ACTIVIST DESIGN COMPANY AUDIT:
THE PRESENCE OF CSR
23.O2.2015
“Responsibility is a journey- a process of incremental progress and continual improvement. What is has has never quite been as interesting to us as what if.� PAUL E. JACOBS
TABLE OF CONTENT [KEY POINTS INTRODUCED]
DEFINING THE OBJECTIVE
FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATION: STRUCTURED INSIGHT
EXPLORATION LAUNCH: INTRODUCTION TO LULULEMON
COMPANY EVALUATION: CORE VALUES CORE PILLARS
INTRODUCTION TO EVIDENCE: PRODUCTS STORES PEOPLE COMMUNITY FINAL THOUGHTS OPPORTUNITIES: RETAIL SPACES COMMUNITY INNOVATION BRAND EQUALITY MINDFUL PRACTICES
REFERENCES
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE?
UNDERSTANDING OUR OBJECTIVE MISSION.
OBJECTIVE We began this project by deeply understanding what it is we are trying to find, and more importantly, what it is we are trying to prove. Our goal involves examining a company that utilizes a sustainable business model and provides sufficient corporate social responsibilities. We are also aware of formulating and supporting our opinion and argument as to why this organization might possess effective CSR.
A GLIMPSE THROUGH OUR WINDOW.
PIC & HEADING (REFERING TO FRAMEWORK)
A LOOK INTO OUR THINKING, AND THE METHODICAL FRAMEWORK THAT WAS USED TO ANALYSE THE CHOSEN ORGANIZATION
FRAMEWORK
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
FOR EVALUATION
The purpose of this phase, is to establish a pleliminary understanderstanding of how lululemon is responsible. A responsibility check for the organization
PRODUCTS TECHNOLOGICAL RESPONSIBILITY
STORES
OBJECTIVE DEFINED
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
SPECIFIED IMPACTS
IMPACTS OUTCOME
OPPORTUNITIES
LULULEMON. PEOPLE
ECONOMICAL RESPONSIBILITY COMMUNITY
Through our continuous research we developed a set of categories to deeply explore lululemon’s impact and footprint. The following step focused upon creating opportunities that take advantage of certain impacts. POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY
LULULEMON: CREATING COMPONENTS FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE LONGER, HEALTHIER, FUN LIVES.[MISSION STATEMENT]
CORPORATE ANALYSIS
[INTRODUCTION] Lululemon is a yoga-inspired technical apparel company worth $1.7 billion. Having started with a single store in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1998, lululemon now has over 270 stores across Canada, the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Asia and will enter the Middle East by opening a store in Dubai. Lululemon is named Canada’s fastest-growing brand in a list of Best Canadian Brand compiled by Interbrand. [1] The company also has the third highest productivity per square foot after Apple and Tiffany.
There are three divisions of Lululemon; Lululemon, Lululemon men and Ivivva athletica. Men’s clothing has always been sold in the Lululemon retail stores accounting for 13.5 percent of the volume and 15 percent of the space and now will take on the new concept of being their own store. The first men’s-only store opened up in Manhattan’s SoHo, New York City, USA in 2014. The company expects tremendous growth for this concept in hopes of approaching $1 billion in revenue over the next few years, investing accordingly to bring that vision to life. [2] The men’s-only stores will have workshop environment vibes where guys can hang out and not just shop and leave. After expanding offering to men, Lululemon has turned to expanding its brand for girls between the ages of 4 to 14 years old. Ivivva is inspired by active girls and all designs are driven by community feedback that comes from the girls who wear the gear. This is an entirely new market the company is venturing into and a bright spot too. Ivivva continues to prevail and is a major growth driver for the company going forward with nearly 20 stores and 26 showrooms across the USA and Canada.
Lululemon does not do any mass advertising and markets wisely by tapping into the interests of its individual communities and building around them. This makes them a hyper-local company and continues to bring ultimate success to the brand. They are active in posting product shots and community events on Facebook, Tumblr, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest and was the first brand on Zite. Lululemon believes these platforms are all digital kitchen parties! Lululemon has an extremely loyal guest base not only because of merchandise but because of the lifestyle it embraces. The core values that are a driving force to the company’s growth and success are product, quality, integrity, balance, entrepreneurship, fun and greatness.
