3/18/2026
Lululemon Appoints a New Board Member Amid Calls for Change
Wall Street Journal (03/18/26) Kapner, Suzanne
Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) is adding former Levi Strauss (NYSE: LEVI) Chief Executive Chip Bergh to its board as it faces off against its estranged founder, who has pushed for a board shake-up to reverse declining U.S. sales. Bergh will succeed David Mussafer, the chairman and managing partner of private-equity firm Advent International. Mussafer has served as Lululemon’s lead director since September 2014 and a board member from 2005 to 2010. Lululemon also reported financial results for the period ended Feb. 1 that extended a string of disappointing results in the United States. Net revenue increased 1% to $3.6 billion. But revenue in the Americas, its largest market, decreased 4%. By contrast, international revenue grew 17%. Net income for the period fell 22% to $587 million from $748 million the prior year, hurt by higher levels of discounting. Meghan Frank, Lululemon’s finance chief who assumed the additional role of interim co-CEO in January after CEO Calvin McDonald stepped down, said in an interview that the company was taking steps to shore up its U.S. business. The first products by Lululemon’s new creative director, Jonathan Cheung, have begun arriving in stores in recent months and they are helping to drive more full-priced sales, she said. Frank called out several new innovations, including a line of workout gear called Unrestricted Power that provides support and mobility, and ShowZero, designed to conceal sweat while ensuring breathability. She said that by the end of the current quarter new products will account for about 35% of the company’s product assortment, up from 23% last year. And she said stores are being reconfigured with less clutter and clearer visuals, which is making it easier for customers to shop for the new merchandise. The company expects net revenue for the current fiscal year to grow 2% to 4% to $11.4 billion to $11.5 billion. It expects earnings per share in the range of $12.10 to $12.30 for the year. Lululemon’s shares have fallen by about half over the past year. Mussafer’s departure is a win for Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, who has called for Mussafer to relinquish his board seat. Mussafer joined the board in 2005, when Wilson sold 48% of his Lululemon stake to Advent. Wilson, who hasn’t held a role at the company in over a decade, has criticized Lululemon’s board for presiding over what he sees as the company’s loss of dominance in the athletic-wear industry it helped create. “The core issue at Lululemon is one the Company has struggled with for years: there is a disconnect between the Company’s creative engine and the Board’s understanding for how brand power and product excellence fuel cultural strength, margin durability and long-term shareholder value,” Wilson said in a statement on Tuesday, before the company announced the board change and earnings. In January, Wilson warned in an open letter to potential Lululemon CEO candidates that a new leader alone won’t resolve the company’s problems. The best way to address the company’s issues is by reconstituting the board, Wilson has said. Wilson, who remains the largest individual shareholder in the company, has nominated three new independent directors, Marc Maurer, the former CEO of running shoe company On; Laura Gentile, former chief marketing officer of ESPN; and Eric Hirshberg, the former CEO of Activision Publishing (NASDAQ: ATVI). Bergh is the fifth new board member Lululemon has added in five years. Bergh was CEO of Levi Strauss for more than a decade. He is credited with leading a turnaround of the brand, including by reinvigorating the women’s business, and was at the helm for its most recent initial public offering in 2019. He previously worked at Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) for 28 years. In February, Lululemon said that it has continued to engage with Wilson but that Wilson has indicated that he wouldn’t allow Lululemon’s board to meet his proposed directors unless they agreed to a full set of settlement terms. As of February, Wilson had only allowed Maurer to have preliminary conversations with the board.
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