Dive Brief:
- Lululemon Athletica Inc. announced that Laurent Potdevin, the president of the shoe companyToms, will take over as CEO, replacing Christine Day in January.
- Additionally, Chip Wilson, who founded Lululemon, will step down as chairman of its board as Potdevin gains a seat there.
- Michael Casey, a current board member at Lululemon, will take over as chairman when Wilson leaves the role in 2014 (though Wilson will keep a non-chairman seat).
Dive Insight:
These announcements clearly mark a turning point from Lululemon as the company looks to leaves some embarrassing moments from 2013 in the past. Christine Day has earned rave reviews for her work there over five years, but a massive yoga pants recall this year gave the company a very public black eye. Meanwhile, Wilson stirred up more negative publicity by stating that "some women’s bodies just actually don’t work" in Lululemon pants. The company will hope to see its new leadership turn the page on both of those incidents.
