Fixing the ‘Slow Movers’ Problem at Lululemon

Lululemon faced a common but costly retail challenge: 'slow-moving' inventory. These were high-quality products that weren't selling, tying up capital and taking up valuable floor space. The problem wasn’t the product; it was a lack of visibility into why they weren't selling. They needed a way to identify the root cause at the store level and take targeted action.

Without real-time, store-level data, Lululemon couldn’t distinguish between a pricing issue, a placement problem, or a simple lack of staff awareness for their slow-moving items. HQ-level reports were too generic to be actionable on the sales floor, leading to blanket discounts that eroded margins without solving the underlying issue.

STOREE was implemented to connect HQ data with on-the-ground store operations. The system automatically flagged slow-moving SKUs at each specific store and generated a simple, actionable 'Fix-It' task for the store manager. This task included three simple questions: Is the price correct? Is the product in the right place? Is the team aware of its features? Managers had to confirm each step and upload a photo of the product on display, turning a data problem into a simple, trackable workflow.

The results were immediate and dramatic. Within 90 days, the sell-through rate for previously 'slow-moving' SKUs jumped from 38% to an impressive 79%. The number of identified item issues (like incorrect pricing or placement) dropped by over 60% as teams became more proactive. Lululemon turned a major inventory headache into a powerful, data-driven sales process.