Lululemon Athletic has formally requested that Victoria’s Secret halt any sales of Lululemon pants by today.
The Vancouver-based yoga firm said it wrote a letter to Victoria’s Secret on the issue after Lululemon employees saw the yoga pants in Victoria’s Secret stores, said Lululemon founder Chip Wilson.
In response, a Victoria’s Secret spokeswoman issued a statement, saying, “To our knowledge, no lawsuit has been filed.”
Wilson speculated that Victoria’s Secret bought a couple of hundred pairs of yoga pants from Lululemon at retail, added a Victoria’s Secret tag (leaving in the Lululemon tag), and then did a test sale of the pants at about eight stores, including units in Manhattan, Las Vegas and Columbus, Ohio.
According to Lululemon, Victoria’s Secret sold the pants for less than what it charges.
“This hurts our brand name,” Wilson said.