Dec 29 (Reuters) – Lululemon Athletica’s founder Chip Wilson said on Monday he had launched a proxy fight by nominating three independent directors to the company’s board, days after the apparel maker announced the exit of CEO Calvin McDonald.
Lululemon has struggled to find its footing with younger and affluent shoppers amid stiff competition from fast-growing newer rivals like Alo Yoga and Vuori, as well as pressure from activist investor Elliott Management.
Wilson has nominated three director candidates to Lululemon’s board, including former On Running co-CEO Marc Maurer, former ESPN Chief Marketing Officer Laura Gentile and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg.
“The recent CEO change announcement was the third total failure of Board oversight with no clear succession plan in place. Shareholders have no faith that this Board can select and support the next CEO without input from a Board with stronger product experience,” Wilson said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the company said CEO McDonald would step down in January, joining a long list of leadership shake-ups across global consumer companies and retailers.
Lululemon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum, Sanskriti Shekhar and Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Shailesh Kuber)
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