New York
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Lululemon’s former CEO Chip Wilson is as soon as once more slamming the struggling firm he based, and he’s launching a marketing campaign to shake up its board.
Wilson, Lululemon’s controversial founder and second largest shareholder, introduced Monday that he nominated three new administrators, together with former executives from ESPN and Activision, in addition to a former chief from rival On. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the proxy fight.
The battle comes a couple of weeks after Lululemon announced that its CEO Calvin McDonald is leaving the corporate, capping off a tumultuous seven-year stint. The athleisure model didn’t sustain with rivals towards the tip of McDonald’s tenure, and its inventory has misplaced greater than 40% of its worth in 2025.
In a press release, Wilson mentioned that Lululemon “needs visionary creative leadership to thrive,” and its present board members “lack these skills.” He mentioned that the brand new leaders are “needed to redefine Lululemon and begin this company’s next chapter of success.”
Wilson may not be alone in his battle for management of Lululemon: Elliott Investment Management, a distinguished activist funding agency, has constructed up a $1 billion stake within the firm and is combating with administration to call former Ralph Lauren government Jane Nielsen as its subsequent CEO, the Journal reported.
Lululemon, based mostly in Vancouver, didn’t instantly reply to remark.
Wilson has additionally criticized Lululemon’s CEO change announcement, saying it was a “total failure of board oversight with no clear succession plan in place” and that shareholders have misplaced religion within the present board.
But Wilson isn’t nominating himself to the board, which he left in 2015. Instead, he mentioned that the adjustments are “about recommitting Lululemon to genuine creative leadership that will re-establish a brand of enduring strength.”
One notable nomination is Marc Maurer, the previous co-CEO of On, the high-end Roger Federer-backed Swiss shoe and attire firm. On is considered one of Lululemon’s predominant rivals and partly why Lululemon is struggling, particularly in its house market of North America.
Lululemon is hurting due to rising competitors, a softening marketplace for athleisure, and clothes that appears dated, mentioned Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData.
“This can be seen in current collections which do not feel all that well differentiated, and where the company has made pivots, it seems to be going into junkification territory with heavily branded hoodies and tops that simply do not speak to the traditional finesse and quality of the Lululemon brand,” he wrote in a earlier notice.
Saunders instructed NCS Monday that firm has “run out of steam” beneath its present management.
“Wilson isn’t wrong to try and infuse some new blood into the management suite. The nominations include a good balance of experience, although the main challenge remains finding the right CEO,” he mentioned.
Wilson stepped down as CEO in 2005 and has routinely attacked the corporate’s choices. Last 12 months, he criticized Lululemon’s diversity and inclusion efforts. In a 2018 interview with NCS, he mentioned he misplaced management of the corporate when it went public and mentioned he was stifled by its forms.