Lululemon pauses online sales of new workout line ‘Get Low’ after complaints

Jan 20 (Reuters) – Athletic wear maker Lululemon Athletica said on Tuesday it had paused online sales of a new workout line called “Get Low” after user complaints.

“The collection remains available in our stores in North America, but we have temporarily paused sales online in the market to better understand some initial guest feedback and support with product education,” said a Lululemon spokesperson.

The company expects to bring the collection back to North American e-commerce channels soon, the spokesperson added.

Users on social media platform Reddit complained that the leggings from the new launch are “see-through” while bending or squatting.

The new product line on the website seemed to be inaccessible and showed “something went wrong” when clicking the page link.

“It seems like the company has had issues with product development for some time. This is something that the new CEO will need to address,” said David Swartz, an analyst with Morningstar.

The pause comes as Lululemon deals with several challenges including a proxy fight launched in late December by founder Chip Wilson, who nominated three independent directors to the company’s board.

Lululemon is also under activist pressure from Elliott Management, which took a roughly $1 billion stake in the firm in December and has been working with former Ralph Lauren executive Jane Nielsen as a potential candidate for its CEO role.

Its shares were down about 5% in afternoon trading amid broader market declines.

Despite the struggles, the Vancouver-based company said last week it expected its fourth-quarter revenue and profit to be toward the high-end of its previous forecast range due to strong demand during the holiday season.

In 2024, Lululemon had to pull its “Breezethrough” leggings from stores and its website within weeks of the launch as customers complained about the fit, material and seams, resulting in fewer new options for women’s bottomwear.

(Reporting by Angela Christy and Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)