picture alliance / Getty
- Lululemon has distanced itself from founder Chip Wilson's criticism of the brand's inclusivity initiatives.
- Wilson criticized the company's "whole diversity and inclusion thing" in an interview with Forbes.
- Other prominent business figures like Elon Musk and Bill Ackman have also taken issue with DEI.
The athleisure brand Lululemon has distanced itself from its founder and former CEO Chip Wilson's comments about diversity.
Wilson, who left the company in 2015, criticized what he called the "whole diversity and inclusion thing" that the company has embraced in an interview with Forbes published earlier this week.
"They're trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody," Wilson said.
I think the definition of a brand is that you're not everything to everybody," he added. "You've got to be clear that you don't want certain customers coming in."
Lululemon, which says on its website that it stands "for humanity, diversity and empathy—without exception," has since issued a statement distancing itself from Wilson's comments.
"Chip Wilson does not speak for Lululemon, and his comments do not reflect our company views or beliefs," a spokesperson said in a statement, per The Business of Fashion.
"Chip has not been involved with the company since his resignation from the board in 2015 and we are a very different company today," they added.
Jim Bennett/Getty
Wilson also took issue with some of the models that Lululemon has used in advertising campaigns, labeling them "sickly," "unhealthy," and "not inspirational," per Forbes.
Wilson founded Lululemon, which is now headed by Calvin McDonald, in Vancouver in 1998 as a "yoga-inspired" company for women.
He stepped down as chairman of the firm's board of directors in 2013 in the wake of widespread backlash over his comments on why some customers' pants were pilling.
"They don't work for some women's bodies ... 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 said.
The company was often called out for its narrow range of sizing options, but in 2020, it expanded its offering, saying in a post on Instagram that "six of our top styles are now available in sizes 0-20, and there's much more coming soon."
"It's a start," it added.
Wilson has also come under fire in the past for his claims that the company's name was chosen to try and attract Japanese consumers.
"A Japanese marketing firm would not try to create a North American sounding brand with the letter 'L' because the sound does not exist in Japanese phonetics," Wilson wrote in a now-deleted post. "By including an 'L' in the name, it was thought the Japanese consumer would find the name innately North American and authentic."
"It's funny to watch them try and say it," he added.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have become a hot topic among execs in recent years.
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has said DEI is "the root cause of antisemitism" at Harvard University, while Elon Musk has claimed DEI was "just another word for racism."
Lululemon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.