Lululemon Trials a Risky “Dupe Swap” To Let Customers Trade In Fake Products For Real Ones

Knockoffs and fake products have been a hot topic lately. The NY Times recently profiled the rise of high quality "super fake" products that are sometimes very close in quality to the real thing. Lululemon made headlines too, thanks to their unorthodox choice to host a "Dupe Swap" in LA and ask customers to bring in their knockoff products and trade them for real products.

From a brand perspective, they were clearly hoping consumers would feel the quality difference and understand that these so-called "dupes" aren't as good as the real thing. The gamble seems to be paying off. Lululemon reported that "50% of the people who came to the swap were new customers, and half were under the age of 30." Time will tell if these consumers stick around, but in retail investing in telling a good brand story usually pays off because at the end of the day it's the only thing that creates enough value that people are willing to pay a premium for it.