The Wunder Under World of Lululemon

Lululemon is becoming quite the popular sports apparel store for yoga, running and other sports products that are desirable to consumers. As of a few months ago, I had never heard of Lululemon, until my sister was singing their praises and telling me how amazing they are. I was hesitant to go shopping with her to check out their products, because they are fairly expensive, and as a college student I don't always have tons of money to splurge on sports apparel. However, I went into the Lululemon store located in the University District by the University of Washington in Seattle. I walked in and tried on a pair of their "Wunder Under Legginings" and absolutely fell in love! Not only were they extremely comfortable, but they were trendy and made of quality materials. So, needless to say, I was instantly sold on their products and left the store with two pairs of pants: my amazing Wunder Under Leggings and a pair of cropped capri pants. The prices of the pants were a little expensive for me, but the quality was worth it! I ended up spending $78 on each and got a free hemming for my Wunder Under Leggings. They take your measurements for the hemming right in the store and have their alterations department alter the pants for you and when they are finished you can come back and pick them up or have them mailed to your home. Their quality customer service and attention to detail makes shopping in their store a positive experience.

Take a look below and check out the Lululemon Wunder Under Leggings and crop pants:

Wunder Under Legging Wunder Under Crop Pant

Lululemon specializes in yoga gear, including mats, sports bras, shorts, crops, pants, tops and much much more. They have products for yoga/pillates, hot yoga, running, and everyday sports activities. The nice thing about Lululemon products are that they are versatile and can be used in practically any sport. I wear my Lululemon pants to CrossFit and yoga, which are two sports that are completely different. However, they work great in both sporting arenas and are EXTREMELY comfortable. Their spandex material makes working out in them a great experience. And not to mention ladies, any pair of Lululemon pants makes your butt look amazing! =)

As a newly founded Lululemon customer, I would highly recommend their products. So the next time you have a day off, go in to your local Lululemon store and check out some of their new products!

It's Yoga Time

Lululemon is a company based out of Vancouver BC which features comfortable clothing for yoga. Founder Chip Wilson turned to yoga in the mid 90s to find a different activity to pursue outside of this typical activities, snowboarding and surfing. Wilson felt such "rush" after his first yoga session that he wanted to continue. So, Wilson decided to make a store to not only provide clothing, but also educate the community about the improving their life through yoga.

Lululemon is primarily knownfor its yoga pants, seen in the picture to the right. The material is the pants makes them comfortable, flexible and sweat proof. This combination provides a the perfect experience for a person performing yoga.

Although, Lululemon makes men's clothing too, it has not caught on as quickly as the women's. Yoga, for the most part, is an activity that is highly feminine. It consists of balance, flexibility, concentration and mediation. Yoga is becoming more popular for men, but it is still an activity that is primarily involved by women. Thus, Lululemon needs to try to involve men in yoga to increase its market share.

-John

Is Nike Above it All?

It's no secret...Nike is #1 and their list of sponsored athletes could go on and on and on. But instead of discussing how extensive the Nike brand is and how popular it is with consumers I would like to highlight just a couple of athletes.

• Michael Johnson
• Terrell Owens
• Mark McGwire
• Kobe Bryant
• Lebron James
• Tiger Woods

Yes, these are some big names but these are also the same athletes who have been in tabloids for their negative behavior. With controversy and scandel to their names, does it also reflect badly on Nike? Or is Nike above it all?

Here is an example of the backlash brought on Nike (not directly, but it still reflected upon them) after Lebron James left the Cavaliers. Fans were outraged at the way he left and he starred in a Nike commercial addressing this issue. Below is a spoof of this commercial made by upset fans. (original commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdtejCR413c)

What do you think? Is Nike too big for the negative brand association brought on by athletes like these?

Customize Your Own Nike

Nike is one of the most popular sports apparel and shoe industries known to many people. You can see their products everywhere; in commercials, basketball games, and other sporting events. Nike has products for men, women, and children that are involved in various sports. Nike also lets you customize the products you wish to purchase from them. How does this work you might ask? If you go to their website at www.nike.com you can customize the color combination of sneakers you want or you can create a t-shirt with your own graphic and text on it and you can pick the color you want the shirt to be. For customizing shoes, you can also choose if you want them narrow or wide to fit perfectly to your foot and ensure maximum comfort.

Nike also offers sports teams the opportunity to create team uniforms. There are a variety of options to choose from and they offer uniforms for all popular sports. You can choose tops, bottoms, shoes and accessories. This is a great way to get good quality products for your sporting team and a great way to personalize what you are going to wear!

Nike is constantly reinventing products to launch on the market and everyone seems to love them. Keep tuned in to Nike to see what they come up with next!

Nike: King of Them All

The swoosh is one of the most recognized symbols in the whole world. It does not have any words around the symbol, but most consumers can instantly identify it. This is simply amazing for a shoe company that started with just running shoes.

