Lululemon Athletica which opened its first three stores in the Chinese cities of Shaanxi, Xi’an and Chongqing, plans to add 12 more stores to its network this year.
The brand reported a massive 70 per cent growth in first-quarter China sales, partly contributing to a stellar performance globally. Both sales and profit of the company exceeded its forecast and analysts expectations. Sales of its relatively new men’s range grew by 26 per cent.
The earnings of the brand increased by 28.5 per cent in the quarter, reaching US$75.2 million. Its sales increased by 20.4 per cent to $782.3 million. However those figures were boosted a little by a shift in the calendar. Taking that into effect, and on a same-store basis, its sales increased by 14 per cent. The brand’s sales in Asia rose by 40 per cent, led by China’s 70 per cent gain.
