Pickleball, a popular sport that we know and has been on the rise, has now found its way into another store in the retail space. Lululemon has now leaned into a pickleball partnership with a lifetime partnership. Lululemon is officially going to be the official apparel partner of pickleball and tennis. Lululemon is partnering with lifetime fitness. Celeste Burgoyne the president of Americas and global guest innovation at Lululemon had much to say about this collaboration: “This partnership highlights the extraordinary growth of these sports and brings together the best in athletic apparel with the best in tennis and pickleball experiences,”.
What does this partnership entail? This collaboration agreement was announced at a major pickleball event that was held at Life Time’s new Penn 1 location in NewYork city. This collaboration includes collaboration on key events at the Life Time country club. Lifetime was founded in 1992 and currently has more than 170 “athletic country clubs” across the United States. Lifetime is looking for creative new ways to get America moving again as the fitness world has changed and evolved post COVID-19. In addition to these collaborations the apparel is also going to be available to purchase at select Life Time clubs and also made available online.
This partnership comes at a very good time for Lululemon. Pickleball is a sport that has risen to popularity over the past few years and has become more regulated over the years. Lululemon establishing itself in pickleball and tennis allows it to compete with other brands that are the sponsors of tennis such as Wilson, Nike, Fila, and others. Lululemon has opened itself up to another market and is attempting to differentiate itself from its yoga apparel.
This collaboration is a very strategic move for Lululemon as a collaboration with LifeTime will bring more visibility to the brand and to the brands partners as well. This comes at a great time for LifeTime fitness as Lifetime is trying to grow its brand by investing in America’s fastest growing sport and also by expanding its factories. For individuals like myself who have not heard of LifeTime, this fitness company is creating a strategic partnership by allowing for more visibility for their brand by collaborating with a strong partner such as Lululemon.
Lifetime is increasing its awareness as they have also collaborated with the world’s top rank male pickleball players such as Ben Johns, and former tennis player Andre Agassi. LifeTime has created brand new courts where they have also invited individuals to come and play and practice at their courts. This aligns with this upscale fitness company’s strategy to grow by investing fully into pickleball.
To summarize, this partnership is coming at a very strategic time for Lululemon and Lifetime. As both companies look to increase their value and their brand awareness, both will mutually benefit from this partnership.
References
https://www.retaildive.com/news/lululemon-life-time-pickleball-tennis-apparel/715496