Besides customer experience, innovation is a massive buzzword in loyalty marketing these days. For Lululemon Athletica, innovation is a top priority that plays a starring role in its ongoing quest for brand loyalty.
Lululemon Athletica CEO Laurent Potdevin talked about his company’s unique stance toward innovation during Wednesday’s fourth quarter earnings call.
“We’ve now also brought our Lab concept to the United States with our first location, which opened yesterday (March 29) on Bond Street in New York,” he said, according to Seeking Alpha. “Lululemon labs are a hub of creativity for functional and experimental design that taps into the culture, trends, and technology of the people and places it celebrates. We are excited about what our teams can do in this new location and we’ll continue to look for the right opportunities to grow our footprint strategically in key markets.”
What’s more, Potdevin noted the company’s digital priorities.
“As I turn to our digital culture, we are building an ecosystem that will create unique experiences to our guests,” he said. “Our ecommerce revenue in Q4 grew [over] 30% to just over 20% of total sales in the quarter. This will only continue to increase as we expand our digital business model with the introduction of innovative digital experiences, leveraging CRM capabilities and the expansion of more sophisticated digital marketing strategies.”
Potdevin called 2015 a “transformative year” for the company, “one where we successfully reached key milestones that are positioning us for continued growth and improved profitability over the next five years.”
From a top line perspective, the fourth quarter delivered 22% constant currency revenue growth, including exceptional full-price sell-through during the key holiday week.
“In looking more closely at the results in the quarter, we see exciting momentum by category, channel, and geography,” he said. “Our women’s category continued its strong performance in Q4, with bottoms delivering double digit comps, reflecting the continued strength of our product assortment.”
The successful launch of Engineered Sensation with new technical fabrics and innovative construction techniques drove the business, led by the new Align Pants, designed to minimize distraction and maximize comfort, Potdevin noted.
“Our North American stores posted accelerating comps versus the highest prior year comparison, supported by strong full-price sales during the peak holiday sales period,” he said. “The quality of sales speaks to our unrivaled product performance and to our educators who deliver exceptional experiences that are unique in the retail landscape today. Canada showed a strong trend in Q4 that continued into the first quarter. We are so proud of our Canadian business and the performance in our home market. It speaks to the loyalty of our guests and the strength and scalability of our brand globally.”