Lululemon founder Chip Wilson — who famously blamed the company’s quality-control issues on women’s thighs — stepped down as chairman today. The company has also announced a successor to CEO Christine Day, who resigned amid Lululemon’s recall of defective yoga pants last spring. Day will be replaced by Laurent Potdevin, who was most recently president of Toms Shoes, and Wilson will have a seat on the board.
After the pants were pulled from the shelves early this year for quickly becoming sheer and pilled, Wilson told Bloomberg News the product just didn’t work for some women’s bodies.
Reporter: So the pants might be see-through on some women’s bodies, but not on others?
Chip: No, no. Because even our small sizes would fit an extra-large. It’s more about the rubbing through the thighs, and how much you’re using it.
Despite his subsequent, sad, non-apology video, analysts say Wilson alienated some core customers, like size-eights. It’s less about the defective pants and more about his bald head, and how little he was using it.
