Lululemon sues Costco for allegedly selling dupes of its popular products
Lululemon is suing Costco, alleging the wholesale retailer knowingly sold knockoff versions or dupes of its popular products and allegedly acted in bad faith.
The Vancouver-based athleisure company filed its lawsuit on June 27 in California. The suit alleges Costco "imported into the U.S., distributed, advertised, marketed, offered for sale and/or sold" products that were dupes of its "innovative, unique and high-performing apparel," including its line of ABC pants, Define jackets and Scuba hoodies and sweatshirts, all of which retail between $118 and $128 at full price on Lululemon's website.
The lawsuit noted specific products sold by Costco, including Danskin's Half-Zip Pullover, Jockey's Ladies Yoga Jacket, Spyder's Women's Yoga Jacket, Hi-Tec's Men's Scuba Full Zip, and a 5 Pocket Performance Pant sold under Costco's in-house brand label Kirkland, all of which are significantly cheaper than allegedly similar versions sold by Lululemon. On Costco's website, the Spyder Women's Yoga Jacket, for example, is listed for $21.99.
By selling the specified products, Lululemon claimed Costco "caused" and is "likely to continue to cause confusion, mistake, and deception among consumers."
In a statement to "Good Morning America," a Lululemon company spokesperson said, "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."
Lululemon is seeking unspecified damages "in the form of lost profits" or other "adequate" compensation for patent infringement.
Lululemon's lawsuit follows the rise of the so-called "dupe economy," fueled by social media influencers who popularize affordable duplicates of high-end or brand-name goods.
"Saving money on items is now becoming something that's a little bit in vogue. It's cool to be wearing something that is less expensive but looks like the expensive brand," retail analyst Hitha Herzog told "GMA" previously in 2024.
Costco has 21 days to respond to Lululemon's complaint.
ABC News has reached out to Costco, Danskin, Jockey, Spyder and Hi-Tec for comment.
