Monday 17 June 2013

Black yoga pants that "showed too much"

Some businesses I can completely relate to. Most businesses I understand,. But there are some that completely fox me .

Take the case of the quaintly named company,  Lululemon. I was, of course, blissfully unaware of its existence until I read a news item that its CEO was leaving (polite term for being fired). Naturally, with a name like that, I couldn't but help read up. Apparently this Vancouver based company is  in the business of "yoga inspired" athletic gear , whatever that means. They are fast growing , but reportedly had a product problem recently which led to the CEO's exit.

The "product problem" made further interesting reading, Apparently, their Luon range of black Yoga pants was getting too many customer complaints - the product was too sheer and ,er, "showed too much" ! A particularly sensitive topic when when doing yoga which involves stretching and contortions !! The outcry was so much that they had to pull the product from the shelves in March.  The CEO stayed long enough to resupply the product, hopefully this time,  not "showing too much", but then had to go.

What amazes me is that this company makes a margin of 50%, selling yoga pants and the like.  Products include "Wunder Under pant" priced at $92 


and "Om pant" also priced at $ 92



If you want more gems such as the above visit their website here.

What foxes me is this. Who on earth wants to pay $ 92 for a "Om pant".  Do yoga by all means, but concentrate on , well, the yoga. Does it matter an iota whether your pant is "om" or "not om" ?? There are many places on earth to make a fashion statement, but I doubt if a yoga session is one of them .

I am a sports nut, as regular readers of this blog would know. I have spent an insane amount of money on sports. But for rackets, bats, balls and the like which help me to play better. Not for looking like an Adonis on court (well, that would be an impossibility anyway, but you get the drift ... ). I thought the purpose of getting on to a training room, or a sports field, is, er, to train or to play.

Yeah, I know lots of people who dress up for the evening walk. This is a disease that especially affects the female of the species. The sight of a Rajalakshmi - she of the ample proportions - trying to look fashionable while huffing and puffing at 1 kmph, I can assure you, is not a sight for the Gods. You can spot a true sportsman or sportswoman from a mile away - just from their dress. Although I admit, that Pete Sampras, one of the all time greats hit new lows in dressing, wearing what I can only describe as a Kachha which a Sardarji would be proud to wear as an underwear !

Even I would blanch at that !

But seriously, you can run a very successful business by peddling yoga pants at outrageous prices ! While being called Lululemon !!

Now , that's a business I can never understand :)

20 comments:

Indu said...

:-) Time to start understanding that business: Yoga and the various forms of it - esp the ' hot yoga' takes the cake. They know how to market those things. Feels good to stick to regular sport, who cares what you spent on the clothing as long as you score a point.

The Million Miler said...

The west has taken the oriental concepts (Yoga, Tai Chi etc) bastardized it to all kind of variants, the latest craze being a yoga based cooking session being run by one of the tree hugging hippie types in Wellington. Thankfully Aucklanders are too crass and busy making money that they let the nutters live in peace in Welly, the average Aucklander (called Jafa by the rest of NZ)won't know the difference between Yoga and Yoghurt

Shachi said...

LMAO!!!! Trust you to come up with an enlightening piece like this. Most friends I know spend tons on gym/yoga outfits and memberships, and never go. So I'm not surprised at this business minting money.

I have an idea - personalized workout clothing and towels - for adults and for all the youth leagues in town :P....I'm sure it will work! What do u say :)?

Shachi said...

Btw, I love Sharapova's dressing style and cannot stand Serena's. just saying :)!

Ramesh said...

@Indu - Oh yes - Yoga has been marketed like crazy. Even I was bemused by "hot yoga" but it does appear to be very popular

@Kiwi - Much of the marketing has been done by Indians abroad - I was flummoxed in the UK about "Iyengar Yoga", but that was a huge rage. And really, is there that much difference between the worthies in Wellington and you Jafas ?(why that name by the way ?)