LULULEMON: CORE VALUES
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
GREATNESS BALANCE
QUALITY
FUN
INTEGRITY
PRODUCT: We create components designed by stylish, sweaty athletes for athletes. QUALITY: Our guests want to buy our product again. INTEGRITY: We do what we say we will do, by when we say we will do it. If we cannot keep our promise, we negotiate new conditions of satisfaction. BALANCE: There is no separation between health, family and work. We love every minute of our lives.
PRODUCT
ENTREPRENEURSHIP: We treat and pay employees as though they run their own business. They have the freedom to choose who they work for and at what salary. FUN: We do not take ourselves too seriously and we do not expect others to either. GREATNESS: We create greatness in the world by eliminating mediocrity.
LULULEMON’S EFFECTIVE CSR
PEOPLE STORES PRODUCTS COMMUNITY
THE CORE PILLARS [LULULEMON]
Through our research and findings, we were able to build a foundation for our argument as to why we believe lululemon is responsible in almost all aspects. However we found four key areas where lululemon strives in: product, stores, people and community.
PRODUCTS. Lululemon is known internationally for their wide range of yoga apparel and accessories, as well as their more ambitious line of lifestyle apparel and goods. They believe that in order for them to create a successful product, it should be apparent as a quality product. Lululemon gains the trust of their customers by creating innovative and fashionable products that are surrounded by a community of educators delivering lululemon’s story and their products intent. The educators are also trained to be aware of any defaults in the products so that a plan of action can be made quickly and efficiently.
Camilo Lyon says, “Lululemon has built a strong following and a strong brand from really high-quality product that has had a very high fashion quotient to it. I still think that their fashion is far ahead of the competition’s.” [3] Along with the intention of building the products with the best material quality, lululemon focuses greatly on the design process and how design can increase the excitement and fun around the product lines. A part of lululemon’s large success is dependent on their ability to explore and implement designs that are
submitted by their guests. This gives their guests a chance to participate and create, which provides lululemon with useful feedback. They believe this way they can stay relevant to the public and in fashion in a unique way. The original lululemon store was a retail space surrounding a design department, so that feedback was immediate and change was constant. Today the design teams at lululemon still use first hand feedback as a primary tool to progress the brand’s transcending product lines.
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE.
MAP
MAP-PRODUCT
STORES. LULULEMON EXPANSION Lululemon has been investigating new markets over the past few years in an attempt to go international. Their approach to this is different then most other retailers as they set up what they call “showrooms�[4]. These showrooms are small stores that they rent for short periods of time and hold special events at. They carry a limited number of products in these stores and are primarily used to build the brand into the community. They also use brand ambassadors in order to draw athletes or yogis into the showroom. Once they have set up a community and found the ideal store location they start the development. Rather than sending in lululemon experts from Victoria the company has implemented a strategy of hiring locals in an attempt merge with the culture. Once the location is selected the local designers imagine the store and a lululemon construction
team carries out the work.[5] The result is a low risk, high reward entrance strategy that is very effective. Currently lululemon has expanded to Singapore and also has set up showrooms in both Hong Kong and China. LULULEMON LOCAL DESIGN Being local is important for lululemon and because of this they use local designers and crafts people to construct their stores. Brothers dressler worked with lululemon on the yorkdale location and used locally reclaimed wood from the floor of their studio to create the stores facade. Using a grid and a pixelated photograph of a leaf they were able to create a beautiful mosaic on the wall. This speaks of both of the brands values, being local and sustainability. Peregrine design also worked with lululemon and used local references to capture the spirit of a Chicago store creating an icon. Using elements of Frank Loyd Wrights work such as cantilevers and long widows the store draws the user in. they refer to them as “storefronts that can’t be ignored.”[6] Another collaboration with lululemon is heavy industries. For the Alberta store the designers created a giant bundle of wheat to represent the prairie location. It is very different than the surrounding buildings and attracts many guests to visit the store.
PEOPLE. The heart and spirit of lululemon lays within their people. The company’s intent is to inspire and educate growth in leading self, leading others and leading the organization. This results in a shared understanding of leadership with defined practices to focus on one’s development, grounded in willingness to be in wonderment and to learn that anyone can create success and happiness in all aspects of life.
