Lululemon vs. Ralph Lauren

It’s gotta be easy being a marketing exec.

To come up with creative concepts, lead an army of assistants to fulfill your vision for the world to see.

Man, what’s that feel like for the ego?

You’re like a prophet.

Serious question:

How much is this marketing exec responsible for when their company declines by 86% in value?

Coming up with a new salad may show a slight uptick in revenue in the quarterly report, but will it have any long-term benefits?

Doubt it

Oh, but George, other brands like Chipotle, CAVA, Wingstop, and Wendy’s are all down around 50% from their stock’s recent high…

Fair.

When money’s tight, people eat out less.

Let’s use another example

Lululemon just announced a partnership with the NFL.

They’re now selling licensed apparel with all 32 teams.

Do you have any clue why they did this?

Just the other day, I saw they sponsored 7x world Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton.

I love F1, but still — why?

I’m sorry, but wasn’t this a brand supported by luxury-chasing, middle-aged women who only want to wear $120 leggings?

Sure, they’ve been selling men’s apparel for a while — and I do like their pants — but this was a brand designed around the essence of yoga (or to look like you do yoga).

Does the target audience want this?

Is there a shift in their behavior that signals this is the right play?

I’m all for expanding into new markets, but not at the expense of the customer base that got you to a $50+ billion valuation.

Sure, women watch football, though I’m highly doubtful that leaning into Nike’s playbook is going to have any lasting effect on the brand.

And before you think, Oh, but George, no one has money for luxury apparel…

You’re wrong

Ralph Lauren is performing well today.

They’ve been selling the same stuff to the same audience for decades — and they’re crushing it.

They’re literally doing the best they’ve ever done.

Important to note, Ralph Lauren does have partnerships.

But not with just anybody.

Only with brands that make sense: the PGA, Wimbledon, and the Olympics.

And these partnerships make sense — their logo screams affluence (polo player on a horse).

Sports like these are where their audience is, so it only makes sense.

I’ll eat my damn hat if they ever sponsor baseball or Messi.

Though I highly doubt they ever will, mainly because it would go against everything they’ve built.

The luxury-wearing high earner who does business deals on the golf course would, at the very least, have different views on the brand they’ve grown to love.

So, the lesson in all this?

As David Ogilvy famously said:

“The consumer isn’t a moron, she’s your wife.”

So — for the love of God — stop switching up on your audience, or else it’ll damn near kill you.

Or so I think,

George