????最近的新聞報道很抓眼球：高速成長的運動服飾公司露露檸檬（Lululemon）正在召回一款過于透明的薄褲。這家公司恐怕絕對不希望靠這樣的負面新聞增加曝光量。

????盡管這些報道帶著調侃的一位，但這起事件的影響可能要超過露露檸檬過去遇到過的所有麻煩。簡單舉一些例子：2007年，一些獨立評測機構表示，無法驗證露露檸檬的VitaSea系列產品是否像其聲稱的那樣包含從海藻中提取的有益“海洋氨基酸”。公司CEO克里斯汀?戴伊在2012年第二季度的業績電話會議上承認，由于有些顏色（包括一款非常鮮亮的“法國粉”）滲色，公司不得不撤回產品。

????露露檸檬拒絕對這篇文章發表評論，但很好地處理了褲子過于透明的問題。它在公司網站上發布了詳盡的常見問題及解答，在3月21日的業績電話會議上戴伊也花了很多時間來討論褲子問題。

????因此，這不是什么溝通問題，投資者們擔心問題可能比這更嚴重。“最近受到質疑的包括公司的執行、新店鋪的生產率以及管理層對投資者的答復是否有點敷衍了事，”3月19日Cowen and Company的一位分析師報告指出。“我們付出了相當的代價，終于意識到，涉及染色和織造等各種問題的嚴重性遠超想象。”

????報告稱，露露檸檬管理層借助客戶反饋才發現了問題，這種情況本不應發生。事實上，露露檸檬應當對供應鏈的每一環節都進行嚴密的品質控制，特別是就該公司而言，供應鏈的緊張程度對于公司能否保持驚人的增長至關重要。

????截至2012年底，露露檸檬的股價在三年內漲幅超過3了倍。根據《財富》雜志（Fortune ）和其他媒體的報道，這家公司的成功秘訣是總能推出轟動一時的熱門新產品，全價出售，快速周轉庫存。這是打造需求的聰明做法。

????但現在，這家公司正在面臨真正的需求問題。露露檸檬正在撤回由Luon布料制成的問題褲子，它占到露露檸檬下裝庫存的17%。這對于這家公司而言可是一大筆錢。

????“我們目前預計第一季度損失銷售額1,200萬至1,700萬美元，今年余下時間將再損失4,500萬至5,000萬美元，主要發生在第二季度，”戴伊在3月21日的公司業績電話會議表示。

????如果供應不足，露露檸檬還能滿足市場的需求嗎？與此同時，它還需要重建口口相傳的口碑。迄今為止，口碑一直是它成功的關鍵。

????The headlines are almost too easy -- fast-growing sportswear company Lululemon is recalling pants that, it turns out, are see-through. This is the worst kind of exposure the company could ask for.

????Beyond the headline humor, this particular hitch may have more legs than previous setbacks at Lululemon (LULU). Some quick examples: In 2007, independent testers couldn't verify that the company's VitaSea line contained, as Lululemon claimed, beneficial "marine amino acids" from seaweed. More recently, CEO Christine Day admitted during an earnings call for the second quarter of 2012 that the company had to pull products because certain colors, including a retina-searing "Paris Pink," had been bleeding.

????Lululemon, which declined to comment for this article, has handled its bottomless pants problem well. The company posted a comprehensive FAQ on its website, and Day spent much of the company's March 21 earnings call addressing the pants problem.

????So no, it's not a communications issue, but investors are worried it might be something worse than that. "Questions had arisen recently about the company's execution, productivity of new stores and whether management's responses to investors have had a bit too many excuses rather than answers," says a March 19 Cowen and Company analyst report. "We have now learned the hard way that various questions regarding dying and fabrication were more, well, material, than we had thought."

????The problem, the report continues, came to Lululemon's management via customer feedback, which should never happen. Instead, the company should keep a close watch on quality control at every stage in its supply chain, especially since the tightness of the company's supply chain has been critical to its impressive growth.

????As of the end of 2012, Lululemon share prices had more than quintupled over the previous three years. The secret to its success -- which Fortune and others have reported, is to generate buzz around new, hot products, charging full price for them, and cycling quickly through fresh inventory. It's a smart way to build demand.

????But now, the company is facing a real demand issue. Lululemon is pulling all of its defective pants made with a fabric called "Luon," which accounts for 17% of Lululemons inventory in bottoms. That's big money for the company.

????"We're currently estimating lost revenue of $12 million to $17 million in the first quarter and additional lost revenue of $45 million to $50 million for the balance of the year, primarily in the second quarter," said Day, during the company's March 21 earnings call.

????Can Lululemon meet demand with a legitimate supply shortage? At the same time, the company will need to re-gain control of the word-of-mouth buzz that has been, up until this point, essential to its success.