1. How strong are the competitive forces confronting lululemon in the market for performance-based yoga and fitness apparel? Do a five-forces analysis to support your answer, and assess on a scale of 1 – 5 the intensity of the rivalry/bargaining power for each of the five forces. Identify individual factors that tend to weaken or strengthen the rivalry/bargaining power. Then provide an assessment of the collective strength of the five competitive forces. Is this a good market for lululemon to be in?
2. What do you see as the key success factors in the market for performance-based yoga and fitness apparel, and why? Four or more KSFs are expected. Elaborate on your rationale, don’t just provide a list of factors. Note that you are NOT expected to produce a Competitive Strength Assessment table for all the competitors.
3. What does a SWOT analysis reveal about the overall attractiveness of lululemon’s situation? Enumerate each of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, and provide a short sentence or two as to why you regard them that way. Then provide a paragraph or two assessing lululemon’s overall situation.
4. What are the primary components of lululemon’s value chain? Remember these are business functions.
5. What are the key elements of lululemon’s strategy? Provide a sentence or two for each element of the strategy. For optional extra credit, what features of lululemon’s strategy stand out as being different from or the same as the strategy at Under Armour, another competitor in performance sports apparel?
6. Which one of the five generic competitive strategies discussed in Chapter 5 most closely approximates the competitive approach that lululemon is employing, and why? Explain why your choice is a better fit than the other four possibilities.