business
Lululemon apologizes after using Japanese taiko drum at China event
Lululemon issued a Weibo apology more than two weeks after a May 30, 2026, Great Wall promotional event featured a Japanese taiko drum instead of a Chinese dagu drum. The video drew over 50 million views. The company faces prior quality issues, a 2026 stock decline of 50 percent, and slowing China sales.
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Lululemon held a promotional event on the Great Wall of China on May 30, 2026, that featured a Japanese taiko drum instead of a Chinese dagu drum, forbes.com reported. The video received over 50 million views on Weibo. The company issued an apology on Weibo more than two weeks later.
In the apology Lululemon pledged commitment to honoring Chinese culture and accepted responsibility for inadequate planning and review. The incident recalled statements by founder Chip Wilson, whose official tenure ended in 2015. Wilson stated the company name with multiple L’s was chosen because it was a letter Japanese people could not pronounce and later described the name as “innately North American and authentic” because the letter L does not exist in Japanese phonetics.
Lululemon has faced repeated quality issues. The company recalled millions of yoga pants in 2013 after complaints they were too sheer. It received similar complaints about Align leggings in 2021 and 2025, halted online sales of Get Low leggings early in 2026, and pulled Breezethrough leggings in 2024.
In 2007 Canada’s Competition Bureau ruled Lululemon’s claims of anti-inflammatory and detoxifying qualities in its Vitasea line were unsubstantiated, false, and misleading and ordered the claims removed from advertising. In April 2026 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into the company’s use of PFAS chemicals.
Lululemon stated it phased out PFAS substances in early 2024 and is cooperating.
The company reported 4 percent revenue growth in the first quarter of 2026 but guided for a net revenue decline of 2 to 3 percent in the second quarter. Comparable sales in China fell from 30 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 20 percent in the first quarter of 2026, while Americas comparable sales dropped 5 percent. Lululemon’s stock price is down 50 percent in 2026.
