Lululemon Founder is Sick and Tired of Certain Type of People Buying His Clothes, "You've Got To Be Clear That You Don't Want Certain Customers Coming In"
MSN - While many CEOs are shouting out about their increased efforts to ramp up diversity across their business one founder is promoting the exact opposite.
Lululemon’s billionaire founder Chip Wilson insists that exclusivity trumps inclusivity while blasting the posh leggings company which he stepped down from 10 years ago.
“They’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,” Wilson, who has an estimated net worth of $8.7B said in an interview with Forbes.
“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.”
Fat people. It's fat people who he's talking about. Chip Wilson doesn't want the company he built with his sexy, perfectly proportioned hands to cater to people of fat.
There was a time where Lululemon was the hottest, trendiest brand of clothing on the market. It was worn by nothing but the most tantalizing women with the best bodies and worst personalities you'll ever come across in real-life. That was the Lululemon Chip had envisioned.
I remember when I first heard the name Lululemon. I thought it was a frozen yogurt brand. I assumed it was a place where people on a diet could eat desert without feeling bad about themselves, despite it being basically the same thing as ice cream. It wasn't until my brother came home one day wearing a pair of slightly cooler than normal looking pants when I learned what it really was. I asked my brother, "Where are those pants from?"
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He replied, "Lululemon, they cost $12,000."
I was instantly hooked. I ran to the nearest Lululemon and spent a whole paycheck on a new wardrobe of athletic-leisurewear to lay on my couch and smoke weed in. I would never be caught dead in affordable sweatpants again.
But ever since Chip stepped down from his position on the Board of Directors, things have changed. The new bosses at Lululemon thought to themselves, "You know what, I was in San Antonio, Texas the other day. What if we made clothing for people who live there?"
Since then, Lululemon took off. Despite Chip's qualms with the brands new plus-sized customer base, Lululemon continued to rise in popularity.
“They’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,” Wilson, who has an estimated net worth of $8.7B said in an interview with Forbes.
“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.”
Still, the activewear giant is clearly onto something: Wilson has added almost $4 billion to his net worth since 2020, nearly all because of the rise in value of his 8% stake in Lululemon stock.
But this isn't the first time Chip has expressed his displeasure with the direction Lululemon is going. Up until now, I can at least see Chip's point. He wants to cater to an active & athletic customer base. If you start making clothes for everyone under the sun, you lose exclusivity. There's obviously merit to that. However, you might not be surprised to learn that overweight customers are not the only "certain people" he would prefer not cater to. This one I'm going to have a harder time getting on board with.
Wilson previously declared that when founding Lululemon back in 1998, he specifically came up with a brand name that has three L’s because the sound does not exist in Japanese phonetics.
"It's funny to watch them try and say it,” he told Canada's National Post Business Magazine.
He has also spoken in favor of children working in factories to earn money and avoid poverty, blamed birth control for rising divorce rates, and described plus-sized clothing as "a money loser" for businesses.
God damn, Chip! No! It's not 1942 anymore. You can't be giving combo anti-Japan + pro-child labor takes anymore. Not when you're the head of an enormous global brand. That's a wild one. "Lululemon is for active, in-shape individuals who are NOT Japanese" That's a hell of a mission statement.
I apologize if this is old news. I'm sure some of you know about Chip Wilson already. But he just came across my desk for the first time today with his most recent comments. What a wild man. I'd like to take this time to officially disavow Chip. I'd disavow Lululemon too, unfortunately I've already spent too much money there. And Chip is no longer on the board. However, I was just gifted some clothing from this place called Vuori. It's much better than Lululemon. Very soft clothes. I'd recommend them to anyone of any size, Japanese or not. Just something to consider next time you're looking to drop way too much money on a popular brand of clothing to feel better about yourself.