Shares of Lululemon Athletica (LULU) are down 7% after the Vancouver-based company warned that its holiday quarter results will be lower than expected due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 that forced the yoga wear maker to cut staffing and store hours.
Omicron has further hurt the retail sector, which was already grappling with shipping delays and product shortages due to global supply chain problems.
“We started the holiday season in a strong position but have since experienced several consequences of the Omicron variant, including increased capacity constraints, more limited staff availability, and reduced operating hours in certain locations,” Lululemon said in a news release.
The Canadian company said it now expects fourth-quarter net revenue to be toward the low end of its previous forecast of $2.13 billion U.S. to $2.17 billion U.S. Lululemon also expects fourth-quarter adjusted profit per share to be toward the low end of its earlier outlook of $3.25 U.S. to $3.32 U.S.
Lululemon reports its results in U.S. dollars.