Lululemon founder steps down from embattled sporting apparel company

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/10/lululemon-founder-chip-wilson-steps-down

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Lululemon, the sportswear company that attracts fundamentalism among customers and managers alike, has announced that its founder and chairman, Chip Wilson, is to step down after a series of public relations stumbles.

Wilson departs after a year in which the company's signature black yoga pants were criticised for being see-through, a product flaw that the founder blamed on the body types of some customers. 

Lululemon announced the change on Monday and said that it had also found a replacement for outgoing CEO Christine Day.

Wilson has been criticized for comments he made about birth control pills and for his appreciation of the controversial philosopher Ayn Rand, but Lululemon’s most damaging scandal came this year when the company’s signature black yoga pants were criticized for being see-through. The quality problem came just as the company’s high-growth rates were tapering and drove the company’s chief product manager to step down.

After the company recalled the pants, Wilson said that his customer’s bodies were responsible for the problems in a television interview. “Quite frankly, some women’s bodies just actually don’t work for it,” he said. “It’s really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there.” 

Shortly after, a Maryland store referenced the comments in a poetic window display that said: “Love: cups of chai/apple pies/rubbing thighs?” It was taken down and Lululemon apologized on Twitter.

Lululemon board member Michael Casey will replace Wilson as chairman. He told the Globe and Mail that Wilson’s comments were not reflective of the company’s stance. “I don’t think the company would have made the same statements that Chip did, but Chip was speaking for himself,” Casey said. “What’s important here is that we focus on the future and not the past.” 

He also said Wilson is not being forced out by the board of directors and it was decided that he would leave before these comments were made. Wilson, one of the wealthiest people in Canada, will keep his seat on the board of directors.

Former president of Toms shoes, Laurent Potdevin, will take over as Lululemon CEO in January. He will replace Christine Day, who said in June that she would leave the company once someone else was found. Day played a key role in helping the company’s red and white, emblem-embellished bags become ubiquitous in the US market and her departure surprised investors.

Potdevin, who has said he doesn’t agree with Wilson’s comments, will be responsible for helping the Vancouver-based company with its push into the European and Asian markets.

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