What was meant to be a momentous milestone in Lululemon’s expansion into the Chinese market turned into a PR nightmare when an oversight overshadowed the celebration.
During the popular athleisure brand’s Yoga on the Great Wall of China event this past May, Chinese actor Zhu Yilong was accidentally given the wrong instrument when joining the cultural drum circle performance that was meant to be a highlight of the event. In the aftermath, Inside Retail reports that Lululemon has issued an apology for the controversial mistake.
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What Happened at Lululemon’s Chinese Culture and Yoga Celebration?
On May 30th, Lululemon hosted a yoga event on the Great Wall to highlight the Canadian company’s rapid expansion into China. As the brand’s popularity grew, the event was meant to be a moment of cultural wellness, with a traditional drum trope led by Zhu Yilong, performing for the 2,000 attendees.
However, audiences watching the globally broadcast event were surprised when Chinese percussionist Xu Yang pointed out that the drum the actor was given was not a traditional Chinese Dagu drum but rather looked more like a Japanese Taiko drum. The Daily Beastreported that Yang asserted that the two “should never be confused,” as overlooking that detail would be seen as very culturally insensitive. And it did, prompting the world stage on social media to quickly turn on Lululemon due to the problematic nature of the controversy in one of its fastest-growing markets
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Lululemon Issues Apology
In the wake of the global discourse, Lululemon broke its silence this week to take responsibility for its role in the mistake. The Global Times published the statement, which emphasized that Lululemon has taken this experience as an opportunity to “learn profound lessons” in its apology.
It continued, “We attach great importance to the feedback from society. Due to a lack of professional knowledge, we failed to fully identify potential disputes early and have fully recognized that we ought to have planned and reviewed the percussion performance with more caution and thoroughness,” and clarified that they take more of the blame. “We sincerely apologize to the public and Mr. Zhu Yilong, and has removed all related promotional contents.”
Additionally, the Global Times shared the apology of the Hiiko Drum Group, which operated as a performance troupe, for having the instrument “occupy public resources,” and has since removed the drum from its collection, promising to ensure cultural accuracy and authenticity moving forward. Strategists are lukewarm to Lululemon’s apology, according to The New York Times via AOL, Crisis communications expert Amore Philip shared this insight: “The speed was right. The language was wrong,” he told The Post, citing that the statement felt “incompetent rather than accountable.”
The social media spheres will undoubtedly express how the apology is going to be received— as a good start or like too little for a profoundly problematic cultural snafu.
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