SportBusinessMag raccontava dell’acquisizione nel 2020 da parte di Lululemon Athletica della start up Mirror:

Lululemon Athletica Inc. ha stipulato un accordo per l’acquisizione di Mirror, una start-up di fitness indoor che vende un macchinario da parete del valore di 1.495 dollari per le lezioni in streaming. Il prezzo di acquisto è di 500 milioni di dollari. Lululemon ha dichiarato che Mirror aiuterà la società nel processo di accelerazione della propria crescita e aiuterà a dare vita a un sistema che alimenterà il piano di crescita “Power of Three” dell’azienda che include il progetto di guidare l’azienda verso un concept che mette al centro le esperienze dei consumatori.

Sebastian Leck sulla rivista The Walrus analizza le sorti di questa acquisizione, i cui risultati nel periodo post pandemia sono stati assai meno buoni di quello che Lululemon si aspettava. Il prodotto sembrava in effetti promettente: Mirror era stato creato da Brynn Putnam, un’ex ballerina che dice di aver avuto l’idea quando era  incinta e cercava di allenarsi da casa.

Mirror offers both pre-recorded classes and live sessions, and its users see themselves reflected beside their instructor and copy their moves: they walk out to plank position; they do a series of push-ups; they grunt out bicep curls. A counter tracks calories burned and heart rate. In its live classes—and there are about twenty each day—the other attendees appear at the bottom, Mirror’s built-in camera streaming a parade of video avatars. Instructors can watch the attendees and give feedback—“Tap your ankles, Donna Anne,” Liles shouts out during one set of crunches. For those less excited about push-ups, there are other cheerful instructors teaching yoga, Pilates, boxing, dance, barre, and tai chi. Mirror has been billed as the future of exercise: all the personal guidance of a professional instructor in your own home.

Nell’estate 2020 quando Lululemon ha acquisito Mirror, il momento sembrava davvero favorevole e le potenzialità degli allenamenti fatti tra le mura domestiche parevano notevoli.

When Lululemon bought Mirror, CEO Calvin McDonald said the pandemic helped the company “see quicker into the future”—and the future was augmented reality. “Guests have accelerated their behavior and accelerated the adoption of in-home sweat,” he said in an interview with the New York Times (“guests” being a Lululemon-ism for customers). It fit into the company’s “Power of Three” business plan, which, along with doubling men’s and online revenue, laid out a vision to become an “experiential brand” that finds customers “across multiple experiences,” including their homes.

La fine della pandemia ha però cambiato le carte in tavola:

As the lockdowns ended and the world returned to something more akin to normal, the ground shifted once again: customers, no longer content to live behind screens, began seeking real experiences outside their homes. It meant that Lululemon, typically with its finger on the pulse of the fitness world, may have placed a significant bet on a digital future that is nothing more than a passing fad.

Reuben Gregg Brewer su The Motley Fool analizza la possibile decisione di Lululemon di cedere Mirror e le conseguenze che questa mossa potrebbe avere sul marchio e sugli investitori.

When the original deal was announced, Lululemon described Mirror as an exciting opportunity to build upon its vision to be “the experiential brand that ignites a community of people living the sweatlife.” Clearly, that didn’t pan out quite like management expected — demonstrating at least in part that Lululemon is more adept with fashion and fashion trends than with high-priced exercise equipment. Notably, the company’s effort to enter the sneaker space went much better than its Mirror plans. The company is expanding its footwear lineup in 2023 to include a trail shoe, and it has set a goal of entering the men’s shoe market in 2024. Basically, Mirror was a lesson in limitations — one that likely pushed management to focus more on what Lululemon is good at.