


Lululemon has filed a lawsuit against Costco that accuses the wholesale club operator of selling lower-priced duplicates of some of its popular athleisure clothing.
Lululemon Athletica claims in its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that Costco has “unlawfully traded” on its reputation, goodwill and sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel that uses infringing, knockoff versions of its patents.
Lululemon alleges that Costco is known to use manufacturers of popular branded products for its private Kirkland label, but that the company and the manufacturers don’t tell consumers of many of the Kirkland-branded products about the connection. Lululemon claims this leads at least some shoppers to believe that Kirkland-branded products are made by the authentic supplier of the “original” products. Lululemon claims Costco doesn’t try to dispel the ambiguity.
“As an innovation-led company that invests significantly in the research, development, and design of our products, we take the responsibility of protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights very seriously and pursue the appropriate legal action when necessary,” a Lululemon company spokesperson said in a statement.
Some of the products Lululemon says Costco is selling duplicates of include its popular Scuba hoodies, Define jackets and ABC pants.
Lululemon claims one of the duplicates Costco sells is the Hi-Tec Men’s Scuba Full Zip, priced at $19.97. Lululemon sells several men’s jackets that cost more than $100.
Costco, based in Issaquah, Washington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Lululemon is requesting a jury trial and wants Costco to stop selling the products it considers duplicates. It also seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Lululemon was in a similar legal dispute with Peloton in 2021. Two years later the companies announced a five-year partnership that involved Lululemon becoming Peloton’s primary athletic apparel partner.