Lululemon founder Chip Wilson criticizes company’s diversity, inclusion efforts

(NewsNation) — Lululemon’s billionaire founder Chip Wilson is blasting his former company’s push toward diversity and inclusion.

Wilson, who stepped down as company chairman following a 2013 controversy, spoke with Forbes about his new business ventures and his battle with muscular dystrophy, but he also shared feelings on Lululemon’s current business model — and criticized the company’s “whole diversity and inclusion thing.”

“They’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,” Wilson said in the Forbes interview. “And I think the definition of a brand is that you’re not everything to everybody. … You’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in.”

Forbes, in its article, did not say whether Wilson specified which customers Lululemon shouldn’t “want.” But the article quoted Wilson as saying some of the models in Lululemon’s ads appeared “unhealthy,” “sickly” and “not inspirational.”

Wilson, whose net worth is almost $7 billion, stepped down as Lululemon’s chairman in 2013 and left the company entirely in 2015. (He still owns an 8% stake in the company, Forbes reported.) Wilson’s resignation followed controversial comments stating that Lululemon’s leggings “actually don’t work” for some women’s bodies after the company’s yoga pants were criticized.

In response to Wilson’s comments to Forbes, a Lululemon company spokesperson issued the following statement to NewsNation:

“Chip Wilson does not speak for lululemon, and his comments do not reflect our company views or beliefs. Chip has not been involved with the company since his resignation from the board in 2015 and we are a very different company today.

“lululemon is committed to creating and fostering an inclusive, diverse, and welcoming environment throughout our organization and across our communities. We have made considerable progress since launching our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action (IDEA) function, and we are proud of the goals we have achieved.

“We also recognize that becoming a more diverse and inclusive organization takes time and is only possible through the sustained efforts of our leaders and our people. We remain steadfast in our commitment to become a more inclusive and diverse company.”

Lululemon company spokesperson

The company’s website also details the progress they’ve made since launching IDEA (“Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action”) to “help foster a culture of inclusion where diversity is celebrated, equity is the norm, and action is the commitment.”