'Anti-Ball Crushing' Pants Are Putting Lululemon on the Menswear Map

Cult-favorite sportswear brand Lululemon is crushing the men’s apparel game -- due in no small part to a pair of best-selling trousers that gives wearers’ nether-regions ample room to breathe.

LuluLemon

During an earnings call yesterday, CEO Laurent Potdevin specifically called out the company’s ABC Pants -- an acronym for ‘anti-ball crushing’ -- which he noted helped drive a 16 percent increase in same-store sales last quarter in the men’s business.

The pants, which retail for $128, are constructed of “a wide paneled gusset and four-way stretch Warpstreme fabric” that “gives you and the family jewels room to breathe,” according to Lululemon’s website. As of today, most sizes are completely sold out online.

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The item is an optimistic signal as Lululemon ramps up its foray into menswear, which it calls a $1 billion opportunity, according to Bloomberg.

In addition to adding more men’s styles, the company is allocating more retail real estate to the category. After opening its first men’s-only store in New York last Black Friday, Lululemon is now considering additional flagship-sized locations in different markets that would give men’s clothing more display room, CFO Stuart Haselden said on the call.

As of last November, men’s products make up 17 percent of Lululemon’s total retail offer.

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