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- Styled Athletics | Lululemon's New “Running Gives” campaign
Styled Athletics | Lululemon's New “Running Gives” campaign
Plus: Columbia rewrites its brand permission for the next decade
Zihan Lyu
August 06, 2025
Styled Athletics
This week, here’s what’s happening in the world of styled athletics:
- Gildan’s vertical play powers 21.7% margins amid tariffs
- Columbia retires “Tested Tough” for a tech-first identity
- Lululemon unveils barely-there “Fast and Free” running kit
🌟 Editor’s Pick - Incrementality Over Instincts
Stop Chasing Conversions - Start Measuring Real Growth
The path to measurement maturity isn’t about tracking every conversion - it’s about understanding what’s truly incremental.
That’s the focus of Fospha’s new Meta whitepaper, created in partnership with six leading eCommerce brands. The findings reveal what happens when marketers move beyond Last Click - and start building systems that reflect how growth actually happens.
Highlights include:
Why Last Click dramatically undervalues upper-funnel marketing
Predictive modeling uncovering up to 80% more revenue potential in Meta
How brands found the confidence to reallocate budget and scale new channels
How combining incrementality testing with always-on measurement completes the measurement puzzle - delivering a holistic, reliable view of marketing impact
As Andy King, Head of Performance Marketing at NBrown, put it:
“It was really insightful to see how much Meta’s impact was being underestimated by Last Click. Fospha’s data gave us a clearer picture of its true value, in the context of our other channels, highlighting opportunities we hadn’t fully recognized before.”
👉 Download Fospha’s Meta Whitepaper to see how leading brands are redefining measurement for 2025.
📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS
PRICING STRATEGY
Is Value Activewear’s Next Big Opportunity?
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As inflation-weary consumers trade down, the brand’s fast-fashion price point and influencer muscle threaten to reset price expectations across women’s athleisure. Competitors will need sharper value propositions or deeper storytelling to defend share. |
CORPORATE STRATEGY
Gildan Activewear's Strategic Positioning For Sustained Value Creation
Gildan’s vertically integrated supply chain delivered 6.5% revenue growth and a hefty 21.7% Q2 operating margin, while returning $206 million to shareholders. The mix of cost control, fabric innovation and disciplined buybacks shows how scale players can fund R&D and dividends—even under tariff pressure—offering a playbook for profit-hungry apparel operators.
BRAND POSITIONING
Columbia Launches ‘Engineered for Whatever’ Brand Refresh
For the first time in a decade, Columbia Sportswear is overhauling its identity—shifting from "Tested Tough" to "Engineered for Whatever" and folding in tech-centric storytelling. The pivot aims to pull younger, urban consumers into the fold and sharpen eCcommerce conversion ahead of peak outerwear season. Expect fresh creative, SKU rationalization and paid-media spikes this fall.
ClickZ is hosting an exclusive drinks gathering on Day 3 of eTail Boston—and you’re on the list. We’re bringing together some of the sharpest minds in retail and marketing for an evening of cocktails and insider conversations, all just steps away from the event venue. Wednesday, 13 August | 4:30 PM (Day 3) 📍 5 minutes from the venue (details shared upon RSVP confirmation) |  |
If you’re serious about the next wave in commerce, this is the spot to be.
Spots are limited—grab yours now.
⚡QUICK READS
Lululemon Pushes ‘Fast And Free’ Gear: New “Running Gives” campaign touts ultra-light tights and vented tanks, signaling the brand’s bet on product sensation over visible tech. (More)
On Running Extends ‘Soft Wins’ Platform: Spotlight on champion Hellen Obiri reframes performance around recovery-friendly training, offering marketers fresh wellness-first narratives. (More)
Global Women’s Activewear Market to Hit $326B: IMARC projects a 4.9% CAGR through 2033, underscoring sustained tailwinds for brands scaling women-focused assortments and supply chains. (More)
ClickZ is a ClickZ Media publication in the DTC eCommerce division
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