Lululemon Appoints EVP, Digital; E-Commerce Sales Soar
Lululemon Athletica inc. has named Miguel Almeida to Executive Vice President, Digital, effective mid-July with the start of his employment. The news comes on the tail of the company reporting during its earnings call that a 31 percent increase in its e-commerce channel contributed to the company generating overall comparable sales growth of 6 percent in the first quarter.
"Within our North American business, we saw another quarter of positive combined comps and a nice acceleration in our e-commerce business in both the U.S. and Canada," reported Laurent Potdevin, Chief Executive Officer & Director.
Stuart C. Haselden, Chief Financial Officer, noted weather was an issue in the early part of the first quarter, which likely benefited the e-commerce results.
"I'd also say that we began the quarter in e-commerce with a stronger inventory position and we were able to accelerate or able to flow, I should say, inventory to the e-commerce business faster than we could the stores. There's an additional step in the supply chain for getting the inventory from our distribution centers to our stores, which takes a little bit of time that in e-commerce you don't have that step. So, we're able to have a better inventory position in e-commerce which I think drove the upside."
Haselden noted that there's nothing that the company sees from a direct standpoint that would suggest the first quarter increases are not sustainable.
"Digital is the global store that has no walls - one where we can offer our entire product assortment, speak in all languages and allow our stories and ambassadors to come to life in ways that we haven't yet imagined," said Laurent Potdevin, CEO of lululemon athletica. "With [Miguel's] track record of accelerating digital transformations, Miguel is well-positioned to champion lululemon's digital world and lead our strong digital team in creating a seamless experience for our guests across all touch points - whether it's in store, on the web, or through a mobile device."
Almeida's career spans over 15 years of operational and senior leadership with a keen focus on digital strategies. Most recently, he was the Group VP, Digital Commerce and Mobile solutions for Walgreens where he was responsible for omni-channel initiatives, mobile solutions, and online-to-consumer commerce across a variety of digital brands. Prior to joining Walgreens, Miguel held senior roles in the online groups of Apple and Dell where he drove global online expansion for both companies. Previously, he was a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group where he worked across multiple countries in Europe and South America mainly in high technology, telecom, ecommerce, marketing and retail.
"Within our North American business, we saw another quarter of positive combined comps and a nice acceleration in our e-commerce business in both the U.S. and Canada," reported Laurent Potdevin, Chief Executive Officer & Director.
Stuart C. Haselden, Chief Financial Officer, noted weather was an issue in the early part of the first quarter, which likely benefited the e-commerce results.
"I'd also say that we began the quarter in e-commerce with a stronger inventory position and we were able to accelerate or able to flow, I should say, inventory to the e-commerce business faster than we could the stores. There's an additional step in the supply chain for getting the inventory from our distribution centers to our stores, which takes a little bit of time that in e-commerce you don't have that step. So, we're able to have a better inventory position in e-commerce which I think drove the upside."
Haselden noted that there's nothing that the company sees from a direct standpoint that would suggest the first quarter increases are not sustainable.
"Digital is the global store that has no walls - one where we can offer our entire product assortment, speak in all languages and allow our stories and ambassadors to come to life in ways that we haven't yet imagined," said Laurent Potdevin, CEO of lululemon athletica. "With [Miguel's] track record of accelerating digital transformations, Miguel is well-positioned to champion lululemon's digital world and lead our strong digital team in creating a seamless experience for our guests across all touch points - whether it's in store, on the web, or through a mobile device."
Almeida's career spans over 15 years of operational and senior leadership with a keen focus on digital strategies. Most recently, he was the Group VP, Digital Commerce and Mobile solutions for Walgreens where he was responsible for omni-channel initiatives, mobile solutions, and online-to-consumer commerce across a variety of digital brands. Prior to joining Walgreens, Miguel held senior roles in the online groups of Apple and Dell where he drove global online expansion for both companies. Previously, he was a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group where he worked across multiple countries in Europe and South America mainly in high technology, telecom, ecommerce, marketing and retail.