Yoga’s fashion label Lululemon finally comes to the UAE

The UAE almost has it all when it comes to yoga: a wide array of studios, serene seaside locations for blissful retreats and a thriving community but the one thing that was missing Lululemon has now reached our shores.

Majid Al Futtaim is planning to open between 15 and 20 Lululemon stores in the region within the next five years, with the first opening in Dubai this autumn. Getty Images for Lululemon Athletica

The UAE almost has it all when it comes to yoga: a wide array of studios, serene seaside locations for blissful retreats and a thriving community.

But there’s one thing it has been missing – Lululemon. The Canadian yoga-clothing brand has 289 stores and 50 showrooms worldwide, but none in the Middle East. The absence of the world’s most popular yoga brand has been perplexing and somewhat frustrating for the region’s yogis, who regularly sport the Lululemon clothing they invariably pick up overseas.

Soon, however, fans of the brand will be able to get their Lululemon fix right here in the UAE: Majid Al Futtaim is planning to open between 15 and 20 Lululemon stores in the region within the next five years, with the first opening in Dubai this autumn.

The news has caused a stir among yoga fans.

Payal Khanwani is a private yoga teacher in Dubai. “I moved here [from India] almost a year ago and thought: ‘How come all the brands in the world are here but not Lululemon?’ I kept checking their website to see if there was any news. I went to Hong Kong recently and made sure I picked up some Lululemon there for myself and my partner.”

Cheryl Parsons is a teacher at Dubai’s Zen Yoga. “It’s about time they came and opened a store here. We’ve all been asking for years why there’s no Lululemon in the UAE. They would have been silly not to open something here, because of the massive growth of yoga in the UAE. I’ve been teaching yoga in Dubai for seven years and you see Lululemon labels all the time on yoga clothes. People buy it in the States – I bought four Lululemon tops and two pairs of trousers the last time I was over there.”

Some of Parson’s yoga students are Emirates airline crew members who bring back Lululemon every time they fly to the US.

Kimberley Stokes owns Dubai’s Urban Yoga studio and comes from Vancouver, which is the home of Lululemon.

“Canadians are very proud of anything that comes from Canada,” she says. “Lululemon has always been part of my wardrobe. I bought my first pair of Lululemon pants in the 1990s before I had discovered yoga, when they only had one store. They have cute street-­­wear too, which holds you in the right places.

“I spend way too much money on Lululemon when I go back to Vancouver. It’s on the expensive side, but you get what you pay for. I’m thrilled they’re finally coming here. It will also save me thousands of dirhams a year in shipping costs.”

However excited some may be, there is the possibility that Lululemon may have left it too late to delve into the UAE.

The Emirati Asma Lootah, who runs the Hundred Wellness Centre in Dubai, specialising in Pilates, once approached Lululemon with a sales proposition – to inquire about selling their clothing at her centre, but she drew a blank.

“Honestly, I won’t be so tempted to buy from them once they’re here,” she says. “They’ve lost their essence of being exclusive – they’re too commercial and big now. If there’s something you can’t get in Dubai, it makes you want it more.”

The Palestinian Dina Ghandour opened the UAE's first specialist yoga apparel store in Dubai last March, yApparel, and the Australian athleisure brand Lorna Jane opened a Dubai shop last August. There is also the online option of TheHotBoxKit.com

“Prana, Dharma Bums, Teeki – there’s so many more yoga brands available here than there used to be,” says Parsons. “They will give Lululemon a run for their money.”