The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
VANCOUVER, Canada — Chip Wilson's feud with Lululemon Athletica Inc is alive and kicking.
The billionaire’s right to designate a board nominee was terminated after he “failed to observe the requirements of the support agreement relating to certain contesting stockholder actions,” the company, best known for its yoga pants and workout gear, said in a recent filing that didn’t specify what prompted the change.
Wilson returned to the spotlight last year with a book — Little Black Stretchy Pants — that bemoaned Lululemon’s performance since 2013, arguing the firm failed to take advantage of its leadership position and lost ground to rivals including Under Armour Inc and Nike Inc. He was also an investor in a consortium that reached a $5.2 billion deal in December to buy Amer Sports Oyj, the maker of Wilson tennis rackets and Louisville Slugger baseball bats.
Shares of Lululemon rose to a record last week and have surged 77% in the past year. Wilson, meanwhile, has sold into the rally, disposing of about $725 million of the company’s shares in 2019, according to calculations by Bloomberg.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lululemon and Wilson declined to comment through spokespeople.
Wilson “informed the board that he did not agree with the board’s conclusions,” according to the April 24 filing.
Wilson’s relationship with the athleticwear maker he founded in 1998 has long been fraught. After a November 2013 interview with Bloomberg, in which he said Lululemon’s pants “don’t work for some women’s bodies," Wilson apologised, stepped down as chairman a month later, then threatened a boardroom fight. He sold half his stake in 2014 before resigning in 2015.
In a more recent interview with Bloomberg last October, he said he wanted to return to a public board in 2019 and that Lululemon was his first choice.
This may not be the end of the feud. Despite Wilson’s recent share sales, he still owns 9.4% of the company, which comprises more than half of his $3.9 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
By Tom Metcalf with assistance from Sandrine Rastello, Natalie Obiko Pearson, Anders Melin; editor: Pierre Paulden, Peter Eichenbaum.
From analysis of the global fashion and beauty industries to career and personal advice, BoF’s founder and CEO, Imran Amed, will be answering your questions on Sunday, February 18, 2024 during London Fashion Week.
The State of Fashion 2024 breaks down the 10 themes that will define the industry in the year ahead.
Imran Amed reviews the most important fashion stories of the year and shares his predictions on what this means for the industry in 2024.
After three days of inspiring talks, guests closed out BoF’s gathering for big thinkers with a black tie gala followed by an intimate performance from Rita Ora — guest starring Billy Porter.