Lululemon opens largest Hong Kong store

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
May 6, 2020

While many retailers across North America and Europe remain closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Lululemon Athletica has managed to open its largest store in Hong Kong. 

The Canadian athletic apparel and accessories maker opened a 5,590 square-foot retail space, in Harbour City, in the Tsim Sha Tsui district, where customers can discover the brand's extensive collection of workout apparel, ranging from yoga to running, and more, for both women and men. 

Moreover, to celebrate the opening of the store, the brand has unveiled a new limited-edition Swarovski Wunder Under pants. The leggings are adorned with authentic Swarovski crystals, for a price of HKD6,588.

The store opening marks Lululemon’s seventh retail location - and largest - in Hong Kong, where it opened its first store back in 2015. As of Feb. 2, it had 491 stores, including 38 of them in the Greater China region, as the company continues to increase its focus on Asia. 

Though Lululemon stores have been closed in North America and Europe since March 16, stores have been open in China since March, except for in Wuhan, China where the virus is believed to have begun.   

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company has been leaning on its digital business. 

To further protect its finances, the company’s senior management team agreed to a 20 percent reduction in their salaries over the next months, and board members have forgone their cash retainer.  

Meanwhile, it committed to continuing pay protection for its employees through June 1. 

The retailer posted net revenue of $4 billion, for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2020. Total comparable sales were strong, up 17 percent, with comparable store sales increasing 9 percent, or 10 percent on a constant dollar basis, while direct-to-consumer net revenue increased 35 percent.

Despite the strong year, Lululemon is already feeling the impact of Covid-19, as it closed stores across the world over the last two months. The athleisure company has not shared a fiscal 2020 outlook.