Overview
- Lululemon, in a Monday letter to investors, urged votes against founder Chip Wilson’s three director nominees and called his views outdated and misguided ahead of a June 25 board election.
- The company said negotiations fell apart last week after Wilson sought three board seats, including two immediate appointments, plus quarterly meetings with the incoming CEO, and it disclosed it had delayed its proxy filing while pursuing a deal.
- The board defended incoming chief executive Heidi O’Neill as the right leader for a turnaround and said she is set to start in September, while Wilson has argued her long Nike tenure is not the creative-first profile he wants.
- Lululemon questioned the qualifications of Wilson’s nominees and flagged a conflict for former On co-CEO Marc Maurer due to his large On stake, as the company’s shares are down about 40%–43% this year and Wilson owns roughly 8.97% of the stock.
- Wilson later said in a Monday statement that he was ready to finalize terms he said were agreed in principle, including adding two of his nominees and seeking standard items like replacement rights and expense reimbursement.