LEADING SELF: To lead self, one must know they have the power of choice in every moment. Through communication, one listens to what they say and creates their reality. Being integral and declaring and doing what one says they will do and by when they say they will do it. If one is unable to complete something, one must take responsibility for cleaning up any messes. There is possibility everywhere and one is able to create a future that otherwise would not exist. Through self-reflection and ego-awareness, one honours their authentic self. Vision and goals are of the utmost importance in ones life because they are able to set and actively pursue a vision for their ideal life that is authentic, inspiring and possibility based.
POSSIBILITY
SELF KNOWLEDGE
INTEGRITY
COMMUNICATION
VISION & GOALS
SELF [LEADING]
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
CHOICE
ENROLLMENT
COLLABORATION
GENEROSITY
RELATIONSHIPS
OTHERS [LEADING]
WILLING LISTENER
STRAIGHT TALK
LEADING OTHERS: Leading others involves genuine relationships where people care about one another and seek to understand who they are and what is important to them. By being in relationships, collaboration is key when working to produce the best solutions and achieve results. Enrolling one another through inspiration to see a possibility that otherwise would not exist. Leading others involves being generous and standing for others by holding them as fully able and seeing them as they aspire to be. Listening for what is really important to one in a relationship from a place of commitment, partnership and contribution. Lastly, straight talking is the purest of communication because one can openly and authentically say what they feel so others can hear and take action.
LEADING THE ORGANIZATION: One’s agility is needing to lead the organization’s purpose and shifting quickly based on what is needed to achieve that purpose. Decision making and judgment is used to make timely decisions so the company can move to action efficiently and effectively. Drive for results by mobilizing others to achieve results with energy, passion and a need to finish. Being innovative and clearing the table for what is possible, new and exciting. Organizational responsibility entails one holding themselves accountable for the success of the organization and believing that they are successful when the organization is successful. When one knows and believes they are successful, they have the ability to unleash the potential of others by development. In conclusion, this is all possible with a vision and strategy to paint a clear picture of the future providing a sense of direction and inspiration. INNOVATION
PEOPLE ACCELERATION
ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
DECISION MAKING
DRIVE FOR RESULTS
ORGANIZATION [LEADING]
AGILITY
VISION & STRATEGY
LEADING ORGANIZATION. [CASE STUDY] Hosted by the Quality Operations Manager, Brand Product Educator and Director of Sourcing for lululemon athletica; this trip of a lifetime provided 4 educators from stores around the globe, Kristen Altomare-Ciallella [Toronto-Canada], Serena Giancola [Toronto-Canada], Catherine Gellatly [Washington-DC], and Dani Jes [Frankfurt-Germany], to tour the garment and fabric factories where lululemon product is created. The group travelled to Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan and Sri Lanka over the course of 11 days. The trip provided valuable insight
into the product design, sourcing and quality assurance process. The educators that went were specifically and intentionally selected by upper management based on how effective they would be in storytelling the knowledge gained from Asia. It was the educators duty to bring back every little tidbit of insight from the factories and share them with their store team, regional team and the entire company. This trip was an indicator to the company what they are up to in the world and how they are developing leadings.
COMMUNITY. Lululemon believes that sustainability involves creating a positive impact within our global communities and not just reducing the organization’s impact on the environment. Their vision is to elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness by embracing social, environmental and economic health in every part of their organization and in all our global communities. [7] As an effort to uphold this belief Lululemon created The Metta Movement, which is their grassroots community philanthropy program. “Metta� is a term in yoga that refers to the practice of generating love and happiness for others, and is rooted in the belief of giving without expectation.[8]
The Metta Movement is a grassroots approach to community philanthropy that begins on the ground with the teams in local communities. Each year Lululemon provides funds to their stores, area managers, support center employees and select suppliers and ambassadors to launch or support projects that contribute to social and environmental health. [9] Through the Metta Movement, the organization creates opportunities for their employees, ambassadors and suppliers to identify needs in their communities and actively address those needs by working with best-in-class organizations.
