Lululemon Athletica Inc.‘s showdown with its estranged founder weighed on its first quarter, the retailer revealed Thursday.
When the apparel maker experienced “spikes of negative commentary” in the media and on social platforms, it had an impact on traffic and the company’s overall performance, interim co-chief executive and chief financial officer Meghan Frank said on a call with analysts.
She didn’t outline precisely what comments or posts might have caused the most damage, but Lululemon was particularly embattled during the quarter.
It continued to face attacks from founder Chip Wilson, who had been pushing since late last year for the company to appoint three of his nominees to its board. Wilson thought the new faces would help reinvigorate the company he built but no longer works at, making it more immune to competitors and resilient on the stock market.
While Lululemon was open to exploring some of the nominees, it complained during the quarter that Wilson made considering them difficult because he blocked access and demanded concessions from the business.
The company eventually put forward its own board nominees, which would have gone head-to-head with Wilson’s slate at a shareholder vote this summer.
Last week, however, both sides came to an agreement. Lululemon promised to appoint two of Wilson’s nominees in exchange for him stopping the disparagement in the lead up to the company’s 2028 annual meeting.
During Lululemon’s first quarter, both sides were pushing their slates and the business named former Nike executive Heidi O’Neill as its next CEO. She will join on Sept. 8.
By the time the quarter swung to a close on May 3, Wilson and Lululemon had yet to sign their agreement.
The Vancouver-based retailer, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, wrapped the quarter with a net income of US$195 million in its first quarter, compared with US$314.6 million a year earlier.
The result amounted to earnings per diluted share of US$1.69, down from US$2.60 a year earlier.
Its revenue was US$2.5 billion, up by about four per cent from its prior first quarter.
The company also downgraded its outlook for 2026, saying it now expects net revenue for the full year to be in the range of US$11 billion to US$11.15 billion, and diluted earnings per share to be in the range of US$10.95 to US$11.15.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2026.
