Lululemon Price Increases Raise Customers’ Ire (NASDAQ:LULU)

Some Lululemon customers are hopping mad at the company’s latest attempt to raise prices on their products. The price hikes were spotted by eagle eyed customers on Tuesday. They reported that the company increased prices for some cropped pants from $72 to $88. Many of the other pants sold by the company are now priced at $98. A representative for Lululemon says that the price increases did not occur across the board, disclosing that some prices increased, some decreased, and roughly half stayed the same.

On Lululemon’s message boards, Hey Lululemon, angry customers vented their frustrations. One former customer wrote a post saying, “It downright seems condescending that Lululemon thinks we can’t figure out how the pricing works, so most crops need to be $88 and most pants need to be $98, so we won’t get confused.”

The commenter continued, “To go from $72 for solid crops to $88 is insane. That is a 22% increase. I don’t get a 22% raise each year, inflation isn’t 22%, and surely Lululemon’s cost to manufacture these items has not increased 22%. Plus, it was only in recent years that Lulu started charging more for printed versions of pants and crops.”

Another wrote, “The price increases are obscene. If Lulu were a conscious entity, it ought to be ashamed of itself. This seems like a big f-you to your customers. Just about every Seamless and Luon bottom is sheer, and now they will cost more, causing extra return bitterness from ‘educators’ who see their store sales’ bonuses getting as thin as the leggings they hawk.”

Lululemon said that the price increases reflect the quality of its products. A representative released a statement saying, “We always have and will continue to price our products based on a commitment to value, fit, functionality, premium materials and detail, technology, and craftsmanship. Our pricing structure is reflective of this and allows us to create the very best products for our guests.”

The company also recently announced that it would start selling pants by they way they fit, by “sensation” in their words, to make the shopping process easier for customers. Some customers believe that this is just another way to raise prices without many customers noticing.