Exceeding expectations in the company’s latest earnings report, Lululemon is projecting a record fiscal year. 

The athletic apparel retailer generated $1.6 billion in revenue in Q1 2022 — a 32% increase year-over-year — surpassing analysts’ estimates of $1.5 billion in revenue for the quarter. 

• Direct-to-consumer sales made up 45% of total revenue in Q1 2022.
• Total comparable sales grew by 28% compared to the same period last year.
• Lululemon opened five new brick-and-mortar locations in Q1, bringing its total to 579. 

Lululemon also expects to outpace its previous full-year revenue guidance. The Canadian company projects revenue to range between a record $7.6 billion and $7.7 billion in FY2022. 

It previously estimated full-year revenue in 2022 to be between $7.5 billion and $7.6 billion. 

Growing Business 

Lululemon is making strides to compete with top athleticwear brands like Adidas and Nike. The retailer has been expanding its reach by leaning into footwear specifically engineered for women. 

The retailer launched The Blissfeel — its first women’s running shoe — in March, which retails for $148. Lululemon will unveil men’s footwear in 2023 as part of a previously announced plan to grow its menswear business and presence in the international market.

By 2026, Lululemon plans to increase men’s apparel revenue to twice the amount it garnered in 2021. The retailer expects international market revenue to quadruple in that same period.

The Arizona Coyotes may one day graduate from playing on a university campus.

Tempe’s city council voted 5-2 on Thursday to continue negotiations with the team on a $1.9 billion entertainment district centered on a new 16,000-seat arena.

• The vote does not signal full approval of the project but allows the two sides to continue negotiations.
• The team told council members the team would invest $1.7 billion in the project, which would create almost 7,000 new jobs.
• The proposal includes securing $200 million in public infrastructure bonds, which would be sold to private investors. 

The team is looking to build on a former garbage dump and said it would have to remediate and remove 1.5 million tons of trash.

The Coyote’s current lease for Glendale’s Gila River Arena expires this month, and the team has made arrangements to play the next three seasons at Arizona State University.

From Dump to Mini-City

Like many new stadium and arena projects, the Coyotes are planning for much more than a sports venue.

The team has laid out designs for a 200-room hotel, retail, and restaurant locations, as well as 1,680 residential units.

The project has faced opposition from the city of Phoenix and nearby Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, mostly for its inclusion of residential units.

The Tampa Bay Rays stood up for gun violence prevention in the wake of the horrific shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York. Now, their governor is punishing them for it.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed legislation that would have provided $35 million for a youth sports facility tagged as a possible spring training site for the Tampa Bay Rays.

• On May 26, the Rays and New York Yankees’ Twitter accounts tweeted facts about gun violence in lieu of updates on the game against one another.
• “We all deserve to be safe — in schools, grocery stores, places of worship, our neighborhoods, houses, and America,” the Rays tweeted. “The most recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have shaken us to the core. The Tampa Bay Rays are mourning these heartbreaking tragedies that took the lives of innocent children and adults.”
• The Rays also donated $50,000 to the gun reform advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.

Many other teams joined the call for gun reform, including another Florida team, the Miami Heat.

Team on the Move?

The Rays could potentially seek a much larger sum from the Florida government, should they seek to build a new stadium in the state. The team is considering sites in St. Petersburg and Ybor City.

In 2018, the Rays announced plans for a $892 million stadium in Ybor, but later quashed those plans over a financing dispute with local officials.

One factor is that the team believes their new stadium should have a roof, which will add an estimated $90 million to the cost.