Anyone can visit a neighbourhood lululemon store and inquire about current Metta Movement projects. There are five types of Metta grants that are available through the stores, regional areas, hometown employees, ambassadors and suppliers. Anyone with a project, an event, an idea or a dream of contributing to social and environmental health, can be a Metta grant candidate. These grants are:
Store Metta: Over 60 percent of the Metta Movement’s grants go directly to their stores, where they are managed by each individual store to contribute to local needs. From organizing a yoga event for at-risk youth, to championing a non-profit dedicated to supporting women who are fighting cancer, it’s up to our stores on how to spend these funds.[10] Area Metta: These funds are managed by their five Area Managers and are focused on larger North American regional initiatives such as their partnership with the Africa Yoga Project. The grass roots non-for profit organization exposes yoga to 1000’s of Kenyans in prisons, schools, special needs centers, HIV rehab centers, and Masai Villages.[11] Supplier Metta: Lululemon’s Sustainability and Sourcing teams manage these funds to support activities with our suppliers around the world, such as developing a community centre in Sri Lanka and promoting education and literacy in Cambodia.[12]
Hometown Metta: The Sustainability team and a group of their hometown Vancouver employees manage these funds to support projects that address local projects in the city, such as Vinyasa for Youth and Girlvana.[13] Ambassador Metta: These funds are managed by an educator advisory roundtable, comprised of educators from a number of stores. Ambassadors from all our regions are nominated, and the roundtable awards the funds to ambassador projects that go above and beyond, such as yoga for veterans.[14]
From product development to goal coaching, Lululemon has also developed athlete programs to support driven local athletes, instructors and role models in their store communities who embody the lululemon lifestyle. These individuals are referred to as ambassadors, and help test Lululemon’s latest products to its limits and give them feedback.[15] A link on their website provides access to information about all of their ambassadors around the world. There are two types of ambassadors, which are:
Store ambassadors: Inspirational leaders in your community. These ambassadors consist of yoga teachers, personal trainers, run mavens and more, with a passion to elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness. [15] Elite Ambassadors: Elite athletes that are respected and loved by their sports communities. Through the practices of setting and accomplishing goals, they are examples of how to constantly defying what’s possible in both sport and life. [16]
“GIVE WITHOUT EXPECTATION.”
Lululemon also supports young men and women in sport, work in community leadership development, celebrate and promote the arts, and also help with disaster relief efforts. These projects they fund, help tackle a wide range of issues from poverty and homelessness to medical research and disease awareness. By supporting these efforts, Lululemon creates positive social and environmental change in our communities and develop leaders who are prepared to tackle some of society’s big challenges.
OUR FINAL THOUGHTS
LULULEMON [CURRENT STATE]
Lululemon’s continuously strives to elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness through community initiatives, quality product, enabling leaders and creating hyper-local stores that fit seamlessly in the environment around them. The company’s intentional community initiatives prevail in strengthen relationships with guests and everyone in the community. It is clear to see these people and communities are happy, healthy and are in pursuit to living the funnest lives they can. There are opportunities and possibilities to take lululemon above and beyond as they become a true international company. These opportunities involve lululemon’s change quotient, community innovation, mindful education and hyper-customizable product and retail space.
“TO GET SOMETHING YOU’VE NEVER HAD, YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING YOU’VE NEVER DONE.”
RETAIL SPACES 1. Fitting Room Simulations: The heart of lululemon stores are the fitting room areas. This is where educators in the store get to know their guests in hopes of finding the gear that works best for them. The future of fitting rooms at lululemon will really know the guests coming in. If there is someone shopping for gear to use for 21 km trail runs on rocky, muddy winding terrain, the fitting room will explore the possibilities of how the gear will perform in that specific environment. Guests will be able to see and feel how the quality and technicality of the product performs without leaving the store. 2. Mylab: Lab & Store: (2015)The goal of lululemon is to manufacture gear that empowers the user, both mentally and physically. They want their gear to make the owner feel good about themselves and impress their friends. “Impressing men? That’s easy, but impressing their friends in the studio is a lot harder.” a New York yoga instructor told Business Insider.[17] mylab is an opportunity for guests to show off who they are as an individual. By customizing the cut, pattern, colour and material, lululemon can provide the guests with clothes that make them feel great while also representing themselves. What better way to impress your friends then by showing off the guest own unique style and personality. Each guest would be 3-D scanned and tailored to a personal size called mysize. Using laser cutters the clothes could be cut to the perfect shape taking customer feedback into consideration. Once selected the clothes would be sewn together and ready for the customer at a later time (in store would be
OPPORTUNITIES.
