Lululemon pisses off Buffalo sports fans with store signage

Lululemon athletica has managed to piss off the entire city of Buffalo, New York.

The Vancouver-based yoga apparel company placed the words “wide right” and “no goal” on the floor of its Walden Galleria retail store, offending sports fans after the tile mosaic received widespread attention on social media.

In Buffalo, “wide right” references a missed field-goal attempt that caused the Buffalo Bills to lose Super Bowl XXV to the New York Giants in 1991. “No goal” refers to an equally devastating loss that the Buffalo Sabres suffered to the Dallas Stars in triple-overtime of game six in the 1999 Stanley Cup finals.

On Twitter, lululemon was quickly lambasted for its choice in words. Many citizens criticized the company for being so out of touch with its surroundings.

Did @realDonaldTrump open this @lululemon store in the @waldengalleria mall? #buffalo #EpicFail pic.twitter.com/mZf7XvKjkM

— Matt Schreiner (@mattschreiner12) October 15, 2014

@lululemon I suggest you remove "Wide Right" and "No Goal" from your floor @ WaldenG. Its disrespectful to all Buffalo fans. Poor taste!!

— Sabres 7th Man (@SabresCutie) October 15, 2014

@arkandove @lululemon I can't think of a less appealing entrance to a store in Buffalo. It's like a punch in the gut before you walk in.

— Jessica (@earlsinthetrunk) October 15, 2014

Some sports fans called for a local boycott of the store.

Are you kidding me @lululemon?? You put this in your Buffalo store??? #disrespectful #boycott #waldengalleria pic.twitter.com/46hvBF3YAa

— Nunie (@arkandove) October 14, 2014

On October 14, lululemon responded over Twitter, stating that the inspiration behind the tile art was “how these games solidified Buffalo as a proud and loyal community”. A few hours later, the company followed up with another tweet.

@arkandove We know emotions run deep and these events are part of our history and built Buffalo’s strength and character.

— lululemon athletica (@lululemon) October 14, 2014

According to the Buffalo News, shop employees posted a sign at the store’s entrance that read, ““We hear you Buffalo. We are Buffalo. We are proud athletes, students, teachers, parents, home owners, business owners, fans!”

They also covered the offending artwork with a rug and told the local news outlet that lululemon will remove the flooring and come up with a new design.

The Vancouver company has more than 250 stores around the world and adds design elements to each store that reflect the local community. Lululemon recently opened a new 4,500 square-foot flagship store at the corner of Robson and Burrard streets.

This isn’t the first time that lululemon has offended its customers. Less than a year ago, company founder Chip Wilson fired back against complaints about see-through pants and pilling by blaming women’s bodies during an interview on Bloomberg TV.

After stating that “Some women’s bodies just don’t work for it,” and “It’s really about the rubbing through the thighs,” Wilson released an apology before announcing that he would resign as chair of lululemon a month later.