- The high-tech virtual fitness company Mirror is rolling out in select Lululemon stores this month, as the company looks to capitalize on the at-home workout boom and the name recognition of its new parent company.
- In Lululemon's most recent earnings call, Mirror was forecasted to reach $150 million in revenue by the end of the year, outpacing original expectations of $100 million.
- "We've set up really beautiful little workout spaces featuring the Mirror and weights and Lululemon mats and accessories, you can really get a nice workout experience in store," Mirror CEO and founder Brynn Putnam told Business Insider.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Mirror is capitalizing on the momentum of the virtual fitness boom and the national name recognition of its new parent company, Lululemon, by officially debuting in select retail stores.
The high-tech fitness system — which operates as a functional mirror which users can stream workouts like yoga and strength training — is now available for purchase at 18 Lululemon stores. In the initial rollout, the product will be available in cities including New York, Washington, Miami, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The introduction of Mirror to Lululemon retail comes after Lululemon acquired the company for $500 million in July. It also comes on the heels of a spike in demand for at-home workout alternatives among Americans during the pandemic.
In a call with investors in September, Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald said the company would begin to "ramp up" marketing efforts in the second half of the year leading into the holiday season. According to McDonald, Mirror is forecasted to garner $150 million in revenue by the end of the year, outpacing original expectations of $100 million.
Moving into 2021, he said the company intends to rollout Mirror to more stores, noting that these early efforts are intended to "set the stage for next year" when the company plans to begin "aggressively leveraging the power of the Lululemon ecosystem to grow the Mirror business."
"We made the strategic decision to increase marketing spend for Mirror in the second half to take advantage of current trends towards spending from home and capitalize on the opportunity to drive business during the holiday season and into next year," he said.
Americans take a look in the Mirror
According to Mirror CEO and founder Brynn Putnam, the company was already experiencing "explosive growth" early in the year, as the company found new users and demographics amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Putnam told Business Insider that Mirror has been especially enticing to families, thanks to its ability to facilitate a wide variety of group fitness options and unlimited classes for up to six users. The company has also seen particular interest among younger members, she said, with the number of users below age 20 growing five-fold since the pandemic.
"The really amazing thing about having not just a dedicated display for fitness, but also having a content platform versus a product — so not a bike, treadmill, rower, or specific piece of equipment — is that the full family can use it together," she said. "So you don't have sort of the problem of investing in one type of exercise and then finding that it doesn't suit the whole family."
Putnam said she expects visibility in Lululemon stores will be integral in helping Mirror expand, as it looks to compete with fellow virtual fitness companies like Peloton and Tonal. As part of the national rollout, shoppers will be able to drop into a store or make an appointment to experience a full workout demonstration, led by a Lululemon employee.
"We've set up really beautiful little workout spaces featuring the Mirror and weights and Lululemon mats and accessories," Putnam said. "You can really get a nice workout experience in-store."
In a further effort to compete with these companies, Mirror is launching new social-oriented features in early 2021, including "Sweat Dates" that will allow members to schedule classes at the same time as friends and other members, as well as "Locker Room" that will allow users to connect with instructors before and after classes.
Mirror — which retails for $1,495 — also offers a competitive payment plan similar to Peloton, with payments as low as $42 a month. Beyond these features, Putnam said the company has been pleased with the growing interest beyond its traditional classes, including increased demand in mindfulness and meditation, which has grown by 40% during COVID.
"People are turning to Mirror not just for physical fitness, but also emotional wellbeing, which is something that's been really rewarding," she said.
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