even better. 20 minutes). this also helps with empowerment mentally because rather than being labeled as a 10, they can simply say its just “mysize”. (2020)Another benefit of mylab is that guests would be able to try on clothes at home. Since their body is 3-d scanned they are able to try on different clothes or materials virtually with a realistic view of how they are going to look. Come VR this opportunity can be used to try on clothes in front of a mirror in a “lululemon change room” from home. COMMUNITY INNOVATION: 3. Community TAGS: (2015) Attached to all lululemon product there is a ‘Why We Made This’ tag. The tag states five facts about the fabric, function, feature, fit and fun factor. Alongside product tags, lululemon’s vendors and manufacturing partners also make a ‘Why They Made This’ tag because they are curious as to where the design came from and what inspired the garment. (2020) Lululemon will be the leader in digital storytelling through universal tags. The tags will connect Person A to Person Z and everyone in between; vendors, guests, educators, designers. People of the lululemon community will have their own unique personal tags. Depending on one’s interest in a product, they can tap into it and see the story behind it; design, inspiration, craftsmanship, 5 F’s. The number of people who tap into a product will also provide the designers with helpful feedback because they can see which products are the most popular through real time signals. Lululemon product will grow into digi actions, overall enhancing guest engagement through a communal digital hub experience.
4. Collaborative Lifestyles: Lululemon will be in post materialist practice; a transformation of consumer values and behavior from traditional modes of object awareness to outcome awareness emphasizing self-expression and autonomy. Lululemon product has the power to manifest different lifestyles. The product will now act as gateways for people and communities to truly and emotionally venture off into these lifestyles. People will collaborate with one another to truly feel, act and be the lifestyle the product welcomes them in to. BRAND EQUALITY 5. Lululemon 4 All: Men-Women-Girls-Boys lululemons recent venture into expanding their menswear line, poses as a signal that their brand direction is positioned towards catering to everyone. By providing a line of products for all demographics and genders, they will be living out their mission statement to the fullest by building a brand for all, which is “creating components for people to live longer, healthier, fun lives�.
MINDFUL PRACTICE 6. Mental Health Metta: Mental health is just as important as physical health in a person’s wellbeing. By creating an initiative to spread mental health awareness and research, lululemon would be able to promote the use of yoga and mediation as a means to help people living with mental illnesses. An emphasis on mental health and meditation can be placed on the complimentary yoga classes already held in select store locations. Limited edition products promoting mental health awareness would be made available at these classes, and part of the proceeds would go towards a mental health foundation of the stores choosing. Grants from the company would also be given to the mental health associations in the countries lululemon operates in.
REFERENCES 1. (1) Wexler, E. (2012). Lululemon takes local to the next level; how does a purveyor of yoga pants become one of the most successful brands to come out of this country? with a grassroots marketing approach that starts from the bottom up. Strategy, , 22. Retrieved from http://ezproxy-library.ocad.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1458457783?accountid=12991 2. (2) Moin, David. "Lululemon Strives For Men's Equality." WWD 13 Nov. 2014: 10. Academic OneFile. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA390983597&v=2.1&u=toro37158&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=a0f6c20889d62ae476dc58e078e2c247 Shaw, Holly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Perceived lululemon quality control issuesâ&#x20AC;? Financial Post. 10 July 2013. http://business.financialpost.com/2013/07/10/analysts-seek-to-get-to-bottom-of-perceived-lululemon-quality-control-issues/#__federated=1 4. "Lululemon's Global Expansion Takes Local Routes." The Globe and Mail. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/lululemon-beats-lowered-forecast/article17691711/>. 5. "Store Design, Development | Lululemon Athletica | Careers | Lululemon Athletica." Lululemon. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. <http://www.lululemon.com/about/careers/store-support-centre/store-design-development/>. 6. "Storefronts." Peregrine. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. <http://www.peregrineplastics.com/collection/store-fronts/?pref=69&slide=795>. 7. "The Metta Movement." Sustainability Lululemon Athletica. Lululemon Athletica, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. 8. "Giving The Lululemon Way." Sustainability Lululemon Athletica. Lululemon Athletica, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. 9.Ibid. 10.Ibid. 11.Ibid. 12.Ibid. 13.Ibid. 14.Ibid. 15.Ibid. 16.Ibid. 17. Lutz, Ashley. "How Lululemon Brainwashes Women Into Spending $98 On Sweatpants." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 4 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. <http://www.businessinsider.com/lululemon-brainwashes-women-2012-4>.