Lululemon Founder Escalates Fight to Overhaul Company Leadership

Chip Wilson, who founded Lululemon, is intensifying his battle to replace multiple board members at the athletic wear company. The founder criticized the board's leadership as the company struggles with declining stock prices and operates without a permanent CEO.

The founder of athletic apparel company Lululemon intensified his corporate battle on Friday, pushing for sweeping changes to the company’s board of directors beyond his initial proposals.

Chip Wilson escalated his conflict with the Canadian yoga apparel company he founded, expressing growing frustration with the board’s strategic decisions, CEO leadership transition, and what he views as insufficient creative and marketing knowledge among top executives.

Wilson initiated his corporate challenge late last year by putting forward three independent candidates for board positions — Marc Maurer, Laura Gentile and Eric Hirshberg — while also advocating for yearly board elections.

In a shareholder communication, Wilson stated: “While we have proposed changing three directors, our strong feeling is that more than three directors should be replaced.”

Wilson revealed that despite submitting his director candidates in December, the board only began discussions with them this week, describing their response as “weak and insufficient.”

“I have pursued private, constructive dialogues with the Lululemon board of directors for the past few months. My attempts toward a sensible solution have not been reciprocated,” Wilson declared Friday.

As one of Lululemon’s largest individual investors holding a 4.27% ownership stake, Wilson also disclosed that the board turned down his suggestion to establish a committee dedicated to overseeing brand development, product innovation and creative direction.

The company has not yet provided a response to requests for comment.

Wilson’s corporate challenge unfolds as Lululemon’s stock value has dropped by nearly 50% in the last year, with the brand facing difficulties attracting younger, wealthy consumers while competing against rapidly expanding competitors like Alo Yoga and Vuori.

The athletic wear company currently lacks a permanent chief executive following Calvin McDonald’s exit in December and faces additional pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which has accumulated over $1 billion worth of shares in the retailer.