Thursday, January 22, 2015

Lululemon headed to the UAE


Andrea Marcum, a totally ripped yoga teacher and founder of U Studio Yoga from Los Angeles, did more than teach a couple of really tough but inspiring yoga classes at Bodytree studio in the capital last week.

Marcum stopped me in my tracks before we started a Thursday-morning hip-opening session when she said 'Lululemon is coming here. They wanted me to tell people'. She said a store was due to open in September, but didn't know whether it would be in Abu Dhabi or Dubai.

Now, Marcum is an official Lululemon ambassador, so I consider this some pretty good intel. I'm checking with the company officially, too, and will report back.

I feel like this has The Dubai Mall written all over it, but time will tell. Lululemon is famous for its store-opening stunts, so that will be fun to watch out for too. At the moment there isn't anything on the website about a UAE location. There is a Facebook page, UAE Loves Lululemon, but it never really took off, with just 85 likes.

If ever there was a brand that would do gangbusters here, it's this much-loved (and mocked) Canadian chain of yoga clothes. Yoga classes are filled with it here, so people obviously already buy it like crazy when they are traveling. I remember marvelling at how much there was in my first Abu Dhabi yoga class. And then later, giggling at this exchange.

Even with more and more yoga gear available here, from sites like TheHotBoxKit.com or yApparel in Dubai, it's seems to still be that one little symbol yogis seem to strive for.

Bets on where the first store will be? Let me know if you see, please?

(Marcum also teaches at the portal My Yoga Gaiam, a US$10-a-month site I use to cut down on the crazy-high cost of doing regular yoga classes in the UAE).

UPDATE: I tweeted this blog at Lululemon and they favourited it. Hmmmm...

2 comments:

Miss Shanks said...

Hello! I'm an American in Muroor, Abu Dhabi,following your blog. Thanks for writing it. So, where would you suggest a middle-aged marshmallow with no yoga experience go to start? Is Bodytree good for a beginner or will they rip me to shreds (no pun intended)? LOL I saw you mentioned http://www.gaiamtv.com. Is it safe for a newbie to try video yoga? If you have time to reply, I would appreciate and enjoy hearing your thoughts. Thanks in advance! Suzanne

Ann Marie said...

Hey there Suzanne! Thanks for dropping by. Body Tree is good, just look on their site for beginner classes. There are also beginner classes at The Room at Zayed Sports City (they have their schedule on Facebook). I am a huge fan of Jennifer Stewart, she teaches at Eastern Mangroves gym on Wed nights at 7pm, the Hiltonia Monday nights at 6.30pm and is really a great teacher, would be so good if you are just starting out. Also all the videos will be marked with a difficulty level, so just go slow! (I also like YogaGlo.com, particularly Felicia Tomasanko & Elena Brower).

Good luck!

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