Dive Brief:

• Lululemon Athletica, the yoga-gear retailer that arguably started today’s alth-leisure craze, Thursday said Q4 same-store sales increased 8%, while net revenue increased 16% to $602.5 million.

• The Vancouver-based retailer forecasted weaker-than-expected Q1 profits and lower-than-expected earnings and said it continues to invest in improved quality and supply-chain issues.

• The retailer also said it was expanding sizes in some items to accommodate customers who had requested “more support” in tanks. 

Dive Insight:

Lululemon seems to be finally recovering from the quality snafus that created such trouble for its reputation and performance. Perhaps even more surprising — but also no less necessary — is that it seems to be dipping its toe into an area that might interfere with its “skinny girls only” rep by offering larger sizes, at least for certain items.

The only questions about that are —  what has taken the retailer so long and why such a limited approach? The company may want to avoid manufacturing too many items; its tight supply chain is what gives it its exclusivity and helps it avoid discounting. But it is turning away customers by not offering a wider range of sizes, something it can ill afford as its competition has heated up.