Current:Home > InvestLululemon founder says brand isn't for everyone: 'You don’t want certain customers coming in'-LoTradeCoin
Lululemon founder says brand isn't for everyone: 'You don’t want certain customers coming in'
View Date:2024-12-24 10:05:45
Not everyone is meant to wear Lululemon apparel, the company’s billionaire founder told Forbes on Tuesday.
The yoga-inspired athletic apparel company’s former CEO, Chip Wilson has received another wave of backlash after saying the brand was “trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,” which, in his words, contradicts the notion of what a brand is.
“And I think the definition of a brand is that you’re not everything to everybody… You’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in,” Wilson told Forbes.
Wilson also expressed his dislike of the company's "whole diversity and inclusion thing" as well as stating that the people picked to represent the company in ads look "unhealthy," "sickly" and “not inspirational."
Stanley cup craze:The new pink Starbucks x Stanley cup is selling out fast
Verizon settlement:Who is eligible for $100 million Verizon class action settlement? Here's what to know
He also notes that the company's efforts to expand outside of activewear, into fashion-focused apparel like men’s dress shirts are "appalling," despite Lululemon's stock increasing by nearly 60% over the last year, according to Forbes.
The comments sparked an uproar of backlash on social media, something Wilson is no stranger to after stepping down as CEO amid similar criticism in 2013.
When asked about the recent remarks made by the company’s founder, a Lululemon spokesperson shared with USA TODAY Thursday that “Chip Wilson does not speak for lululemon.”
“His comments do not reflect our company views or beliefs. Chip has not been involved with the company since his resignation from the board in 2015 and we are a very different company today,” the spokesperson said.
Lululemon founder has history of problematic remarks
Wilson has faced scrutiny in the past over remarks he’s made about the company he founded, making controversial comments about women’s bodies, the use of child labor and Japanese people. He stepped down as Lululemon Athletica’s CEO in 2013, leaving the board altogether a couple years later.
As a result of all the public criticism he has hurled at the company in recent years, Lululemon Athletica stripped him of the ability to appoint a representative of the board in 2019, saying Wilson violated a 2014 agreement he’d signed, Forbes reported.
Here are a few remarks made during his tenure, as previously reported by Business Insider.
- Lululemon was the result of female education levels, breast cancer, yoga/athletics and the desire to dress feminine coming together all at one time.
- Wilson mocked said he picked the name Lululemon because he thought the difficulty Japanese people had pronouncing the letter ‘L’ was an extra marketing tool for the product in the country, stating, “It’s funny to watch them try and say it.”
- In a 2013 television interview with Bloomberg, Wilson said that his leggings “don’t work for some women’s bodies,” after the signature black yoga pants were pulled off the shelves after customers stated they were see-through.
- Wilson told a Canadian newspaper in 2005 that the extra fabric it would take to make plus-sized clothing is “a money loser, for sure. I understand their plight, but it's tough."
Lululemon's diversity push
As a result of the Black Lives Matter protests that occurred nationwide in 2020, the athleisure company pledged to “stand up and fund Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action within the organization to support meaningful, lasting change in the world,” in a post on the company's website.
The company stated the movement “acted as a powerful catalyst" within Lululemon prompting conversations between senior leadership, underrepresented employees and the community at large.
The company’s 2020 plan included pledges to increase funding to DEI initiatives, expand employee training and increase diversity in the workforce.
A 2023 inclusion report released by the company showed it met its goal of increasing diversity among store workers to 40% by 2023, but missed its goal of reaching 30% diversity among directors and assistant store managers (27%).
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Judith Jamison, acclaimed Alvin Ailey American dancer and director, dead at 81
- Who is Brian Peck? Ex-Nickelodeon coach convicted of lewd acts with minor back in spotlight
- Watch Kim Kardashian Kiss—and Slap—Emma Roberts in Head-Spinning American Horror Story Trailer
- Texas wants to arrest immigrants in the country illegally. Why would that be such a major shift?
- Man who stole and laundered roughly $1B in bitcoin is sentenced to 5 years in prison
- Escaped white supremacist inmate and accomplice still at large after Idaho hospital ambush
- Why Ryan Phillippe Is Offended by Nepotism Talk About His and Reese Witherspoon's Kids
- Getty Images reverses flag that Prince Archie christening photo was 'digitally enhanced'
- Prominent conservative lawyer Ted Olson, who argued Bush recount and same-sex marriage cases, dies
- Save 40% on the Magical Bodysuit That Helped Me Zip up My Jeans When Nothing Else Worked
Ranking
- Bev Priestman fired as Canada women’s soccer coach after review of Olympic drone scandal
- It's Showtime: See Michael Keaton's Haunting Transformation for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Role
- Ex-Saints receiver Michael Thomas entering diversion in case stemming from arrest last fall
- Dodgers rally to top Padres in MLB Korea season opener: Highlights, recap of Shohei Ohtani debut
- Katherine Schwarzenegger Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Pratt
- Chelsea Houska Reveals Why Daughter Aubree May Not Inherit the Family Business
- NFL free agency 2024: Top 20 free agents still available as draft day looms
- Escaped white supremacist inmate and accomplice still at large after Idaho hospital ambush
Recommendation
-
Agents search home of ex-lieutenant facing scrutiny as police probe leak of school shooting evidence
-
California voters pass proposition requiring counties to spend on programs to tackle homelessness
-
Biden administration to invest $8.5 billion in Intel's computer chip plants in four states
-
Do sharks lay eggs? Here's how the fish gives birth and what some eggs look like.
-
Saving for retirement? How to account for Social Security benefits
-
Judge dismisses sexual assault suit brought by Chicago police officer against superintendent
-
Drake Bell Responds to Backlash Over Costar Josh Peck's Silence on Quiet on Set Docuseries
-
Mississippi deputies arrest 14-year-old in mother’s shooting death, injuring stepfather