What happened: Lululemon (LULU) pushed back against founder Chip Wilson’s proxy battle, escalating the feud into a public fight over the company’s future direction ahead of its annual shareholder meeting in June.
What’s behind the move: The athleisure company’s board issued a sharply worded statement defending its leadership team and turnaround strategy while directly pushing back on Wilson’s involvement.
“Mr. Wilson has outdated perspectives about how to position lululemon and the future of the company, as well as troubling conflicts of interest,” the letter issued on Monday stated.
“Electing any of Mr. Wilson’s nominees would endorse his misguided perspectives, significantly downgrade the Board’s skills and expertise, and jeopardize the ability of the leadership team and our incoming CEO,” the letter read.
What else you need to know: Incoming CEO Heidi O’Neill, a former Nike (NKE) executive hired to help lead Lululemon’s next phase of growth, is at the center of the battle.
Wilson has questioned whether the company is making the right leadership choices, while the board argued O’Neill brings the experience needed to strengthen the brand globally.
Wilson, who remains one of the company’s largest shareholders, is backing a group of board nominees as he pushes for major changes inside the athleisure brand. He has openly criticized Lululemon’s recent leadership decisions, product strategy, and overall brand positioning.
Shareholders are expected to vote on the competing board nominees at the company’s annual meeting on June 25.
Lululemon has struggled to turn around amid changing consumer fashion tastes and stiff competition.
The stock is down more than 40% year to date. Shares sank in April after the company announced O’Neill as its next CEO.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
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