens new store at Heathrow Airport

Lululemon simply opened a brand new store inner Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 — its first airport place of abode in Europe and best its fourth worldwide.

Most vogue and athleticwear manufacturers cease a ways faraway from airport retail. The structure is costly, logistically delicate, and gradually reserved for luxurious gamers or responsibility-free standbys.

However Lululemon is leaning in.

The designate already has airport areas in Vancouver, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Its most recent Heathrow store locations it in front of a sure type of client: international travelers with time to execute, money to spend, and a rising obsession with shuttle-ready athleisure.

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That’s no coincidence.

In 2019, the firm launched its “Plight of enterprise, Scramble, Shuttle” assortment: a mild line designed for motion and long-haul comfort. Since then, its Belt Earn has long gone viral on TikTok and become a frequent flyer in airports at some level of the sphere.

“Lululemon has accrued a cult following for good reason, and we are excited to welcome such an iconic activewear designate to Heathrow," stated Heathrow retail director Fraser Brown in an announcement.

Clearly, Lululemon sees shuttle no longer as a facet hustle, nonetheless as a core class.

Lululemon faces high-stakes roar in airport retail

Opening a store in a important airport may sound glamorous, alternatively it comes with serious challenges, in particular for manufacturers that aren’t promoting $5,000 handbags.

In contrast to luxurious gamers, most apparel manufacturers wrestle to clarify airport rents.

Airport retail intention high risk, high cost, and dependence on unpredictable foot traffic. Vacationers are speeding to their gates, facing delays, or prioritizing snacks and chargers over leggings and matching objects.

Airport retail may no longer be new, alternatively it’s quiet uncommon territory for quite a lot of apparel manufacturers originate air of luxurious.

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The structure requires a ambitious designate identification, impulse-pleasant products, and the skill to notify a seamless browsing journey in a high-stress space — one thing most apparel companies haven’t figured out.

For Lululemon, the strategy looks less about quantity and more about designate.

Positioning its gear alongside luxurious labels at Heathrow isn’t nearly about promoting product; it’s about conception.

It elevates Lululemon to shuttle staple place of abode. It tells world travelers: You don’t simply favor comfort…you favor to be pleased this form of comfort.

And if those travelers swipe like I did, the gamble may simply repay.

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