Athletic wear retailer Lululemon has been successful striking this balance by attaching its unique brand of customer service to its brand identity.

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Another stock near a possible buy point is Lululemon Athletica ( LULU), which sells yoga clothing and other casual athletic wear.

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At the beginning, they produced athletic wear, likely inspired by Missoni himself, who had been a track-and-field star specializing in 400-meter relays and hurdles.

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Nike, though, does not consider footwear to be an incidental part of its business and may be inclined to teach the upstart a lesson by pushing its performance athletic wear a little harder.

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But the trend, which has its roots in Nike 's "Just Do It" campaign that began in the 1980s--a message that marketing experts think makes more sense than most since it suggests that its athletic wear products can help people achieve what they want to do--still has legs.

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But the trend, which has its roots in Nike 's (nyse: NKE - news - people ) "Just Do It" campaign that began in the 1980s--a message that marketing experts think makes more sense than most since it suggests that its athletic wear products can help people achieve what they want to do--still has legs.

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"The Chinese are differentiating between wearing athletic versus casual wear day-to-day, " said William Shen, Hong Kong-based partner at private-equity firm Headland Capital Partners Ltd.

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Now that active sportswear has brought athletic bras and leggings into public view, there are more ways to wear shapewear than ever, including paired with a jacket for the office.

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