Lululemon Athletica Crisis Response

Crisis Communications Team Contact List:

Name Title Email Phone number

Rachel Beenders Social Media rsbeend@ilstu.edu (309) 712-6074

Manager

Danielle Denning Public Relations dcdenn1@ilst.edu (630) 788-2565

Director

Sierra Koenig Crisis Manager smkoe1@ilstu.edu (331) 431-1262

Rachel Wright CCT Member rjwrig3@ilstu.edu (847) 987-5538

Nam Pham CCT Member nqpham1@ilstu.edu (913) 549-6595

Crisis Type:

This crisis is an organizational crisis. The stakeholders in this situation are the customers

on Reddit making posts and commenting on how Lululemon employees sell their products in

stores. In this situation they have wronged their customers by their poor sales practices, which

ultimately can tarnish relationships between the key publics and stakeholders.

Victim Cluster:

This crisis would be an example of the victim cluster of malevolence. In this crisis the

employees were being unfair in their practices. The employees using coded language was seen

as evil by customers.

Key Publics:
 ● Lululemon employees
● Lululemon customers
● r/yoga subreddit users
● r/LuluLemon subreddit users
● Yoga community
● Fitness enthusiasts

Stakeholders:

● Employees
● Sponsors
● Partnerships
● Investors
● Customers
● Rivals (ex. Fabletics, Aerie, Athleta)
● Mall Security
● Magazine companies

Information Needed to Respond:

● First, the team must know what the crisis is so they know how to respond.
● Then the team must collect crisis data quickly and accurately.
● The team must analyze the information.
● The team will create Crisis Related Knowledge.
● With this information the team will create a guide on decision making as well as they will
create the messages that they will send to various stakeholders.
● Without the Crisis Related Knowledge the team can’t take actions to deescalate the crisis.
● Once the team is all on the same page with the crisis and has the Crisis Related
Knowledge they will work together to figure out the next step.

Crisis Response Objectives 2-4:

● Less than a 15% drop in sales 2 months after the crisis.

● Less than a 15% drop of reputation after the crisis.
● Less than 10% increase in negative posts on social media about the crisis after the first
month.
● After the release of the Crisis Response an increase in positive media statements and a
decrease in negative media statements.

Crisis Response Strategy:

 Lululemon Athletica will focus on reputation management strategies as a response to the

crisis. This involves the verbal and nonverbal aspects and actions they direct towards their

stakeholders (Coombs, 2022). Their customers help keep the company successful, and

unsatisfied customers tear apart Lululemon’s reputation.

Lululemon will focus on the accommodative-defensive continuum that argues that crisis

response strategies range from accepting responsibility and taking action to claiming there is no

problem and denying responsibility (Coombs, 2022). For this crisis, it is important for

Lululemon to accept responsibility and take action because there is proof from customers about

Lululemon’s behavior, such as the training document and customers in-store experiences.

Accepting responsibility and taking action will show their customers that they are on their side

and are doing what they can to help them in time of crisis.

Lululemon will act on the accommodative side of the accommodative-defensive

continuum to accept responsibility and take action, helping them rebuild their reputation.

Lululemon will be accommodative by publicly apologizing, offering compensation, reminding

the public about its past achievements and by expressing ingratiation and victimage. Below is a

chart that represents how Lululemon Athletica will respond to this specific crisis.

Rebuilding Reputation (Primary):

Accommodative Apology Lululemon Athletica’s crisis

manager publicly announces

that they take full

responsibility for using coded

language to sell their products

 and asks for forgiveness. The

strategies and tactics to solve

the crisis are briefly

mentioned in the apology.

Compensation Lululemon Athletica will

offer a 15% discount on all

products to all customers

throughout the rest of

December. The crisis

manager will explain that this

discount is to show that they

care for their customers in

times of crisis.

Reminding Lululemon Athletica

expresses its past

achievements to its

stakeholders. The crisis

manager also briefly explains

how Lululemon has

persevered through issues in

the past.
 Ingratiation Lululemon Athletica praises

its internal and external

stakeholders, especially its

employees and customers.

