Lululemon Athletica Ethics and Crisis Management Guide
Lululemon is a yoga and athletic apparel brand for men and women. The company was founded in 1998 by Chip Wilson in Vancouver, Canada. The overall vision of the company is “to create more than a place where people could get gear to sweat in, we wanted to create a community hub where people could learn and discuss the physical aspects of healthy living, mindfulness and living a life of possibility” (Lululemon, 2020). Lululemon is all about creating relationships with their employees and customers and giving back to the community. They also state that their core values are “personal responsibility, entrepreneurship, honesty, courage, connection, fun, and inclusion” (Lululemon, 2020). As a company who values responsibility and honesty, it is extremely important to have a social media crisis management and ethics guide in place.
Lululemon’s social media team and all other employees must follow a set of rules that adhere to the brand’s ethical standards. Below are a set of rules that if followed properly will help the Lululemon brand avoid a negative image both on and off social media.
Core Ethical Standards
- Employees at any level in the company must adhere to the code of conduct set by Lululemon Athletica.
- Employees should avoid misconduct in the workplace, including but not limited to sexual harassment, profanity, violence, theft, or destruction of company property.
- Employees must show respect and inclusivity among all co-workers and customers.
- Employees must report immediately to the HR team if they see any other employee or vendor not adhering to the ethical standards of the company.
Core Ethical Social Media Standards
- Employees are a representation of the Lululemon brand and should not publish or disclose confidential company information online or offline.
- Employees should not respond to people or competitors negatively, such as posting negative reviews or comments.
- Employees should not post misrepresentations of the company either positively or negatively. Honesty is one of our core values and this includes honesty on social media.
- Employees should respond to customers’ comments and concerns in a sincere and professional demeanor. We always try to avert any negative situation quickly and efficiently and if not we take it to private messages.
- Employees should use a consistent voice across company social media accounts and use professional language. We do not accept any violent language, profanity, or hate speech that could be harmful to any individual.
Lululemon is no stranger to having to deal with a crisis. In 2013, customers who bought the Luon yoga pant in black complained that the pants were too sheer. Ultimately, the company had to create a plan to build back brand reputation and trust in their products. The company followed their code of ethics as well as a crisis management plan to help regain this trust. Lululemon should adhere to following in any other crises on social media:
- Immediately pause any other scheduled posts on social media.
- Send out a mass email to team members and employees to create awareness of the situation.
- Create a post on social media that addresses the situation and tell customers that Lululemon is aware of the situation and is working on resolving the issue.
- Meet with the team and come up with a way to resolve the issue. (i.e. refunds, apology, pull products, etc.)
- Post and make a statement regarding the crisis, how the company is fixing the problem, and how the team will make sure nothing like it happens in the future. This official statement should be professional. After the initial statement, the company can make light of the situation and respond with a sense of humor.
- Learn from the situation and ensure that it does not happen in the future.
The Lululemon brand also responds to crises in a humorous way and makes light of the situation. In the 2013 case, Lululemon responded with a sense of humor and created different window displays that showcased statements such as “we want to be transparent with you” or “we sinSHEERly apologize.” By responding with a sense of humor and making light of the situation, the company bounced back. By following the code of ethics and crisis management rules, Lululemon will continue to be the leader in athletic and yoga-inspired apparel.
