You have decided to open up a yoga inspired apparel store. There is an opportunity to own and operate a Lululemon franchise in the geographic area you are interested in, but you must consider all potential pitfalls of this as well as the (obvious) advantages.
1.What would you do?
Open an independent yoga athletic store to operate as you choose or a Lululemon Athletica franchise? What, specifically, will you consider as you make this decision?
2.Note: Lululemon is unique in that it does not heavily rely on television or print advertising to promote its product, but rather relies on building strong community relationships. Would this play into your decision in a competitive marketplace? Please explain.
3.As Lululemon was building its business, it entered into franchise agreements to more quickly expand its brand name and increase sales. Today, this opportunity has all but disappeared with less than 5% of sales coming from its early franchises. Why do you think we see so few franchise opportunities in apparel retail as compared to franchise opportunities in the fast food retail industry?
