MW Lululemon is looking to catch the Labubu wave. It's two years late.

By Bill Peters

Lululemon's offerings are late to the game - the plush-toy mania is several years old - and is a distraction from what Lululemon is known for, an analyst says

Lululemon's latest attempt to attract customers may be not only be too late but could also distract people from the what the company is known for - branded performance yoga gear.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. is now selling heart-shaped charms, alligator clips, keychains and other accessories to complement its lines of yogawear and athleisure apparel. One analyst hasn't been taken in, characterizing it as an effort to ride last year's Labubu-led trinket craze.

BNP Paribas analyst Laurent Vasilescu, in a note on Thursday bearing the headline "Breaking My Heart," said the effort came too late and took the focus off the company's core technical workout gear.

He said the Labubu-charm moment - especially big in 2024 and 2025 -is starting to fade.

"We are disappointed," Vasilescu said, "in the newness for 2026 so far and we think a new CEO needs to change the direction of the design team."

Analysts in recent months have complained that the Vancouver, B.C.-based Lululemon (LULU) has suffered from a lack of fashion cohesion, as it navigates tariffs and competition with brands like Alo Yoga and Vuori. Some of Lululemon's recent moves, like a collaboration with the NFL last year, raised concerns that the company lacked focus.

Lululemon last month said that Chief Executive Calvin McDonald planned to step down from that role on Jan. 31. Shares rallied after the news.

Shares of Lululemon fell 4.3% on Thursday, and have dropped 10.5% during a three-day losing streak.

The charms and accessories push arrives after Lululemon this month briefly paused some online sales of its new Get Low line of workout wear, following customer complaints that the fabric was too sheer and not "squatproof."

When the company resumed sales in that collection, it added new guidance on how to wear the clothing, including wearing skin-toned, seamless underwear.

For analysts, the situation brought back memories of some of Lululemon's other issues with fit and quality over the past decade-plus. Lululemon's founder, Chip Wilson, said last week that the company had "completely lost its way as a leader in technical apparel."

Lululemon's stock has tumbled 58% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 index SPX has advanced 15.4%.

-Bill Peters

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January 29, 2026 16:38 ET (21:38 GMT)

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