Lululemon Case Summary

Lululemon

In June of 2013 Lululemon recalled a product from its shelves in order to improve the sheerness of the fabric used on the popular pants that customers had complained about (Time). A couple of months later in August of 2013, the company began to be criticized for lacking interest in offering a plus size clothing line (Huffington Post). The company continued to be labeled as discriminatory against the overweight population and customers continued to be unhappy. After Lululemon’s name was almost out of the headlines for the yoga pants recall and lacks of interest in a plus size line, another controversy occurred (Time). The Co founder of the company, Chip Wilson, released a fat shaming statement that took another toll on the images brand

The purpose of this report is to examine the problem, evaluate strategies used by other companies that have faced similar issues, and determine the best course of action for Southern Training Design. According to the evaluations of cases from other companies the most beneficial ways to handle this issue included altering policies to meet buyers requests, diversifying the company, releasing official statements, and handling the issues in a timely matter. Based off of the conclusions, it is highly recommended that you address the public, diversify your company, punish the hiring manager, and complete the actions in a timely manner. Creating a formal statement that both apologizes to your customers, and also explains any misunderstandings is important. The statement should address whether or not you plan to keep the photo requirements, and emphasizing how the photo was required to see the style of the applicant not to judge their appearance. Secondly, punishing the hiring manager will allow the public to see that your company has no tolerance when it comes to fat shaming. The repercussions are recommended to include a two-week suspension with pay, required diversity training with an emphasis on anti fat shaming, and a released public apology from Lisa herself. Thirdly, showing signs of interests in diversifying your company will allow you to reach out to new buyers thus growing your company. The best recommendation would be to release a plus sized clothing line to rid the company of the fat shaming label. Lastly, the timeliness of your actions is important and the statement needs to be addressed by the end of this week, and any other actions need to be taken by the end of this quarter. If you decide to alter the application policy then each criterion of your business will be met. If not, then the majority of your