PLEASE PROVIDE:

1.) A short summary on the reading

2.) A short analysis of the reading, providing concepts of business strategy/policy used

In 1998, self-described snowboarder and surfer dude Chip Wilson took his first yoga class. The Vancouver native loved the exercises but hated doing them in the cotton clothing that was standard yoga wear at the time. For Wilson, who had worked in the sportswear business and had a passion for technical athletic fabrics, wearing cotton clothes to do sweaty, stretchy, power yoga exercises seemed inappropriate. Thus, the idea for Lululemon was born. Wilson's vision was to create high-quality, stylishly designed clothing for yoga and related sports activities using the very best technical fabrics. He built a design team, but outsourced manufacturing to low-cost producers in South East Asia. Rather than selling clothing through existing retailers, Wilson elected to open his own stores. The idea was to staff the stores with employees who were themselves passionate about exercise, and who could act as ambassadors for healthy living through yoga and related sports such as running and cycling. The first store, opened in Vancouver, Canada, in 2000 , quickly became a runaway success, and other stores followed. In 2007, the company went public, using the capital raised to accelerate its expansion plans. By late 2017, Lululemon had over 380 stores, mostly in North America, and sales in excess of \$2.34 billion. Sales per square foot were estimated to be around $1,560 more than four times that of an average specialty retailer. Lululemon's financial performance was stellar. Between 2008 and 2017, average return on invested capital-an important measure of profitability-was around 31%, far outpacing that of other well-known specialty retailers, while earnings per share grew tenfold. How did Lululemon achieve this? It started with a focus on an unmet consumer need: the latent desire among yoga enthusiasts for high-quality, stylish, technical athletic wear. Getting the product offering right was a central part of the company's strategy. An equally important part of the strategy was to stock a limited supply of an item. New colors and seasonal items, for example, get a 3- to 12-week lifecycle, which keeps the product offerings feeling fresh. The goal is to sell gear at full price, and to condition customers to buy it when they see it rather than wait, because if they do it may soon be "out of stock." The company only allows product returns if the clothes have not been worn and still have the price tags attached. The scarcity strategy worked. Lululemon never holds sales, and its clothing sells for a premium price. To create the right in-store service, Lululemon hires employees who are passionate about fitness. Part of the hiring process involves taking prospective employees to a yoga or spin class. Some 70% of store managers are internal hires; most started on the sales floor and grew up in the culture. Store managers are given funds to repaint their stores, any color, twice a year. The interior design of each store is largely up to its manager. Each store is also given $2,700 a year for employees to contribute to a charity or local event of their own choosing. One store manager in Washington, D.C., used the funds to create, with regional community leaders, a global yoga event in 2010. The result, Salutation Nation, is now an annual event in which over 70 Lululemon stores simultaneously host a free, all-level yoga practice. Employees are trained to eavesdrop on customers, who are called "guests." Clothes-folding tables are placed on the sales floor near the fitting rooms rather than in a back room so that employees can overhear complaints. Nearby, a large chalkboard lets customers write suggestions or complaints, which are sent back to headquarters. This feedback is then incorporated into the product design process