Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Any views on Lululemon? Thanks for your advice.

Article Excerpt

Lululemon Athletica Inc., $66.17, symbol LLL on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 144.6 million; Market cap: $9.6 billion; www.lululemon.com), is a Vancouver-based designer and seller of yoga-inspired athletic wear and accessories. Lululemon first sold shares to the public at $9 each and began trading on Toronto in July 2007 (all per-share figures adjusted for a 2-for-1 stock split in July 2011). Note that the company plans to delist its shares from the Toronto exchange on June 24, 2013. The stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the LULU symbol. Dennis “Chip” Wilson founded Lululemon in 1998, after noticing that more women were taking up yoga and other physical activities. Wilson had 20 years of experience making surfing and snowboard clothing. He believed that the all-cotton fabrics then used for yoga were inappropriate. When Wilson opened the first Lululemon store in Vancouver’s Kitsilano Beach area in 2000, he positioned its staff not just as salespeople, but as “lifestyle educators.” Wilson invited yoga, Pilates, fitness…