Lululemon founder speaks out against company’s focus on diversity and inclusion

The founder of clothing outlet Lululemon has spoken out against the company’s focus on diversity, arguing that the brand should not be “everything to everybody.”

Chip Wilson, who founded the popular exercise clothing chain and is still a majority shareholder in it, was asked in a recent interview about what he thought was the biggest opportunity for the brand. Wilson, who left the company’s position on the board of directors in 2015, suggested that Lululemon ought to take a risk and become “a brand that people want.”

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“I think through this whole diversity and inclusion thing that they’ve become, trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,” Wilson said in his interview with Forbes. “And I think the definition of a brand is that you’re not everything to everybody.”

Wilson explained that when he opened a store in the 1990s, he was adamant that he did not want customers to smoke in his store. While this ruffled the feathers of people who did smoke, Wilson said that non-smokers and “very healthy” people visited his store “in droves,” of which he took note.

“So what I’m really getting at there is that Lululemon has the opportunity to become a brand, but in order to become a brand you’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in,” Wilson said. “And right now, they’re fearful, they run out, instead of living out of possibility, they live out of the fear of media backlash of not including everybody, and that’s just something I don’t agree with.”

A Lululemon company spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that Wilson “does not speak for Lululemon,” nor do his comments “reflect our company views or beliefs.”

“Lululemon is committed to creating and fostering an inclusive, diverse, and welcoming environment throughout our organization and across our communities,” the statement said. “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.”

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Wilson has made himself no stranger to controversy when discussing the brand he founded, as he got in hot water in 2013 when he said “some women’s bodies just actually don’t work” for the brand’s pants. He stepped down as Lululemon’s chairman shortly afterward.

Wilson’s comments criticizing brands focusing on diversity and inclusion come after several billionaires have spoken out against the focus on diversity in the workplace. Bill Ackman, a billionaire and Harvard University graduate, described diversity, equity, and inclusion as “racist,” and that the lack of true equity in DEI, which he referred to as “fairness,” contributes to the growing resentment in the country. Similarly, billionaire Elon Musk described DEI as both “immoral” and “illegal.”