A brief history, Bill Bowerman and Geoff Hollister collaborated to make a company that made great running shoes. Bowerman was the cross country and track coach at the University of Oregon when Steve Prefontaine was running for UO. Bowerman literally used a waffle iron in order to create a shoe that was light weight and functional for track running events. And as they say, the rest is history.

Today, Nike is a sponsor to a host of athletes in various sports from basketball to track and field with everything in-between. The most recognizable faces of Nike at this point in time include: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Dwayne Wade, and still Michaels Jordan.

Nike is definitely the top dog in all the athletic clothing in the United States. They generate a huge amount of fan interest and consumer curiosity due to the stars they have under their name. And, still to this day, teens and young adults alike are still wowed by "the Jordan." There was even a joke about it in "Get Him to the Greek" when P. Diddy's character referenced the popluarity of Air Jordan's for his six children. In the foreseeable future, Nike will continue to dominate the American landscape

-John

Under Armour is Armed with Sponsorships

Under Armour orginally broke out into the sportswear industry with their compression shirts/shorts and for the longest time that is all I thought they did. In my mind they were a sports brand but just serving this one purpose to a small number of athletes. Now they have expanded their product line into different types of apparel and shoes and it is apparent the company has transitioned into being a top brand name. In working to target the serious athlete, they are centering campaigns and commercials around ideas that would most appeal to these people.

I think a large part of Under Armour's increased popularity is due to their sponsorship of specific athletes and athletic teams. Some of their biggest athletes are

• Tom Brady
• AJ Hawk
• Cam Newton
• Brandon Jennings
• Michael Phelps

However, it seems as though the focus is more on the sponsoring of college teams. The two teams considered as Under Armour's "flagship athletic programs" are the Auburn Tigers and Maryland Terrapins. They direct towards the hard-working athlete in effort to establish themselves as a serious player in the sports apparel and shoe industry.

Are Under Armour's campaigns and use of athletes enough to be considered a serious contender when it comes to Nike and Adidas? Or is the focus on college teams taking away from their full potential of exposure? Let us know what you think!

Let's Check out UA!

Under Armour offers a variety of clothing for men, women and children. They offer tops, bottoms, underwear, outerwear, footwear and accessories. Under Armour caters to all of the popular sports and carries products that appeal to their needs. The Under Armour products are made out of a spandex material that are extremely comfortable. Consumers love these form-fitting products for their workouts.

One of the men's products that are rather popular are the Under Armour Scout Knit Pants. These are a sweat-pant type bottom and are great for working out or lounging around. The price for the pants are $49.99 plus tax and come in black or white. See below for a picture of these great pants!

Although consumers love Under Armour clothes and accessories, let's not forget about their shoes! The Under Armour Assert shoe is great for running. The minimalistic structure of the shoe makes running in it pretty darn speedy. The bright colors of the shoes are sure to get you noticed. In fact this shoe comes in several different color combinations and is priced at $69.99. See below for a picture of the UA Assert shoes.

Men Wear Lingerie?!

Under Amour founder Kevin Plank invented lingerie for men....sort of. He was a former University of Maryland football player who wanted to keep players dry, light and quick during practice and competition. He was tired of having his practice clothes constantly stick to him after had practiced hard and was dripping in sweat. So he created something that would solve that....Under Amour.

It is a synthetic material, which is elastic and flexible in nature, much like lingerie for women. But it is not a ladies only product at all. Since its inception in 1996, Under Amour has been worn by many National Football League players to protect themselves from the cold or the heat. And, the football crowd remains the largest segment for Under Armour.

Many of their commercials have a very excited football player exclaiming the team must protect the home field from defeat. This was a very effective ad to portray exactly what Under Armour stands for and how they want to be received. They are trying to venture out into different sports, but it has not been received as well has their foot ball line has been received. We will have to wait to see what happens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnECY26PSHk&feature=related

Is Skechers Sketchy?

Skechers has not really been a big player in the athletic shoe industry. They have a sporting line but most all athletes pass it over for a different brand because of the lame image. In addition, they are not really the best product when it comes to sport shoes, they seem to copy what the others are doing instead of focusing on a good product of their own.

Skechers' partnerships and sponsorships are reflective of the lack of athletic support. I only came across two..

• Sponsored LA Sports Activities Awards ceremony in 2011
• Partnership with the Kardashians (reality TV family)

Neither of these relationships looks like they would put the Skechers brand into the public's mind or help to register themselves as a serious sporting shoe company. Recently, with the introduction of the Shape-Ups, Skechers appears to be trying to integrate themselves deeper into the sporting industry, but the Reebok Reetone has an advantage in the market because of brand image.

What do you think of Skechers and their brand image?