As previously reported, Lululemon Athletica plans to have 20 stores in Europe and 20 in Asia by 2017. According to Retail Week, the Canadian-based retailer has hired a commercial real estate firm, CBRE Group, to lead its development in the U.K. and in continental Europe.
In addition to five”showrooms” in the U.K., Lululemon now operates two stores in London, located in Covent Garden and on King's Road, and it is about to sign four new leases in the country. It is looking for suitable sites also in Belgium, France and Switzerland. Its first store in Singapore is due to open before the end of January.
The company has now a total of 86 showrooms around the world, and 16 of them are located outside North America, not including one that is slated to open in the Middle East toward the end of next year. As in North America, the Lulemon showrooms are a prelude to a retail presence in a particular territory.
For its third quarter ended Nov. 2, Lululemon reports a 10 percent increase in total revenues to $419.4 million, but same-store sales were off by 3 percent. A 27 percent increase in online revenues pushed the share obtained through e-commerce up to 18.4 percent of the turnover.
The gross margin improved to 50.3 percent, but operating income fell by 12 percent to $81.2 million, or 19.4 percent of revenues. Net income was down 8.5 percent to $60.4 million from $66.1 million in the same quarter a year ago.
