Lululemon is embroiled in a corporate power struggle that has destabilized its yoga pants empire.
The company’s billionaire founder, Chip Wilson, has publicly castigated management and feuded with the board of directors. Mr. Wilson, who resigned as chief executive more than a decade ago, still owns shares of the company. Under intense pressure, Lululemon’s most recent chief executive, Calvin McDonald, stepped down at the end of January. Another activist investor, Elliott Investment Management, is pushing its own candidate to replace him.
It has fallen to two interim co-chief executives to wade through the drama. They still have a $10 billion business to run.
The pair, Meghan Frank, 49, and Andre Maestrini, 61, said they were trying to block out the noise.
“We feel the responsibility to this organization, and the consumers and shareholders, to get into action and keep the team focused, despite what might be going on around Lululemon,” Ms. Frank said in an interview at the company’s Vancouver headquarters as she took her new role.
Lululemon is at a critical juncture. Over the past 15 years, the brand has defined an era of clothing by persuading shoppers to ditch their slacks and jeans, creating a multibillion-dollar market for form-fitting, stretchy leggings. But lately, those pants have lost their sheen.
Sales declined in North America late last year as a deluge of rivals stole market share. Fashion trends shifted, with shoppers demanding looser styles than the brand’s typical silhouettes. Cheaper duplicate versions of its athletic goods also inundated the marketplace.
Ms. Frank, the company’s head of finance, was promoted alongside Mr. Maestrini, the chief commercial officer. Ms. Frank oversees areas such as product, supply chain and legal, while Mr. Maestrini runs store and online shopping operations.
But the clock is ticking on what they can feasibly achieve. Analysts expect Lululemon to hire an external executive as its permanent chief at some point this year.
“There’s zero stability,” said Anna Andreeva, an analyst at Piper Sandler. “You need fresh blood.”
But the interim co-chiefs aren’t waiting for the boardroom spectacle to play out; Lululemon has shown early signs of a recovery in recent months, and they are hoping to keep the momentum going.
The pair have outlined their plan to revive sales. They are investing in store improvements, so that products are presented to shoppers more thoughtfully. There’s an effort to save money as higher tariffs eat away at margins. And they are boosting Lululemon’s product development timeline to get new items to stores as quickly as possible.
“We start the year with a real plan, with real strategies,” Mr. Maestrini said. “We make sure decisions are made fast.”
Dupes and Rivals
When Lululemon began selling yoga pants in 1998, it made practical gear to keep a yogi comfortable while doing a downward-facing dog or cat-cow pose. The brand soon trained shoppers to wear its leggings outside the gym and on the streets, and it became a cultural status symbol.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for comfortable clothes skyrocketed and society accepted casual clothes almost everywhere. These days, you are as likely to see Lululemon clothes, especially from its women’s line, at an office as you are at a yoga studio.
The world’s largest apparel companies scrambled to take advantage of the shift. Adidas invested in its women’s business, Gap pushed its Athleta label, and Nike developed a brand with Skims, Kim Kardashian’s underwear business.
Some retailers began offering pants that look a lot like Lululemon’s, but one can buy only so many black leggings. Shoppers have flagged their latest knockoff finds, called “dupes,” on social media. Lululemon even trademarked the phrase “Lululemon dupe,” and sued Costco in June in California, accusing it of selling knockoffs of its yoga pants. Costco denied the allegations, and the two sides reached a partial settlement in March.
As that saga unfolded, two start-ups — Alo Yoga and Vuori — rushed Lululemon head-on.
Alo, based in Los Angeles, drew shoppers with celebrity influencers, like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, as well as with its off-duty California look. The business first broke $1 billion in revenue in 2022. Vuori, from Encinitas, Calif., found fans by offering performance fabrics with a laid-back aesthetic. Analysts estimated that Vuori had $1 billion in sales in 2024.
As both brands opened stores across North America, they chose spots close to Lululemon, popping up in the same malls from California to Florida. Alo even opened one near Lululemon’s headquarters in Vancouver.
All three brands moved into flagships within a few hundred feet of one another on the same street in Manhattan. Lululemon opened its 17,000-square-foot space in November with a design concept set to be its blueprint for the future. It was wrapped in 3-D printed materials and hand-carved timber.
On a recent day at the store, it was evident that the competition had closed in and that Lululemon had to fight for every shopper. Hilary Nnajiofor, 18, was looking for flared leggings — not the tight ones for which Lululemon is best known.
“I wouldn’t exactly say I’m loyal, but I really like the colors,” Ms. Nnajiofor said.
‘Away From Body’
In Vancouver, mannequins in a showroom displayed the future of yoga pants. Most of the items in the room have the sleekness and soft fabrics that customers expect from the brand. But many also have wide, flowing legs that drape around calves.
Speed will be necessary for Lululemon to catch up to this fashion trend. Company executives call it “away from body.”
“Over the last couple years, we’ve let our product life cycles run too long,” Ms. Frank said. “We’ve become a little stale and predictable.”
Ms. Frank has sped up the company’s product development process and hopes to increase Lululemon’s share of new products to 35 percent this year. She is also trying to boost the retailer’s ability to chase demand, so that when new products sell out, it can rush to get items back in stock.
Management is also looking to expand its not-yoga offerings in sports like running, golf, tennis and other paddle sports like pickleball. Pilates is a new workout frontier for Lululemon, whose yoga clothes can often work in those studios, too. This month, the brand debuted a sweat-concealing technology developed with the tennis star Frances Tiafoe.
“Not only is sports important, but the versatility amplifies the potential opportunity for the business,” Mr. Maestrini said.
But even as he and Ms. Frank move forward with all these initiatives, the fight for the boardroom has escalated.
In late February, Mr. Wilson sent a letter to Lululemon’s shareholders. He accused the board of acting in its own interest and said its members were not acting with urgency.
“Their priority is protecting their own reputation, instead of upholding their fiduciary duty for all shareholders,” he wrote. Lululemon responded that its founder was “unwilling to have a constructive dialogue.”
And Elliott Investment Management, the activist investor that accumulated a billion-dollar stake in Lululemon, has pushed for a former Ralph Lauren executive, Jane Nielsen, to be named chief executive.
Lululemon has met with multiple candidates, the company said.
Mr. Wilson, who has nominated three new board directors, issued a letter on Thursday to those applying for the job. “Until meaningful change in the boardroom has taken place, success for the new C.E.O. could be a perpetual struggle,” he wrote.
Mr. Wilson declined further comment.
Lululemon is set to report its latest quarterly earnings on Tuesday. The company’s annual meeting, where shareholders can vote on board nominations, is typically held in June.
“I believe the decisions we’re making are enduring through any period,” Ms. Frank said.
Sophia June contributed reporting from New York.
Kim Bhasin is a business reporter covering the retail industry for The Times.
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