@Shachi - Yes, its all a feel good thingy - taking a membership, dressing for it, etc etc.

Well, there's a also a small difference between Sharapaova's figure and Serena's .... :)

Appu said...

You should see a lot of ideas the tech startups come up with ;) for sample (well literally) https://twitter.com/JoshConstine/status/341089477537714176

Ramesh said...

Weird. Actually Twitter itself belongs to that category :):)

The Million Miler said...

Ramesh, Just check on wikipedia what a Jafa is!

Ramesh said...

@Kiwi - OMG OMG : Withdraw comment. Just goes to show that you ignore wikiing anything at your peril :)

Vincy said...

an interesting piece from you and thanks for the enlightenment. if not for you i wouldnt have known about lulumelon ( what a name!!) and their range of undies :-)

But isnt everything commercialised these days? and increasingly people crave for being the centre of attraction, popularity and limelight at the cost of anything, be it dressing up or for that matter dressing down? or why even going for a Mastectomy.

had a laugh over your Rajalakshmi's of abundant propotions, got to watch your gaze Ramesh ha ha ha

Ramesh said...

@Vincy - ha ha indeed.I should watch my gaze for sure :) And yes, commercialisation has reached extreme proportions - the so called reality TV being the worst example.

Anonymous said...

There comes a time sometimes in one’s life
Where with oneself one is at strife
walking alone in a world of many
where even shadow dosen’t accompany
And then comes a person, as though an Act of God
With a heart of gold and shoulder broad
tenderness, care, love and compassion
Thoughtfulness, commitment, a true passion
Suddenly the world feels worth to live
Filled back with energy and feeling alive
Thank you to this day, when the Act happened
And Happy Birthday to the “Action”

Ramesh said...

@iknowwho - OMG - that is so sweet and I am bowled over by your kindness. Thanks so much. I am touched immeasurably

RamNarayanS said...

Ha Ha Ha, Ambled in here after a very very long time in social timeline to see the 'lemon' post. Was browsing through (though a catch-up would take me a long long time from where I left) You could be very well be a guest editor on the "Unreal Times". And so, you are watching reality TV? We could get more gems then. :)

Ramesh said...

@RamMmm - Wonderful to see you back.
No No - no reality TV ; that is one thing I just cannot do :)

Now that you are back, reactivate your blog. Your unique writing is a loss to the blogosphere if you are away. Our Spanish education is getting very rusty :)

Sriram Khé said...

You thought I was gone for good ... in some Gulag somewhere ... guess what? I am baaaaaaaack ;)

I was gone for a week to a yoga camp. The Om Pant is really,really, comfy and is a great chick-magnet. The fashionable "yogitas" simply adore a man with that pant on, and off.

Nah! Who am I kidding. I don't need no Om Pant to attract stalkers of the female kind!!!

Hey, marketing these kinds of outfits is nothing but Shakespearean--it was the Bard who observed that clothes make the man. So, whether we can do an asana or not matters very little as much as whether we can come across as "the man" when we wear an Om Pant. (Not related to that old politician, KC Pant!)

BTW, too bad that Sharapova grunts, and grunts so loudly. Takes all her charm away. The lady doth [grunt] protest too much, me thinks!

"Jafa Yoga" has a nice rhythm to it. Sounds like the next big thing after Om Pant ;)

Ramesh said...

@Sriram - Laughed so much at your comment that my belly is aching. Vintage sriram writing. Bravo.

Shachi said...

Lol at Sriram's comment. Sooper!

And I dislike those grunts too - terrible to watch a women's finale between her and Azarenka!

Vishal said...

Reading this, I was wondering on the basic instincts/ goals of getting into something e.g. sports/ yoga. The problem arrives when the focus takes a dramatic shift for other motives. Take the case of T20/ IPL. For the ardent cricket fan, a sweetly timed cover drive would mean much more than that ugly lofted swat! :)

Ramesh said...

@Vishal - The less said about T20, the better :)

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