Chapter 13: Mounting Expenses

"Other little kids camped in their backyards. We did it amongst Boogie Pants and Y Bras in the store. What we’d have done if someone had broken in, I’m not sure." – my oldest son, JJ. 

Read on for an excerpt from Chapter 13 ('Mounting Expenses') of my book, Little Black Stretchy Pants—the unauthorized story of how I built lululemon, available now on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, Audible and Kindle: https://bit.ly/LittleBlackStretchyPants.

While I was waiting for lululemon athletica to reach true profitability, the costs associated with running a retail operation were mounting uncomfortably. 

The ratio of buying customers to expenses wasn’t yet in our favour. I had to weigh out what I could afford. Something that fell by the wayside was theft insurance. Area break-ins were common—especially on weekends—but surveillance cameras were not, so I took a cost-effective approach. Saturday nights became camp-out nights on the second floor with my boys. 

“Brett and I did security for my dad when we were ten and twelve years old,” says JJ. “Of course, Dad made sure it didn’t feel that way. We were just having fun and spending quality time together. Other little kids camped in their backyards. We did it amongst Boogie Pants and Y Bras in the store. What we’d have done if someone had broken in, I’m not sure. The sight of my dad barreling out of a tent would probably have made them take off in a hurry.” 

We’d move the clothing aside, set up a tent and sleep at the store before going for breakfast the following morning. This wasn’t strange for JJ and Brett because they’d been raised in the retail business and had spent considerable time at Westbeach. 

I had no choice but to bring them with me on Saturdays and Sundays, but they didn’t seem to mind. They’d hang off me as I interacted with customers or make forts out of boxes while I worked in the warehouse. The operations of the business became ingrained in them—from logistics to sales to branding. They took it all in from an early age, and at last, I found myself spending quality time with them.