Athletic wear company Lululemon has apologized for using a Japanese drum during a yoga event staged on China’s Great Wall amid heightened tension between the two countries, in a reputational stumble that threatens growth with Chinese consumers on which the brand is increasingly reliant.
A pedestrian walks past a Lululemon retail store in Shenzhen, China.
Getty Images
Lululemon staged a yoga event on the Great Wall with well-known Chinese actor Zhu Yilong on May 30 and the event, attended by roughly 2,000 people, was advertised as promoting Chinese culture and wellness, according to the state-run tabloid Global Times.
Yilong joined a musical group on stage for what was described as a traditional Chinese drum performance but after the actor posted a picture of himself with one of the instruments, with the Lululemon logo front and center, he and the company were swiftly hit with backlash because the drum resembled a Japanese taiko drum rather than a traditional Chinese instrument based on its barrel shape, red rope bindings and angled setup, critics argued.
Commenters said using a Japanese drum at a Chinese cultural landmark was inappropriate and insulting, the Times reported, and Chinese percussionist Xu Yang reportedly told his social media followers the drums from the two countries "should never be confused.”
The company apologized on Weibo, a social media platform popular in China, writing: “Due to limitations in our professional knowledge, we were unable to identify potential controversies."
The Hiiko Drum Troupe that performed at the event also apologized and promised "use of the controversial drums have been suspended.”
Lululemon said it “should have been more cautious and thorough” in its preparation, and said it has removed “all related promotional content.”
“Chinese consumers are just very hypersensitive,” Shaun Rein, managing director of the China Market Research Group, told the Financial Times.
China is a critical growth market for Lululemon and making cultural missteps there could be particularly costly for the brand. In its latest quarter, the firm reported U.S. sales fell 4% while mainland China sales surged 23% in constant dollars. China accounted for about 10% of Lululemon's global revenue in 2023 but by late 2025, that number had grown to roughly 18%. The brand plans to open 25 to 30 stores in international markets in the coming year—most in the Chinese market—but competition in the region is heating up. Lifestyle brand Vuori has built five stores in China since October and Alo Yoga is preparing to debut in Hong Kong with a 7,000-square-foot, two-story waterfront store.
$2.5 billion. That was Lululemon’s reported revenue for Q1 2026, the latest data available, up 2% on a constant dollar basis.
If shares fall Wednesday as news of the drum controversy spreads.
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