Lululemon is suing Costco for selling “dupes” of its most popular clothing items, requesting a jury trial to seek compensation in monetary damages and demanding that Costco to cease selling the duplicated products.
Lululemon, a premium athleisure company based in Vancouver, Canada, filed its lawsuit against Costco on June 27 in California. The complaint, according to CBS News , alleges that Costco “unlawfully traded” on Lululemon’s “reputation, goodwill and sweat equity” by selling unauthorized knockoffs, infringing on the companies patents
Lululemon claims the dupes are “confusingly similar” to its own line of products, potentially misleading customers into believing that the Costco alternatives are “authentic Lululemon apparel.”
What exactly is Costco selling that has Lululemon filing suit?
According to CBS News, the items at the core of the lawsuit are the popular “Scuba” hoodies and sweatshirts, “Define” jackets and “ABC” stretch pants.
Lululemon’s well-known “Scuba” hoodie retails for $118, while both the “Define” jacket and ABC pants sell for $128, per the company’s website.
In contrast, the Costco alternatives “Scuba” hoodie dupe retails for $8, the “Define” jacket dupe for $22 and the “ABC” stretch pant dupe for only $10, according to NBC News.
A Lululemon company spokesperson affirmed to "Good Morning America," “as an innovation-led company that invests significantly in the research, development, and design of our products, we take the responsibility of protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights very seriously and pursue the appropriate legal action when necessary.”
Costco, based in Issaquah, Washington, has yet to respond to the lawsuit.
Some users on social media platforms, like X, claim the lawsuit is a bad move for Lululemon as it is giving Costco more publicity regarding its duplicate products.
Fashion dupes are big business — until a lawsuit lands
Dupes are not new to the clothing market. Retailers like Zara and H&M have long taken runway trends and transformed popular designs into more accessible versions for general consumers.
Quince is a brand that creates affordable versions of luxury high-end brands using similar manufacturing and materials.
Other retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, also offer cheaper brand alternatives to popular products.
Cheaper alternatives have been the name of the fashion game for quite some time. So why does it seem to be becoming more common?
Social media has accelerated exposure to dupe products, with influencers frequently promoting their favorite cost-effective alternatives to their followers.
Not the first time Lululemon has sued
This is not the first time Lululemon has been in a legal battle, in 2021 the company was in a similar dispute with Peloton. The companies eventually patched up relationships and two years later after the initial dispute, announced a five-year partnership showcasing “the best of fitness content and athletic apparel—together for the better."
While consumers might be concerned about losing access to affordable alternatives to Lululemon products, there’s been a collective sigh of relief that the legal actions have not targeted other popular Costco offerings, like their $1.50 hot dog combo.