Lululemon officials, founder Chip Wilson at odds over new board nominees
· Toronto Sun
Lululemon’s long-standing feud with its founder Chip Wilson is coming to a head as a battle brews over its new board nominees.
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Shareholders of the Vancouver-based retailer are set to pick new board members at its annual general meeting in June.
Regulatory filings say Lululemon put forward three new board nominees, while Wilson has his own candidates for the board.
The athleisure company has told shareholders to vote “only” for its nominees and to ignore the founder’s picks for the board.
Lululemon’s nominees are former Levi’s CEO Chip Bergh, ex-Unilever executive Esi Eggleston Bracey and one-time Gap chief financial officer Teri List.
Competing visions pitched for brand
In a proxy statement, the company urged shareholders to vote for its nominees because they have “the strong executive leadership background, board experience and extensive expertise spanning global consumer brands necessary to oversee the company’s long-term growth and value creation strategies.”
Wilson’s nominees are Marc Maurer, a former co-CEO of On Holding AG, Laura Gentile, a former ESPN chief marketing officer, and Eric Hirshberg, a former CEO of Activision.
In a letter to shareholders on Wednesday, Wilson pushed for his picks, calling them “independent, highly-qualified nominees,” which he said “will catalyze restoration of Lululemon’s once bold vision and product-centred brand and stop the value destruction the board has overseen for years.”
Relations between Lululemon and its founder, who is still the largest individual shareholder of the company, have been increasingly bitter following recent changes to its management.
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Butting heads over other decisions
Though Wilson is no longer involved in the company’s management, he has been openly critical of its decisions, including his disapproval of former CEO Calvin McDonald , who stepped down from the company earlier this year.
Last week, the company named former Nike executive Heidi O’Neill as its CEO, who will take on the role beginning on Sept. 8.
Wilson responded to her appointment by stating to shareholders in his letter Wednesday: “I genuinely hope that Heidi is the right person for Lululemon, but a near 30-year veteran of Nike is not the symbol of transformative, creative-first leadership that can instill shareholder confidence in today’s world.”
The company, made famous for its yoga pants, has experienced a lack of sales growth in recent years, while other “athleisure” brands such as Alo Yoga and Vuori have risen in popularity among shoppers.
Shares of Lululemon have been declining since O’Neill was announced to lead the company, dropping from US$163.45 on April 22 to US$138.16 on Wednesday afternoon.