DINA RUDICK/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGES
THE BIG SQUEEZE
One Lululemon customer wrote
in the comments that it was “upsetting” that her larger friends couldn’t
wear the brand, but acknowledged
that she still loves the clothes.
At Lululemon, it’s important to
be part of the club, according to
former employees. Some workers
and customers genuinely become
“indoctrinated” in the Lululemon
lifestyle and become blind to the retailer’s shortcomings, Licorish said.
Though it’s one of the attributes
that helped Lululemon cultivate its
famously devoted customers, the
cult-like nature of the brand can get
out of control, she added.
At the center of the lifestyle is
the Lululemon Manifesto, which
instructs people to take simple
steps in their lives to better themselves: “do one thing a day that
scares you” and use goals to “trigger your subconscious computer.”
But the manifesto also
presents some higher-level
ideologies, reinforcing what Fast
Company has called the “Cult
of Selling” at Lululemon.
“Nature wants us to be mediocre
because we have a greater chance
to survive and reproduce,” the
manifesto says. “Mediocrity is as
close to the bottom as it is to the
top, and will give you a lousy life.”
HUFFINGTON
08.18.13
“That’s pretty scary,” Licorish
said. “You couldn’t get away from
it and it kind of invaded your life.”
LULULEMON’S FORCEFIELD
Even as Lululemon draws unwanted scrutiny for its failure
to embrace plus-size customers,
the consequences have been few.
Storm’s petition never managed
to gain traction, fizzling out at just
over 100 signatures. Boycotts and
other calls for action have yet to
materialize, a fact that marketing
experts attribute to Lululemon’s
self-selecting crowd: Only lean
people tend to shop there, so the
company’s exclusion does not affect them, experts say.
Many former
employees
admit to
being swept
up in the
cult-like
Lululemon
lifestyle.