Why is Chip Wilson, founder of the yoga legging brand Lululemon, so problematic?

“Lululemon is committed to creating and fostering an inclusive, diverse and welcoming environment within its organization and communities. We’ve made significant progress since launching our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action (IDEA) function, and we’re proud of the goals we’ve achieved.” This statement, which was distributed by email to the media CNN: Canadian yoga clothing company Lululemon signed on January 4. This happened after two days ago, the founder of the brand, Chip Wilson, came out after controversial statements made during an interview with the magazine. Forbes: .

In this interview, the former head of the company (he resigned in 2015, editor’s note) talked about diversity, explaining that Lululemon was trying to emulate Gap when “brand definition is not for everyone.” And he continues. “You have to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in.” Chip Wilson added that the people featured in Lululemon ads are “unhealthy,” “sick” and “uninspiring.” Lululemon chose to qualify this speech on CNN, taking care to clarify that the former executive was not speaking on behalf of the company and that “his opinions in no way reflect the values ​​and beliefs of Lululemon.”

The contradictions of a successful brand

Unknown in France until a few years ago, Lululemon has nevertheless been a hit in the United States for more than a decade, where its comfortable and stylish yoga clothes have been wildly successful. Since its inception in 1998, its founder Chip Wilson wanted to bring more quality and technique to yoga wear. Twenty-six years later, Fashion network recalled that Lululemon dominated sportswear sales “with 59% of transactions in the third quarter of the year.” They jumped in the last quarter of 2022 to a whopping $8.1 billion (€7.46 billion) in turnover.

It’s enough to make it a serious competitor to the sportswear industry’s biggest companies like Nike and Adidas… especially after it launches sneakers in 2022. If Lululemon is growing and influencers are getting pieces of the brand on TikTok. , he is partially due in 2020. “He took advantage of the epidemic, when soft and comfortable clothes were popular among customers under house arrest, to develop,” the newspaper recalls. reactions .

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Clearly, Chip Wilson’s words resonate even more in an era where the concepts of inclusivity and diversity are at the fore in the apparel industry. Especially since this is not the first time that the latter appears in the center of controversies. Already in 2004, he explained National Post Business Magazine that the name Lululemon came from the fact that the Japanese had difficulty pronouncing the letter L. He saw it as a marketing tool. “It’s funny to see them trying to pronounce it,” he admitted. In 2013, he explained to a TV reporter from the media Bloomberg that “some women’s bodies don’t work for pants,” citing “thigh friction” and “pressure applied” as reasons. Words that can cost dearly, like what happened with Victoria’s Secret. After a series of scandals, the brand led to its group losing $250 million in 2019 before disappearing from the media scene.