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Lululemon in damage control mode as founder slams yoga wear ‘inclusion thing’
Lululemon Athletica, commonly known as Lululemon, is a Canadian athletic apparel retailer that specializes in yoga wear and other types of activewear.
Lululemon has distanced itself from its founder and former CEO Chip Wilson's comments on the apparel company's move to expand its product line to a wider market. In an interview with Forbes, Wilson chided Lululemon for what he called the “whole diversity and inclusion thing” and said the people in the company's new ads look "unhealthy, sickly and not inspirational".
“They’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,” Wilson said. “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.”
The firm was quick to distance itself from Wilson's remarks and said, “Chip Wilson does not speak for Lululemon, and 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 company added.
This is not the first time Wilson has made such controversial remarks, which were widely criticized for being insensitive and body-shaming. In a 2013 interview with Bloomberg, Wilson said Lululemon's leggings "actually don't work" for some women's bodies.
"Frankly some women's bodies just don't actually work for [the pants]," Mr Wilson told Bloomberg when asked about the criticism of the company's yoga pants. "It's really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there over a period of time, how much they use it," he added.
These comments led to his resignation from the company's board, and he sold a portion of his stake in Lululemon.
