Chip Wilson

Dennis J. "Chip" Wilson (born 1956) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who has founded several retail apparel companies, most notably yoga-inspired athletic apparel company Lululemon Athletica Inc. (TSX: LLL, NASDAQ: LULU), commonly referred to as Lululemon.^[1] Chip Wilson is widely considered to be the original creator of the athleisure trend.^[2]

Business career

In 1979, Wilson founded his first retail apparel company, Westbeach Snowboard Ltd., which sold apparel targeted at the surf, skate, and snowboard markets. Wilson went on to sell Westbeach in 1997 and founded Lululemon Athletica Inc. in 1998.^[3]

Wilson served as CEO of lululemon until 2005, when he sold a 48% minority stake in lululemon to private equity firms Advent International ^[4] and Highland Capital Partners.^[5] In 2007 an IPO was offered by Lululemon Athletica Inc. on Canadian and US exchanges.^[6] In January 2012, Wilson retired from his executive post as chief innovation and branding officer, but remained chairman of the board of directors.^[5] In December 2013, Wilson stepped down from his role as non-executive chairman.^[7]

On June 11, 2014, Wilson raised his concerns that the Lululemon Board was not aligned with the core values of product and innovation on which lululemon was founded, and on which the company thrived.^[8] Six months after the board reconstitution the company’s share price boosted from a June 2014 low of $36.26 to $65.33 — a change in market capitalization of over $4 billion.^[9]

On August 7, 2014, Wilson sold 13.85% of his ownership in Lululemon inc to Advent's for approximately $845 million.^[10][11][12]

In October 2014, Wilson participated in TEDxVancouver where he discussed "Building Legacy in the Digital Age".^[13]

In February 2015, Wilson stepped down from the Lululemon Board of Directors saying, “I have achieved the goals I set when I came back, and after careful thought, I believe that now is the right time to step away from the board. I leave behind a new and talented management team and new board construct.” ^[14]

In December 2015, in an interview with Bloomberg Business, Wilson stated, "Three years ago, when I was chairman and Lululemon was worth twice as much as Under Armour, I personally was thinking of buying Under Armour."^[15]

In June 2016, Wilson published an open letter to shareholders of Lululemon stating that Lululemon has “lost its way” and given up market share to Nike and Under Armour, after he was denied the opportunity to speak at the company's annual meetings.^[16][17][18]

Personal life

Wilson, born in 1956,^[19] graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Calgary in 1980.^[20] He has five sons, two from Wilson’s first marriage to Nancy,^[21] and is married to Shannon Wilson, one of the original designers of Lululemon and Co-founder of Kit and Ace along with his son JJ Wilson. They reside in Vancouver, B.C.

In 2004 Ernst & Young named Wilson as "Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year for Innovation and Marketing".^[22] As of 2012 Forbes ranked Wilson as the 10th wealthiest Canadian and 401st in the world, with an estimated net worth as of March 2013 of $2.9 billion.^[23]

In 2014, Wilson and his wife, Shannon Wilson, received honorary doctorates from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design.^[24] One year later, they received honorary doctorates from the Kwantlen Polytechnic University.^[25]

Philanthropy

imagine1day

In 2007 Wilson, along with his wife Shannon Wilson, launched imagine1day, a charity dedicated to improving education conditions in Ethiopia. The organization’s goal is that all Ethiopians have access to quality education free of foreign aid funding by 2030.^[26] As of June 2016, imagine1day had 487 partner schools with 35 of those built from the ground up by its team. Also, 1,130 school clubs have been created with half run by girls. 66,420 books, 180 science kits, & 160 sports sets have been provided to the students. imagine1day estimates that over 252,000 lives are transformed annually through their education & training.^[27]

Chip and Shannon Wilson School of Design

The Chip and Shannon Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University ^[28] is a $36 million project. Chip and Shannon Wilson pledged $12 million ^[29] to the School with the goal of solidifying the future of BC’s technical apparel industry. Lululemon, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and the Province of British Columbia serve as additional financial partners. The school broke ground in Fall 2013 and will include new teaching studios, gallery space for student exhibitions and a “usability lab” where students can design, prototype, and market product concepts. The school is scheduled to open in 2015 and is expected to increase the overall number of design students by 57 percent.^[30]

Child Run

Chip and Shannon Wilson are leading sponsors of the annual Child Run. The Child Run is the largest family fun run in Vancouver, with a 5K for runners and walkers on a scenic route through Queen Elizabeth Park and a 1K fun run, followed by a carnival celebration. Proceeds support British Columbia's Children's Hospital and their fight against childhood cancer. In 2014, the run had over 6,000 participants and raised over $1 million.^[31]

Whil

In 2013, Chip and Shannon Wilson launched Whil.com - a website designed "to convince professionals to meditate a few times a day in increments of just 60 seconds" by making it more accessible.^[32]

Criticism

CBS Interview

Wilson appeared in a CBS interview in 2015 where he apologized for past statements regarding the Lululemon yoga pant scandal saying, "... I'm responsible for what comes out of my mouth. And if that's what was interpreted then I fully apologize. Yeah. I'm sorry."^[33]

Stephen Colbert mention

Wilson was the subject of the Stephen Colbert show's segment "Alpha Dog of the Week", on November 18, 2013, where Mr. Colbert sarcastically criticized the CEO for his views on the influence of birth control and for having said that women's bodies "just actually don't work" for his company's pants.^[34]

References