Lululemon meets the Middle East, officially, at Dubai's Mall of the Emirates

Photo courtesy of Lululemon Athletica/Majid Al Futtaim - Fashion

Now this one is almost as hard to wrap my head around as all the Tim Hortons outlets I see around Abu Dhabi. Lululemon Athletica is just the latest big Canadian brand to hit the UAE, opening this week in MoE's level 2 expansion.


I actually ended up breaking this news in February, simply because I went to a special yoga class in Abu Dhabi and the Los Angeles-based teacher, an ambassador for the company, mentioned it casually before class.  


I've had a long fascination with Lululemon (not to mention the small fortune spent there), so jumped at the chance to interview the chief executive, Laurent Potdevin, as well as regional partner Majid Al Futtaim - Fashion's chief executive Rajiv Suri, about the brand's launch into the region.

Fifteen-plus stores throughout the region - including one in Abu Dhabi in 2018 - are to follow.