Lululemon is preparing to launch a sneaker line with help from talent associated with the biggest names in athletic apparel.

The athleisure brand was awarded a patent on October 12 for its forthcoming shoe brand, which will lean on designers who previously worked for Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas.

The company has teased a move into footwear since at least 2019. Its branded shoes are scheduled to hit stores in “early 2022” according to CEO Calvin McDonald.

• Lululemon saw huge growth in the second quarter, keeping the gains it made in online retail while seeing a major bounceback for in-person retail. 
• The company posted $1.45 billion in second-quarter revenues, up 61% year-over-year and 64% from the same period in 2019.
• Lululemon aims to double its menswear revenue to $1.4 billion by 2023.

Lululemon has offered shoes from APL since 2017. A Piper-Sandler survey from April found that Lululemon was the ninth-best-rated shoe brand among teenagers, despite not producing their own sneakers. Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour took the top three spots.

McDonald said in a December 2020 earnings call that the collaboration with APL showed strong potential for the company’s self-branded footwear sales.

NBA franchises have reached new heights, as Forbes revealed in its rankings of the league’s most valuable teams.

For the first time in NBA history, the league has three franchises worth more than $5 billion each. 

• New York Knicks — $5.8 billion 
• Golden State Warriors — $5.6 billion
• Los Angeles Lakers — $5.5 billion

Despite a 2020-21 season with limited live attendance, the average value of an NBA franchise is up to $2.48 billion, a 13% increase since February.

The uptick is a result of increased sponsorships and the potential of the league’s next crop of media rights deals. 

IEG estimates that the NBA made a record $1.46 billion in sponsorship revenue last season and will likely top that during the 2021-22 season, which tips off Tuesday.

The NBA is targeting $75 billion over nine years for its next set of broadcast deals, a significant jump from its current $24 billion in deals with Disney and WarnerMedia. Those agreements expire in 2025. 

The Chicago Bulls ($3.65 billion) and the Boston Celtics ($3.55 billion) rounded out the top five on Forbes’ list.

Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is teaming up with billionaire Peter Lim on a venture that promises to create a holistic digital experience and marketplace around soccer.

The Manchester United star announced the launch of ZujuGP on Instagram, where he has a record-setting 357 million followers.

The digital platform offers soccer merchandise, gaming opportunities, and social connections for fans. Fans can also watch live games.

Lim, who has a net worth of $2.6 billion, made much of his fortune on a prescient $10 million investment in palm oil company Wilmar in the 1990s, cashing out for $1.5 billion in 2010.

• Based in Singapore, ZujuGP will focus on the growing soccer market in Asia, proclaiming that “Football 3.0 is the Asian era.”
• ZujuGP also hosts an AI-powered app for finding employment in the soccer industry and developing and recruiting soccer talent.

Peter Lim owns La Liga club Valencia F.C. and has a 40% stake in Salford City, a soccer club that competes in the United Kingdom’s League Two. He made a “significant” investment in McLaren Automotive in 2011.

Just months after reporting $2.28 billion in Q2 revenue, Foot Locker is expanding its business with a new apparel line.

The sportswear retailer announced LCKR, its first private apparel label since exiting the category three years ago. The line will be available online and in more than 800 stores this week.

Foot Locker senior vice president Bryon Milburn said sneaker culture is a mindset that goes beyond buying sneakers — and “apparel is a part of that mindset.”

The company has also expanded through acquisitions in recent months.

• In August, it bought streetwear and sneaker shop Atmos for $350 million.
• The same day, it purchased athletic retailer WSS for $750 million.
• Foot Locker invested $36 million in its store fleet, digital capabilities, supply chain, and other infrastructure during Q2.

Other retailers, like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target, have launched in-house athleisure lines — the latter’s All In Motion brand hit $1 billion in sales during its first year.

The athleisure market is expected to reach $549 billion by 2028.