Lululemon Athletica Inc : Jefferies Cuts Target Price To $185 From $200

Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU) closed up 3% on Thursday after the company relaunched its ‘Get Low’ leggings online after a brief pause.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Lululemon has removed the ‘Get Low’ collection from its website following customer complaints about their sheerness and see-through nature merely days after debut.

Lululemon is now urging buyers to pair the leggings with skin-tone, seamless underwear. Other recommendations also involve sizing up. Customers can either opt to have the leggings shipped to them or pick it up from one of the company’s stores.

The Pullback

The Get Low knit collection is designed for training, and is made of a combination of nylon, recycled polyester, and elastane. However, customer criticism regarding their see-through nature caused the company to pause sales online last week.

“...we have temporarily paused sales online in the market to better understand some initial guest feedback and support with product education,” a company spokesperson reportedly told Bloomberg at the time of removal. “We expect to bring the collection back to our North America e-commerce channels soon and the collection continues to be available in other markets.”

Following the pause, Lululemon founder and one of its largest shareholders, Chip Wilson, criticized the company in a LinkedIn post, terming it a “new low,” while also pinning the blame on the Lululemon’s board of directors.

“Pulling back the “Get Low” product line after three days is clearly a total operational failure,” Wilson said in the post. He highlighted that the company’s previous Breezethrough leggings launch had similar product flaws, subsequently leading to recall in mid-2024.

Wilson alleged on Wednesday that Lululemon has “completely lost its way” as a technical apparel leader and that it has failed to deliver products that “work.” The founder further pinned the blame on the company’s board, with whom he is currently waging an activist campaign. Wilson launched a proxy fight in late December by nominating three independent directors to the company's board.

Activist investor Elliott Investment Management is also reportedly pushing for retail executive Jane Nielsen as new CEO at the athletic apparel retailer. Current CEO Calvin McDonald is slated to leave in about a week.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around LULU stock fell from ‘bullish’ to ‘neutral’ territory over the past 24 hours while message volume stayed at ‘high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user expects the rally on Thursday to continue through the end of the week.

https://www.stocktwits.com/una88/message/642563835

Another user said that the next major catalyst for the company would be a new CEO announcement.

https://www.stocktwits.com/weqwewqeq1111/message/642519584

LULU stock fell 49% over the past 12 months.