April 19 (Reuters) - Lululemon Athletica ( LULU ) will

close its distribution center in the state of Washington at the

end of the year and lay off more than 100 employees, the apparel

retailer told Reuters on Friday.

The Vancouver-based firm will shutter the Sumner

distribution center as part of its business optimization effort

and cut 128 jobs beginning June 21, according to a WARN notice

filed with the state's Employment Security Department.

The move comes at a time when Lululemon is seeing slowing

demand for its premium athleisure in North America, where

excessive inventory levels at sporting retailers has resulted in

lower orders for sportswear and apparel firms.

The lease for the company's 150,000-square-foot Sumner

distribution center will end on July 2025, a regulatory filing

showed.

A company spokesperson said some of the employees would be

retained and relocated to other facilities, including the

recently opened distribution center in greater Los Angeles area.

The retailer in 2021 had entered into a new lease for an

about 1.26 million-square-foot distribution center in Ontario

city in California. The lease expires in 2039, its annual filing

showed.

Lululemon also owns a distribution center in Groveport,

Ohio, while leases majority of its other facilities located

across the United States, Canada and Australia.