Lululemon fans furious as tariffs threaten to drive prices even higher amid stock plunge

Lululemon lovers are already stretching their wallets to the limit — and now they’ve had enough.Fans and critics alike were clucking their tongues Friday after the athleisure giant warned customers they’d soon be paying even more for already-pricey workout gear — following a whopping stock nosedive.The culprit? President Donald Trump’s tariffs — and, apparently, broke Americans tightening their purse strings.“We experienced lower store traffic in the Americas, partially reflective of economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, lower consumer confidence, and changes in discretionary spending,” the company said in a recent statement.Translation: Even the brand’s cult-following of millennial and Gen Z yoga bunnies aren’t splurging $128 on leggings like they used to.Execs are scrambling as the one-time Wall Street darling fell short of analyst predictions, seeing just a 1% increase in sales year-over-year, falling short of the 3% forecast.“We are planning to take strategic price increases … on a small portion of our assortment, and they will be modest in nature,” chief financial officer Meghan Frank said on an earnings call, adding the hikes will roll out within weeks.“It will be price increases on a small portion of our assortments, and they will be modest in nature,” she claimed.CEO Calvin McDonald admitted he was “not happy” with U.S.growth figures and blamed the belt-tightening on skittish shoppers. “We experienced lower store traffic … lower consumer confidence,” he echoed.While some may point to floundering new lines like the Glow Up collection or Daydrift trousers, the company is pinning the blame on tariffs — particularly those slapped on goods made in Vietnam and China, where the company sources most of its fabrics.In 2024, 40% of Lululemon’s products were made in Vietnam, and 28% of its fabrics came from mainland China — both hit hard by Trump’s trade crackdown.Now, Lulu says it’s working to cut costs and n...