lululemon opens first Romania store, expanding European yoga retail footprint

lululemon is bringing its first Romanian store to Băneasa Shopping City in Bucharest, a 600-square-meter opening that puts premium yoga retail inside one of the capital’s best-known upscale shopping centers. The store is scheduled to open in June 2026 and will give Romania its first physical lululemon location.

The move matters because Romania is not being treated like a tentative outpost. lululemon is entering the market through Arion Retail Group, the same franchise partner it is using for a wider 2026 rollout that also includes Greece, Austria, Poland, Hungary and India. The company has said guests in Romania will also be able to shop its full assortment online through eu.lululemon.com later in the year, extending the launch beyond one storefront in Bucharest.

The choice of Băneasa Shopping City tells its own story. The mall describes itself as a benchmark for premium retail and entertainment in Bucharest, and it sits in the city’s northern zone, close to the airport route and major transport links. A retail guide says the center has more than 250 stores. lululemon is not slipping into a low-cost neighborhood strip here. It is entering at the top end, where the brand can test whether Romanian shoppers will pay for the same premium positioning it has built elsewhere in Europe.

That positioning is broader than yoga now, even if yoga remains the brand’s foundation. lululemon says its core activities are yoga, run and train, while golf and tennis sit in its newer play categories. The Romanian store’s planned assortment reflects that shift, with men’s and women’s apparel and accessories for yoga, running, training, tennis, golf and everyday movement. In other words, the company is selling a lifestyle wardrobe, not just leggings for the studio.

The expansion also shows how much runway lululemon still has in Europe. In its 2024 annual report, the company said it operated more than 750 stores and touchpoints, surpassed $10 billion in annual revenue for the first time, and ended the year with $2.0 billion in cash and no debt. It also added 56 net new company-operated stores in 2024. That balance sheet gives the company room to keep pushing into markets where premium athleisure and yoga apparel are still moving from niche to mainstream.

Sarah Clark, lululemon’s senior vice president for EMEA, has said the company sees strong demand globally and wants to build communities in new markets. The timing backs that up. lululemon opened its first store in Poland in March 2026, marking its 100th store in EMEA, and Romania now follows as part of the same franchise-led expansion. For Eastern Europe, the Bucharest launch is less a one-off than a sign that yoga retail has reached a more mature stage, where brand reach, mall quality and local buying power are starting to line up.