Lululemon reports 88% rise in earnings amid e-commerce boom

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Lululemon (LULU) is already Vancouver’s unofficial uniform, and now it seems like it was also the pandemic’s. The yoga and workout attire retailer smashed expectations with its first-quarter report on Thursday, revealing earnings of $1.23 billion— an 88% increase from the year prior.

It’s no secret that the pandemic created a boom in loungewear and athleisure. With nowhere to go but the living room, yoga pants and sweatshirts became the official dress code for 2020. And Lulu’s balance sheet is proof of this.

The yoga and workout attire retailer reported its net income had soared to $145 million, up from $28.6 million a year prior. Revenue also skyrocketed, to $1.23 billion from $652 million a year earlier, when the retailer had to shut its stores for Covid. Earnings per share also soared a massive 404% to $1.16 a share.

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Lululemon’s CFO Megan Frank is thrilled with the company’s results, stating in a press release, “We are very pleased with our Q1 results, which reflect significant growth in the business compared to both 2020 and 2019. Our momentum remains strong as we enter the second quarter, and we are raising our estimates for the year accordingly. The strength of our financial position allows us to continue to deliver against the Power of Three growth strategies, while we leverage both near- and long-term opportunities.”

Frank said that Lulu continues to think outside of the box for ways to engage customers with its innovative merchandise, including a line of products that use lower-impact dyes, and it’s new trade-in and resale program that is still in its nascent stages.

Helping the company’s strong performance is its recent adoption of Mirror, the at-home fitness platform, and direct competitor of Peloton, which the company predicts to bring in $250 to $275 million in revenue in 2021.

Lululemon is also predicting impressive numbers for its second fiscal quarter, with adjusted earnings per share between $1.10 to $1.15 on sales of $1.3 billion to $1.33 billion. For the year, the company is expecting adjusted earnings of $6.73 to $6.86 per share, on sales of $1.3 billion to $1.33 billion, exceeding analysts expectation of $1.01 per share and revenue of $1.20 billion.

The company hasn’t just been succeeding on a local level either. It has been crushing it on a global scale, with its international sales increasing 125% compares to 82% in North America.

Lulu’s stores have now fully reopened, and the amount of customers is on track with pre-pandemic capacity, with its store visits down only 1.9% compared to April 2019, according to a foot traffic tracker.

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