Lululemon’s billionaire founder, Chip Wilson, is back in the news for the most outrageous and insensitive comments of the year.
The ousted CEO is not like other heads of companies, he is not for progress, diversity, or inclusiveness. The American-Canadian businessman is promoting the exact opposite.
Wilson did an interview with Forbes in which he, again, insisted that he did not create his famous leggings for all women.
He stated: “They’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody. 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 activewear giant was quick to issue a statement blasting Wilson’s brutal remark.
In a statement to Fortune, a spokesperson for Lululemon 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.”
Wilson, who was booted from the clothing and leggings company, is famous for his jaw-dropping statements.
In 2004, when asked to discuss the founding of his brand, Lululemon, in an interview with National Post Business magazine, Wilson stated that Japanese people do not have L in their vocabulary and struggle to pronounce L, and that is “funny”.
He claimed: “The reason the Japanese liked [my former skateboard brand, ‘Homeless,”] was because it had an L in it and a Japanese marketing firm wouldn’t come up with a brand name with an L in it. L is not in their vocabulary. It’s a tough pronunciation for them. So I thought, next time I have a company, I’ll make a name with three Ls and see if I can get three times the money. It’s kind of exotic for them. I was playing with Ls and I came up with Lululemon. It’s funny to watch them try to say it.”
In 2013, on Bloomberg Television, he was asked why plus-sized women and women with curvy bodies were having trouble fitting into Lululemon pants.
He was also asked to explain the bothersome sheer effect around the thighs. Wilson replied bluntly by saying: “Frankly some women’s bodies just actually don’t work for [wearing Lululemon pants].”
Despite the endless controversies, Wilson has a net worth of $8.7 billion, and the company is thriving. Some observers say that he is on an anti-woke crusade.
