Yoga wear retailer Lululemon to close 40 Ivivva stores

Lululemon Athletica Inc. says it is shutting down about 40 of its 55 Ivivva stores.

The Vancouver-based retailer says the closures of the stores, which sell girls' yoga and athletic wear, will be mostly complete by the end of its third quarter that concludes in October.

CEO Laurent Potdevin says the restructuring is the best way of optimizing the business, which has been struggling.

In March, Lululemon warned that it would experience softer sales due to sluggish traffic in stores and a lack of selection on its e-commerce site, predicting earnings per share of 25 to 27 cents on revenue of $510 million US to $515 million US.

On Thursday, it reported first-quarter revenue of $520 million US, an increase of five per cent compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2016.

Net income was $31.2 million, down from $45.3 million a year earlier, with earnings per share of 23 cents, down 10 cents.