Victimage Lululemon Athletica explains

how they are a victim of the

crisis as well, while still

making it clear that the

customers are most important.

To address the crisis adequately, Lululemon Athletica will respond quickly, speak

consistently and with transparency. Since Lululemon has not been monitoring their social media

as much as they should, they need to respond to the crisis as quickly as possible. They already

ruined their chance in the spread of the crisis through the media, so responding quickly can help

prevent even further spread.

Lululemon will use their pre drafted messages to send out information to their

stakeholders. They should do this within an hour after finding out about the crisis. This will

allow for them to provide a short, initial response so they can gather more information and craft a

more detailed response. Since speed increases risks, Lululemon needs to ensure accuracy with

the information they initially give out so that there is no error that can be found when more

information is released. While it is important for Lululemon to respond quickly to the crisis, they

also need to speak consistently.

 It is important to deliver consistent messages to stakeholders to build credibility of the

crisis response. In this crisis, Lululemon should have at least three different spokespeople to

address the crisis. It is important to keep the whole Lululemon team informed on the crisis so

that they can act as a spokesperson at any given time. An effective spokesperson can include the

CEO and employees. Each spokesperson needs to be consistent with the information they put out

to ensure cohesiveness and effectiveness of the crisis. Consistency will help ensure the public

that Lululemon’s whole team is aware of the crisis and is doing what they can to address it.

Transparency is also important in times of a crisis because it shows that the company is

available to its media, willing to disclose information and honest. Lululemon needs to

acknowledge any requests from the public about the crisis in an honest way so that no lies come

out about the crisis. If this were to happen, it could pose another threat to their reputation in the

future about a past crisis. Ideally, being honest about the crisis will help when it is resolved

because there will be no risks of additional or unknown information being released in the future.

Responding quickly, consistently and with transparency will help Lululemon ensure that

they care about their stakeholders in the time of a crisis. It shows that they are aware of the crisis

and will do what it takes to resolve it. These qualities can help them maintain a good reputation

during the time of a crisis that is negatively affecting their reputation. With this crisis, a quick

and honest response to their stakeholders is better than no response.

Messaging:
Instructing: During these tough times, it is vital that we keep away from the media until a

formal spokesperson has addressed this situation publicly. It is understandable that some people

are panicking at the moment but we must remain calm to further retain the future of Lululemon.

Please refrain from speaking about the situation on any social media platforms and do not answer

questions to anyone except for representatives from Lululemon. Further instructions will be

distributed as we handle the situation.

Adjusting: Lululemon is currently handling the situation with serious accuracy. We will be

offering a 15% discount on all products for customers. We will also be conducting a serious

investigation further upon this situation. While this is happening we will host a press conference

to solidify the reputation and future of Lululemon. Lastly, we are open to consulting anyone who

has felt mentally distraught throughout this situation.

Reputation Management: We are acting as quickly as possible to maintain the highest order of

reputation for Lululemon. We will be offering a 15% discount on all products as a strict apology

to our customers and clients. Being transparent is also incredibly important, Lululemon

employees and all affiliates will be open to answering questions regarding this situation.

Lululemon will also host a conference and provide special invitations to individuals to answer as

many questions as possible. Lastly we will be distributing social media posts where we address

any worries that our clients are having. By following this order of steps, we hope to maintain a

good reputation for the future of Lululemon.

Press Release:
Contact: Danielle Denning, PR Director December 8, 2022
Phone: (630) 788 2565
Email: dcdenn1@ilstu.edu
Lululemon Athletica Addresses Recent Reddit Scandal

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Lululemon Athletica and its team are aware of the subreddit

posts that have affected their reputation. The company is currently gathering more information

about the crisis to respond effectively. For now, the CEO of Lululemon has explained a few of

Lululemon’s response strategies to ensure customer and employee satisfaction during times of

crisis.

Lululemon will offer a 15% discount on all products to customers throughout the rest of

December. This will lighten up customers’ moods and show that the company truly cares for

them. Lululemon employees have also stated that they would answer questions about the crisis if

customers asked. The company wants to remain open and loyal about the situation.

