The archive · Business Models · Strategic decision · 2021–2022
lululemon Like New turns trade-ins into gift cards and resale into its own channel
A US pilot becomes a full brand recommerce channel: gently used leggings trade in for gift cards, get cleaned and resell online.
lululemon
What it had to solve
Gently worn lululemon was already a thriving business on Poshmark, Depop and ThredUp — sales the brand neither controlled nor profited from — while younger shoppers increasingly bought secondhand.
How it works
By 2021 lululemon's leggings were among the most resold items on Poshmark, Depop and ThredUp, yet every one of those sales happened on someone else's platform. CEO Calvin McDonald framed the answer as part of building 'a healthier future': the brand would run its own resale loop instead of leaving it to others.
The pilot, called Like New, began in May 2021 in California and Texas. Customers traded gently used pieces in store or by mail for a lululemon gift card; Trove, the resale technology firm behind Levi's and Patagonia marketplaces, cleaned, listed and shipped them. Items that failed quality checks were recycled rather than dumped.
A year later, on Earth Day 2022, lululemon scaled the program to every US customer. What made it a business model rather than a charity initiative was the loop: trade-in credit keeps customers returning, resale keeps gear out of landfill, and the program's own profits are reinvested into lululemon's sustainability goals.
Why it lands
- Demand for secondhand lululemon already existed on other platforms; Like New simply moved that demand onto a channel the brand owns and profits from.
- Paying customers in gift cards turns each trade-in into future full-price revenue rather than a cash outflow.
- Reselling and recycling protects the brand: quality checks and professional cleaning prevent damaged gear from eroding the label's premium image.
- The Earth Day nationwide launch gave the program a built-in story and aligned it with the company's 2030 sustainability commitments.
What it did
The pilot drew an 'overwhelmingly positive response' with most returned items judged good enough to resell, then scaled to all US customers — with profits reinvested in lululemon's 2030 sustainability goals instead of the bottom line.
What you can take
If customers already build a secondhand market for your product, owning that channel turns lost demand into brand-controlled revenue and loyalty — as long as you can guarantee quality.
Since then
The Like New pilot across more than 80 stores drew an 'overwhelmingly positive response' and most returned inventory was judged good as new, so on April 22, 2022 the program went nationwide — in all US stores and online — covering pants, tops, shorts and jackets. The move followed a wave of athletic-brand resale: Nike's refurbishment program, Allbirds' trade-in resale and Adidas' any-brand reuse scheme all launched around the same time, signalling that recommerce was becoming a standard retail channel rather than a niche experiment.
Sources
- Lululemon is testing a resale program where shoppers can sell and buy used items
- Lululemon expands resale program nationwide
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