Lululemon Athletica

History and management

The company was founded in 1998 by Chip Wilson in Vancouver, Canada. In 2001, the company began selling yoga wear. Christine Day, a former co-president of Starbucks International, became chief executive officer in June 2008. In December 2010, Lululemon recalled some of the store's reusable bags that were made in China from polypropylene, based on reports of high levels of lead and concerns about possible lead poisoning. In December 2013, founder Chip Wilson announced his resignation as chairman, and that president of TOMS Shoes, Laurent Potdevin, would become CEO. In February 2014, the firm announced plans to open its first full store in Europe with a flagship shop in Covent Garden, London. Day announced her departure as CEO in June 2013 after one of the company's core products, black Luon yoga pants, were pulled due to the sheerness and lack of quality of the pants. In February 2015, Wilson announced that he resigned from the board. Michael Casey, lead director of the board, replaced Wilson. Store managers have responsibility for the store's layout, color coordination, and community involvement.; Seventy percent of managers are hired internally, according to a company source. In March 2015, the store expanded its accommodation to men by introducing anti-ball crushing (ABC) pants, designed with additional latitude in the crotch region.

Lululemon murder

In 2011, employee Brittany Norwood murdered colleague Jayna Murray at the Lululemon Athletica store in Bethesda, Maryland. The case received intense media attention and became known as the "Lululemon murder". This altercation began when Norwood attempted to steal a pair or lululemons famous yoga pants. The scene quickly escalated and ultimately ended in the use of 5 different weapons and 331 different wounds on Brittany Norwood which lead to her death.

False advertising

In November 2007, The New York Times reported that Lululemon made false claims about its Vitasea clothing product; the firm had claimed that its Vitasea clothing, made from seaweed, provided "anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hydrating and detoxifying benefits" but laboratory tests failed to find significant differences in mineral levels between cotton T-shirts and the fabric Vitasea. Lululemon was subsequently forced to remove all health claims from its seaweed-based products marketed in Canada, following a demand from a Canadian oversight agency, the Competition Bureau of Canada. A subsequent report in 2009 suggested that some yoga devotees saw the firm's yoga image as an "annoying phony-baloney symbol" with criticism that its "positive messaging" is vague with slogans such as "friends are more important than money."

Product quality issues

There were complaints about shoddily made clothing which was "too sheer" as well as having holes appear and coming apart after a few uses. In March 2013, Lululemon was hit by a large recall of its black yoga pants that were unintentionally transparent and "too thin"; the recall, which amounted to approximately 17% of all women's pants sold in its stores, impacted its financial results. Lululemon's Chief Product Officer, Sheree Waterson, resigned following the fallout from the recall. The financial hit on earnings, and damage to the public image of the Lululemon brand are credited with the executive's forced departure.

Controversial statements by founder

Founder Chip Wilson has made numerous controversial statements. He said his company does not make clothes for plus-size women because it costs too much money. He blamed some customers for wearing Lululemon's clothes improperly or for having body shapes inconsistent with his clothes, in such a fashion as to cause small balls of twisted fabric to accumulate on the clothes, known as excessive pilling. During his interview for Bloomberg TV in November 2013, he said, "Frankly some women's bodies just don't actually work for it" and "it's really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there over a period of time, how much they use it." According to one report, comments such as these led to Wilson's resignation as chairman. The statements were described in Time as "fat shaming" which led to much criticism among feminist blogs. The report suggested that it was company policy to discourage "plus-size customers" as part of its brand strategy since "no customer wants to endure the embarrassment of asking a clerk to go find a bigger size."

In June 2016, Wilson published an open letter to shareholders of lululemon stating that lululemon has “lost its way” and given up market share to Nike and Under Armour, after he was denied the opportunity to speak at the company's annual meetings.Since then, Wilson uses the website Elevate Lululemon to share his vision for the brand and business.

Legal disputes

In August 2012, Lululemon filed suit against Calvin Klein and supplier G-III Apparel Group for infringement of three Lululemon design patents for yoga pants. The lawsuit was somewhat unusual as it involved a designer seeking to assert Intellectual Property protection in clothing through patent rights. On November 20, 2012, Lululemon filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in the Delaware courts based upon a private settlement agreement reached between the parties that dismissed the suit.