Lululemon Founder Slams Company's Diversity And Inclusion Crusade

Businessman Chip Wilson founded the sportswear brand Lululemon back in 1998, and while he hasn't been with the company for around a decade one thing is very clear: Chip doesn't like what he's seeing, especially when it comes to his former company's obsessions with diversity and inclusion.

Wilson told Forbes this week that the company has devolved into the Gap. Not sure what the problem with that is considering Gap makes a pretty decent pair of jeans, but let's hear him out.

“They’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,” Wilson said. “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.”

If you're unfamiliar with Lululemon they started as a company that made yoga getups for the *Jerry Lewis voice* laaaaaaaadieees, but now they make things for the fellas. Why, at one point Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles was even a brand ambassador.

No, seriously.

Wilson Hasn't Been With The Company Since 2013

However, what Wilson doesn't like about the company is the same thing that got him fired in 2013: the idea that the company shouldn't be for everyone.

He got the axe for saying in an interview that “Quite frankly, some women’s bodies just don’t work" for the company's signature yoga pants.

Wilson had his reasons for that. He said, "It’s about rubbing through the thighs and how much pressure there is."

I mean... that kind of makes sense to me. There are companies whose shirts I can't wear because I was cursed with a barrel chest and wide shoulders. There are companies whose pants I can't wear because of my rock-solid tree trunk thighs and toned calves carved from a childhood spent playing hockey.

I'm not complaining. I just take my hard-earned money elsewhere. This isn't hard people.

A Lululemon store in Hong Kong. Lots of expensive pants in that picture. (Photo by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Lululemon Is Big On DEI... I Mean 'IDEA'

But Lululemon — which is based out of Canada — is notorious for its DEI pushes, or as they call it in a statement to The New York Post, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action, or IDEA. Because who doesn't love a fancy acronym?

“Chip Wilson does not speak for Lululemon, and his comments do not reflect our company views or beliefs,” a company spokesperson said to The Post after Wilson's comments. “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.”

They're not kidding. I ran into my local Lululemon store in search of some last-minute khaki pants. I left pantsless (I was wearing my pants, I just didn't buy new because they were like $150), and right by the exit was one of those Pride flags with the yellow triangle and purple circle and some plaque with a credo about how they won't turn anyone away.

Unless they don't feel like shelling out for their pricey pants, obviously. In which case, adieu.

According to The New York Post, Lululemon's stock is up 55% over the last year. That is to say that despite the push into the DEI — I'm sorry; IDEA — waters, business is humming right along.

However, we've seen enough cautionary tales over the last year or so with companies going too far in the name of diversity and inclusion and paying a hefty price for it.

Chip Wilson may not have the best bedside manner on the planet, but he's not wrong in that his old company may want to tread just a bit more lightly.

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