There is a reason activewear companies were a key component of our 2019 Trends Analysis, so with one earnings call behind us and another coming up, we dug back into two of our favorite brands.
Lululemon - The Rise Continues
Calling 2019 a strong year for Lululemon may be the retail understatement of the year. Every month of 2019 outperformed the same month in 2018 and the impressive growth was strengthened by key announcements from the company to improve the efficiency of their retail footprint. From utilizing new store formats to focusing on expansion into the men’s apparel market, the company’s core decision-making seems as strong as its growth. These focus areas are critical as one of the few risks with Lululemon remains the potential for overexpansion to limit their long-term growth.
Yet, there is little sign to suggest this obstacle is posing any short-term effect. The brand’s dominance continued into Black Friday where it drove visits 471.9% above the baseline for the period from January 1st, 2018 through November 2019. This was dramatically higher than the 256% number that the brand posted for Black Friday 2018. Once again, Lululemon is showing exceptional performance year after year.
Nike. Just Did It Again.
While forgiving the mashup of Nike’s legendary logo and Britney Spears’ equally legendary pop hit may be difficult, the payoff is coming. Nike’s 2019 produced only two months - February and September - that did not see Year-over-Year growth compared to the same month in 2018.
And the company’s strength has been on display in the holiday period. Nike had an exceptionally strong Black Friday with 11% Year-over-Year growth on the same day in 2018. Even more impressive, this pace has been felt throughout the period. Comparing visits from November 1st, 2019 through the first 11 days of December to the same period in 2018 shows 8.7% growth. Taking the baseline for the period from January 1st, 2018 through December 11th, 2019 shows that the two Saturdays following Black Friday also saw banner visits in 2019. The Saturday immediately following Black Friday saw visits jump 142.7% above the baseline, with the next Saturday producing visits that were 96.5% above. This surpassed the same Saturdays in 2018 producing visits that were 118.6% and 52.1% above the baseline respectively. The only conclusion - Nike’s 2019 dominance looks to be continuing into the 2019 holiday season.
Who else will make this holiday season one to remember? Visit Placer.ai to find out.
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