Dive Brief:
- Lululemon on Thursday named a new CEO for its Mirror home workout division, after the founder of the business stepped down in September last year.
- Michael Aragon, currently chief content officer at Amazon’s Twitch livestream gaming platform, will move into the role on Jan. 17, and will also be CEO of Lululemon’s digital fitness business, according to a company press release.
- Aragon will report to Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald, and will be responsible for the development and expansion of Mirror.
Dive Insight:
Lululemon is bringing in an experienced digital veteran with a history of expanding content at other platforms to replace Mirror founder Brynn Putnam, who plans to stay at Mirror as an adviser until July this year.
Aragon spent five years as chief content officer at Twitch, expanding the platform into new content areas and growing creators on the platform eightfold. Outside of his experience at Amazon, Aragon also held roles as general manager of VRV at Ellation and spent over a decade with Sony. While there, he expanded the PlayStation Network beyond gaming and managed digital, music and original content.
“Mike Aragon has an impressive track record of building successful brands by connecting people and building communities through digital content and experiences,” McDonald said in a statement. “He is the ideal leader to chart the path forward for MIRROR as we engage with the more than 10 million lululemon guests who live the sweat life.”
Lululemon acquired Mirror in 2020 and swiftly worked to expand the tech’s reach by selling the device in its stores, adding new community engagement features for users, and expanding the technology to Canada. In September, McDonald said the company had opened a second production studio for Mirror, which doubles the number of classes the platform can offer.
While Lululemon executives have espoused confidence in Mirror’s future, the home workout business has not come without challenges. Analysts have expressed disappointment in the lack of communication around Mirror’s financials and its path to profitability. In addition, Lululemon’s ambitions for Mirror took a hit this week after Nike sued the company for patent infringement. (That’s in addition to a court battle Lululemon is currently fighting with Peloton over what it claims are copied apparel designs.)
Lululemon’s tech ambitions span far beyond the Mirror platform, though. Last year alone, the company filed patents for a number of technical apparel and fitness concepts, including a method for determining wellness metrics and a three-dimensional textured yoga mat.
