(Yicai) March 22 -- Lululemon Ahtletica’s mainland China sales surged 67 percent in the last fiscal year, far outstripping global revenue growth, after the Canadian sportswear giant started marketing through TikTok’s Chinese version.

Lululemon shifted to Douyin at the end of last year, after unsatisfactory sales through Alibaba Group Holding’s e-marketplaces Taobao and Tmall, according to Yicai unit DT Business Insights. The yoga wear retailer held 74 live sales events on Douyin from October to December before opening a flagship store on Jan. 12.

This helped boost Lululemon’s revenue on the mainland by 75 percent in the 12 months ended Jan. 28 to USD963.8 million, after discounting the effect of changes in foreign exchange rates, the Vancouver-based company said in its latest earnings report released yesterday.

By contrast its global revenue advanced 19 percent over the period to USD9.6 billion, and as much as 20 percent after adjusting for foreign exchange effects.

And in the fourth fiscal quarter, revenue surged 78 percent from a year earlier, and even up to 82 percent excluding the impact of foreign exchange changes, the report said. By comparison, global revenue climbed 16 percent to USD3.2 billion over the period.

“We have experienced significant net revenue growth in China Mainland and believe that as we continue to expand our operations and build our brand awareness, net revenue will continue to increase in this market,” Lululemon said. “We plan to continue to invest in China Mainland and expect that the majority of our company-operated store openings in 2024 will be in this market.”

Lululemon added another 28 stores on the mainland in the 12 months ended Jan. 28, bringing the total to 127, second only to the number in the United States and accounting for 18 percent of its outlets worldwide, the report said.

Lululemon's studio on Douyin can reach consumers in cities where the Bytedance-owned firm does not have brick-and-mortar outlets, DT Business Insights said. The firm’s customers are mainly in the established first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen as well as new first-tier cities such as Chengdu.

Editor: Kim Taylor