Why most clothing brands are going the Lululemon way
Enshittification is however, sadly, a playbook that is plaguing an increasing number of once phenomenal brands.
Lululemon's founder, Chip Wilson, recently took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to outline the enshittification of Lululemon.
In short, the company - as it is currently run - has eliminated the exact thing that made Lululemon successful, by instead focussing almost exclusively on cost-saving and optimisation, and as a result has killed the goose that was very busy laying golden eggs.
Enshittification is however, sadly, a playbook that is plaguing an increasing number of once phenomenal brands.
Under pressure from shareholders - optimisers are appointed - and the once compelling brand is slowly throttled for all its worth until nothing but a sad husk remains.
You don't have to look very hard to spot a plethora of once wonderful brands being murdered by executives who are blindly executing their orders.
Instead of just criticising, Chip Wilson does offer remedies for the situation, that are also how many other brands should consider their revival:
- Put brand and product back at the centre of the business
- Bring entrepreneurial ownership back onto the board
- Empower creative leadership over merchants
- Stop chasing Wall Street at the expense of customers
It's not rocket science, but does require a backbone and a rare skillset to build a brand back to where it was before its 'GAP-ification'.
It is however doubtful that the Lululemon board will even listen to Chip's warning.
Ironically, the Lululemon share price is down more than 50% for the year, so it's pretty clear that optimisation is a failed strategy.
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Mark Ritson