After a challenging year, yogawear maker Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq: LULU) is opening its flagship store in downtown Vancouver today (August 21).
The store is located in prime retail real estate at Robson and Burrard, the same corner on which the Victoria’s Secret megastore is situated. Robson Street has been undergoing a facelift of late, with the popular shopping destination seeing many changes including a Tesla Motors showroom opening earlier this year.
The clothing maker has had a tumultuous year. After announcing in June that he wanted the company to undergo a major boardroom shakeup, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson announced this month that he was selling half his stake in the company for US$845 million. The company also saw a 60% drop in profits in 2014’s first quarter compared with a year ago and announced that it was lowering its outlook for the remainder of the year.
In 2013, Lululemon had to deal with some bad press related to product quality issues that resulted in many of its pants being see-through. This wasn’t helped by Wilson making controversial comments about some of the company’s customers’ bodies shortly after this debacle.
-With files from Glen Korstrom
