Lululemon surpassed $6 billion in annual revenue for the first time in the company’s history following the release of the athleisure giant’s latest earnings report.

The athletic apparel retailer generated $2.1 billion in revenue in Q4 2021, a 23% increase compared to the same period the year prior, behind growth across all business segments. 

Lululemon opened 22 new company-operated brick-and-mortar locations during the quarter, bringing its total to 574 stores worldwide.

• Full-year revenue reached $6.3 billion, a 42% increase year-over-year.
• Company-operated store revenue increased 70% compared to FY2020.
• Revenue grew by 40% in North America and increased 53% internationally.
• It repurchased 2.2 million shares at an average price of $369.16 per share. 

Earlier this month, Lululemon stepped into footwear with the launch of The Blissfeel, the company’s first-ever women’s running shoe, which retails for $148. Lululemon plans to release three additional lines of women’s footwear. The company will unveil men’s footwear in 2023. 

Fierce Competition 

Lululemon’s foray into footwear is the company’s latest attempt at competing with top athletic brands like Adidas and Nike, but the brand also has a rival in fitness giant Peloton. 

In November 2021, Peloton sued Lululemon for allegedly infringing intellectual property rights regarding its private label apparel line, which launched in September 2021. Lululemon immediately countersued.

Lululemon ran into more legal issues in January when Nike sued the company for patent infringement related to its Mirror Home Gym.

There is robust competition to be the new owner of the Denver Broncos, and team CEO Joe Ellis shed some light on the state of the sale.

“It’s more than five and less than 20,” Ellis told 9NEWS on Monday, referring to the number of bids for the team. 

• Ellis said the goal was to sell the team by the start of the next NFL season but could not guarantee that timeline.
• The price is likely to top $4 billion – a record for a sports team sale.
• The league wants bids to be fully capitalized.
• The NFL is encouraging at least partial minority ownership for the team.

Fire Repairs and More

A fire at Empower Field at Mile High last week damaged 14 suites and around 200 seats. 

“I’d be very surprised if those 200 seats are available this year,” Ellis noted, adding that the suites should be ready for the season. The team will need to replace steel risers, an issue compounded by supply chain issues.

Ellis said that the new owner will be faced with refurbishing the existing stadium or building a new one, but he would like to see the current one remain, featuring new developments in the south parking lot pre-approved by the city.

“I think the new owner is going to take a long, hard look at that and see whether he or she can use that as a stepping stone to improving the stadium and making it a year-round destination.”

COVID continues to impact the sports world — most recently a Premier League club.

Brighton and Hove Albion released its 2020-21 finances on Monday, announcing it had suffered $70 million in losses. 

The number is staggering, though still lower than their 2019-20 reported losses of about $88 million.

“While we are once again reporting a loss, which is never ideal, we have seen an increase in turnover and reduction in the losses, despite the pandemic impacting the entire season,” deputy chairman and chief executive Paul Barber said.

Barber attributed half of total losses “directly” to the pandemic:

• Matchday, event, and commercial turnover was “all but wiped out for the entire season.”
• There were extra costs associated with providing COVID safeguards.

The announcement noted that the financials don’t include Ben White’s transfer to Arsenal.

Major Trend

The news is unsurprising given the gargantuan losses suffered by the European soccer market during the pandemic.

In 2019-20, for example, the market dropped by a total of $29.7 billion, according to Deloitte. There was, however, a $7.1 billion parachute fund organized by UEFA that mitigated some of the losses — though clearly not all.

The CEO of NordicTrack-owner iFIT is being pushed out after investors insisted on a new direction, according to a New York Post report.

The company secured a $355 million funding round in February, including $325 million from Pathlight and $25 million from L Catterton, but it came with strings attached. L Catterton and Pathlight Capital wanted CEO Scott Watterson to be replaced.

Watterson, who has three sons with executive roles at the company, also invested $5 million during the recent funding round. iFIT forgave $53.2 million in loans from Watterson’s family members who were employed by the company shortly before filing for an IPO.

• iFIT once had a valuation north of $10 billion.
• With demand drying up the company’s value is now reportedly around $1.5 billion.
• A $300 million lawsuit by iFIT lender Pamplona Capital Management threatened to push the company into bankruptcy.

No IPO

iFIT took on hefty expenses to compete with Peloton, including tapping Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps for a marketing campaign. 

The company had planned to pay for these moves by raising $646 million in an IPO but postponed those plans in October, citing rocky market conditions.

Peloton filed lawsuits against iFIT and Echelon in November, claiming patent infringement related to its on-demand class technology.