Lululemon Athletica Inc. distanced itself from its founder, Chip Wilson, after the former executive criticised the yogawear brand’s diversity and inclusion efforts in an interview.
“I think through this whole diversity and inclusion thing that they have become — trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,” Wilson, 68, told Forbes. “You’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in.”
He told the magazine that the Lululemon brand isn’t reaching its potential due to fear of media backlash. He said he thought the men in Lululemon ads looked “sickly” and the women were “not inspirational.”
A spokesperson for Lululemon, which expanded its merchandise to larger sizes in 2020, said Wednesday that the company has made significant progress since bringing on a chief diversity and inclusion officer that year, adding programmes that include racial representation goals for its workforce and an executive steering committee.
“Chip Wilson does not speak for Lululemon, and his comments do not reflect our company views or beliefs,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Chip has not been involved with the company since his resignation from the board in 2015 and we are a very different company today.”
Lululemon issued muted fourth-quarter guidance last month amid slowing sales growth, though it continued to outpace most peers. The Vancouver-based company’s shares surged 60 percent in 2023, topping the 24 percent advance of the S&P 500 Index.
By Kim Bhasin
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In 2020, like many companies, the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion, and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities. In interviews with BoF, 14 current and former employees said things only got worse.
