2PM - No. 934: AMAZONALO

Deep Dive No. 1: Amazon Wireless: It was a shift that changed the technological world. It’s been analyzed, written about, and even adapted into a recent film (which was pretty great, I might add).

First, the Blackberry came along and changed handheld computing forever. And then Steve Jobs gave one speech in 2007 that led to the demise of the company that once possessed 45% of the smartphone market. Founded in 1984, Blackberry released its first phone in 1999. With 85 million users, Research In Motion (Blackberry’s creator) peaked in 2013. By 2016, that number was down to 23 million.

The full reason, of course, was more than the speech. We all know that. Sure, the phone was amazing. It was coveted; back then AT&T was the aspirational carrier because only it could serve you an iPhone on a silver platter. The deal that Apple struck with then-Cingular Wireless funded its own investment into its wireless data infrastructure. I would posit that it was the reformatting of carrier economics that determined the next 15 years of computing. 

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Amazon is in talks to offer free mobile Prime members

Excerpt: “Prime membership continues to grow year-over-year as the value members receive continues to increase,” said Amazon spokesperson Bradley Mattinger. Amazon is competing with Walmart Inc., whose $98-a-year Walmart+ membership is emerging as a lower-cost alternative offering many of the same perks as Prime and free grocery delivery on orders of at least $35. Amazon in February increased its free grocery delivery threshold to $150 from $35.

Why Great Jones sold itself to a conglomerate

Excerpt: By becoming a subsidiary of Meyer, Great Jones, like others before it and surely others to come, has turned into what it defined itself against for so long: a legacy brand in a big-box retailer. But perhaps that was all part of the plan, “Great Jones being more than a DTC company has always been a part of our vision — specifically, “building a 100-year-old heritage brand” is one of our key long-term goals,” Tishgart says.

Apple sure kicked Meta's butt today, right?

Excerpt: It lets you see and interact with computer programs and digital content as if they're right in front of you, in the real world. This is instead of having to look at a traditional flat screen.

First, Apple damages Facebook's advertising business (May 2021). And then Facebook pivoted (with a name change) as it tried to find new revenue. Then, Apple revealed plans to scale its advertising business. And, today, it launched what appears to be a more appealing headset than the Oculus. 

How retail media is disrupting marketing structures

Excerpt: Retail media has virtually reinvented the consumer's path to purchase. WARC & the Digital Shelf Institute interviewed a dozen digital marketing executives from CPG brands, media agencies and consulting shops. We asked how they were responding to the opportunities and challenges. This report details what they told us.

Possible UPS worker strike would upend eCommerce

Excerpt: The 24 million packages UPS ships on an average day amounts to about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes, or as UPS puts it, the equivalent of about 6% of nation’s gross domestic product.

2PM, 3/23: The Potential UPS Strike

Updated For May 30: 802 brands covered. Today’s breakout is the top brands in supplements covered in the database. The leaders are LMNT, Vital Proteins, and Love Wellness. Shopify is being used by all but five which aligns well enough with our data on platform penetration: Shopify 73.5% of the list, Custom is 18.2% WooCommerce is 3.28%, Salesforce is 1.26%, Magento is 1.14%, SpreeCommerce is 1.01%, Squarespace is .5%, and BigCommerce is .379%.

Lululemon rides 60% international growth to $2B quarter

Excerpt: The retailer saw strength across the board, in terms of both channel and category. Store comps were up 13%, while digital revenue grew 16%, and executives touted double-digit growth in both men’s and women’s products. Notably, Lululemon’s accessories segment surged by 67%.

Alo Yoga is beating Lululemon at its own game

Excerpt: Exactly how the Alo Yoga matching workout set became the definitive look of our time is a business story, a marketing story, a pandemic story and a celebrity story all wrapped up in one—alongside a healthy dose of happenstance. Right time, right place, right Lycra. 

Is this Alo Yoga's moment?

Excerpt: “As any dominant brand becomes more ubiquitous, its early adopters will look elsewhere,” said Simeon Siegel, managing director and senior analyst at BMO Capital Markets. “Brands like Alo are waiting there with open arms.”

Editor's Note: while this February report assumed Lululemon's growth is slowing, today's reporting proves otherwise. But while that represents overall growth, Alo Yoga is probably closing in on Lululemon's Yoga segment, which is quickly becoming an after thought for the retailer focused on everything to include fitness apps and trail shoes. 

Deep Dive No. 2 🔐: To Chip Wilson, Lululemon’s founder and former CEO, the product was about yoga and nothing more. It’s hard to imagine athleisure as a yoga-only product today, but for a time he attempted to fiercely protect that focus.

The athleisure landscape is shifting.

Lululemon Athletica, founded in 1998, has been the de facto standard for quality, high-performance athleisure for years. The brainchild of Wilson, Lululemon was designed to be a space for yoga enthusiasts, embodying an aura of exclusivity with its premium pricing, tailored sizing, and strategic store locations. It was this exclusivity that elevated the brand from a local yoga apparel shop to a global luxury athleisure brand.

The brand’s trajectory took an unexpected turn when it was adopted by the CrossFit community around 2010-2014, when the high-intensity fitness regimen surged in popularity. The CrossFit community was drawn to Lululemon’s functional, durable, and well-designed apparel, which was suitable for Crossfit’s intense, diverse workouts. Lululemon became almost as synonymous with CrossFit as it was with yoga.

Wilson was not entirely pleased with this development. He felt that the high-intensity, competitive nature of CrossFit clashed with the zen, mindful philosophy he wanted Lululemon to embody. The physical intensity of CrossFit, he thought, caused more wear and tear on the apparel than intended, leading to customer complaints that he believed were more a consequence of the activity than the product’s quality.

What's next for Alo Yoga?