The sad truth about Lululemon and why things have taken such a drastic turn for them

On Wednesday Lululemon, revealed an exceptionally slow start to 2017, reporting fourth-quarter earnings that were below Wall Street expectations and sales that were only slightly above forecast, and it can all be boiled down to one thing: They’ve gotten boring.

With an entirely neutral based spring 2017 collection, buyers are turning to more exciting brands to purchase their new season’s workout gear, while investors are running in the other direction as the company’s previous momentum comes to a screeching halt.

Since Wednesday, there have been two stock downgrades and several price target reductions. However, Lululemon are taking responsibility for the miscues with their spring collection.

When it comes to facing companies like Nike who are more than 10 times their size, they either need to stand out through their apparel, or through their message — and right now they are doing neither.

Just earlier this month, Nike announced a new sport hijab for Muslim athletes just days after launching a line of plus-sized workout gear, and they are currently running political commercials such as this one, directed by Melina Matsoukas, who has also directed music videos like Beyoncé’s Formation:

In the coming weeks, Lululemon will likely attempt to refocus both their apparel and message.

Shares of Lululemon have declined nearly 25% in the past 12 months, and they’re down 22% in the last three months to the benchmark 6%.

@carolinephinney