Lulu self-publishing service. Launched in 2002; based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
“About our name: The dictionary defines a lulu as a remarkable person, object or idea. Here at Lulu, we are passionate about creating a remarkable experience for people to tell their stories and celebrate their experiences – simply – through words and pictures.”
More on “the dictionary defines” here and here.
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Lulu dating service, a division of Date.com. History and physical location uncertain.
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Lulu’s Love Shack, a dating service. Google says it’s based in South Africa, but it appears to operate in the U.S.
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Lulu, “the girls-only app for dating intelligence.” Originally called Luluvise. Launched in February 2013; based in New York City. Not related to the Lulu or Lulu’s Love Shack dating services.
Co-founder Alexandra Chong told the New York Times she got the idea for Lulu “during a boozy brunch with female friends the day after an awkward Valentine’s Day setup.” Chong concluded “that women needed a focused search engine for dating — a ‘Guygle’.”
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Lululemon yoga and workout wear for women and men. Founded in 1998; based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
From the website:
The lululemon name was chosen in a survey of 100 people from a list of 20 brand names and 20 logos. The logo is actually a stylized “A” that was made for the first letter in the name “athletically hip”, a name which failed to make the grade.
Lululemon founder and chairman Chip Wilson (often referred to in the press as “billionaire chairman Chip Wilson”) has acquired a reputation for outspokenness. Among his more notorious remarks:
- “Frankly, some women's bodies just don't actually work [for the yoga pants].” –responding to complaints that the company’s $92 yoga pants are too sheer. He later apologized. (The company’s clothing is made in sizes 2 to 12. Most American women wear a 12 or larger.)
- “Breast cancer came into prominence in the 1990’s. I suggest this was due to the number of cigarette-smoking Power Women who were on the pill…” – blog post, March 30, 2009
- Child labor “is the single easiest way to spread wealth around the world.” – 2005 interview with The Tyee (British Columbia).
- “The name ‘lululemon’ has no roots and means nothing other than it has 3 ‘L’s’ in it.” – 2009 blog post that has been removed from the Lululemon website. In December 2004, Canada’s National Post Business Magazine quoted Wilson as saying he chose the name because “L” is hard for native speakers of Japanese to pronounce. “It’s funny to watch them say it,” he said.
In 2011, Lululemon shopping bags were emblazoned with “Who is John Galt?”, a reference to Atlas Shrugged, the 1959 novel by Ayn Rand. “Who is John Galt?” is a popular slogan with libertarians and extreme conservatives and shorthand for “self-interest is my only interest.”
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More on the productive -palooza suffix.
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