Quality vs. Quantity

This morning I read an interesting article on the National Post website discussing the success that Lululemon Athletica, a Canadian company, has experienced south of the border.  One quote in the article struck me as being a bit off:

"Affluent women willing to fork over US$100 for yoga pants or US$60 for a tank-top have helped the high-flying Canadian company wallop quarterly earnings expectations and drive same-store sales up 31%"

I own three pairs of Lululemon pants/capri and 2 tops.  These were all purchased back when I was a student, so anywhere from 3-5 years ago.  Back then I most certainly wasn't an affluent woman.  I didn't jump onto the Lululemon bandwagon when it first appeared in Canadian stores.  I was originally shocked with the prices - $100 for a pair of workout pants, are you crazy??  After reading many reviews online praising the quality of the brand I caved.  My first pair of yoga pants are still going strong, after 5 years.  That approximately $100 paid works out to $20/year or $1.66/month of use. 

I've made the mistake before of purchasing gear from one of the big box discount store and have always found that the material loses its comfiness, stretches, wears thin, loses its colour, or any number of other changes.  My Lulu pants have remained about 80% of their original look despite my size fluctuating over the past 5 years.

My vote is always Quality over Quantity -- providing that I can afford the $100, and I'm not out buying a new pair every few months!

Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/Lululemon+seen+growing+lucrative+niche+market/3763638/story.html#ixzz148JYfzVO