Last week, Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald publicly announced, “Lululemon

Athletica takes full responsibility for the mistreatment of our customers and employees as seen in

the reddit posts. We apologize for any inconveniences that we may have caused you. We will act

accordingly and change our company’s values. This is unacceptable and we promise to make

adverse changes to ensure employee and customer satisfaction.”

McDonald also explained that Lululemon’s media team will monitor its social media

accounts better to respond quicker to customer concerns and answer any questions.

More information about the crisis will be released soon. For questions and concerns,

contact Danielle Denning at (630) 788 2565 or dcdenn1@ilstu.edu.

###

Social Media Strategy:

 There are many social media strategies that are needed in order to take action and

responsibility for this crisis. We are targeting women, customers and the general public towards

this crisis. First, we are going to respond quickly and in a timely manner to the public through

social media posts. These responses need to be both in nonverbal and verbal aspects through the

press conference. This will be written in a serious manner to the public, social media followers

and customers at Lululemon. Through these posts, it is important to accept responsibility since

there is clear proof that Lululemon needs to improve their employees' behavior. From this, our

social media team will need to take action and show proof to the public of new changes,

expectations and media strategies. These will overall improve our reputation and showcase our

future in friendly customer service. Specifically, it will be vital to post on reddit and apologize to

the users, customers and others who have been affected by this crisis. It is essential to mention

the compensation that will be given to all customers during this tough period of time. This is

where the paracrisis started and unfortunately turned into something much larger than that. With

that being said, it is important to apologize on reddit and other social media platforms to show

empathy for customers.

Media List:

There are many individuals that should be invited to a press conference about the

Lululemon crisis. This press conference is vital in order to maintain and rebuild Lululemon’s

reputation based on these assertions. Specifically, we would like to have Alison Loehnis, the

Director of Social Media, explain the future plans at Lululemon in monitoring their social media

platforms. She will emphasize on customer support and responding to individuals in a timely and

efficient manner. We believe it is also vital to have Emily White, the Head of Business

Operations of Instagram, to speak on behalf of Lululemon’s Instagram page and rumors of inner
beauty. White has been involved in the People, Culture and Compensation Committee and has

had many leadership roles with Lululemon. Lastly, we would have Calvin McDonald, the Chief

Executive Officer, apologize to the public and explain the future steps and goals at Lululemon.

We will also have several media outlets who will be involved in the press conference.

Specifically, we would like to include CNBC, a television outlet, that will broadcast this press

conference. In addition, we believe that CNN is necessary to cover this conference at a national

level. Since Teen Vogue is a major outlet, we believe that CNN is vital in order for a larger

public to see our apologies. Through this television outlet, we are hoping that they include

McDonald’s apology to the public and enhancements for the future. In addition, we want The

Washington Post, a newspaper outlet, to gain coverage on the press conference. The Washington

Post should include statements from the board members about Lululemon. These are several

media outlets that we want to cover the press conference.

We do not believe that third parties should attend the press conference, however, they

should be mentioned through this crisis. The United Nations Foundation is a third party of

Lululemon that addresses physical, mental and mindfulness activities to boost individuals

morale. This crisis may have been stressful for individuals and it is important to show that they

have support. A major part of the crisis is with yoga and inner beauty, with that being said, it is

important for these board of directors to talk about their involvement with Kinoyoga and other

yoga companies to show their support to this community.

Questions for Target:

1. What is the very first action that Target takes in regards to this crisis? D
2. In Targets code of ethics it states, “Target Corporation is committed to complying

with all applicable laws and conducting business ethically. We uphold our values,

and deliver on our purpose by doing what’s right for Target, our team and guests.”

Target goes against these ethics when they decided to participate in child labor.

Was target's goal not to get caught for financial gain while keeping their positive

reputation? S

3. Target has a reputation for being stylish at a low cost, good to the community, and

treating their employees well. Using child labor in Mexico goes against the idea

of Target treating their employees well. How will Target work to fix their

reputation after it was damaged by the use of child labor? S

4. Target has a higher reputation due to treating employees well but now that target

was caught not holding true to their values how will target work to fix this and do

what is right? RB

5. Do you think Target is specifically targeting Mexicans through child labor?

(semi-antagonistic question) N