as nasdaq lulu industry retail founded 1998 founder chip wilson headquarters vancouver british columbia canada number of locations 354 october 2015 1 area served north america asia oceania key people laurent potdevin ceo products athletic apparel and accessories revenue us 1.37 billion fy 2013 2 operating income us 376.4 million fy 2013 2 net income us 271.4 million fy 2013 2 total assets us 734.6 million fy 2012 3 total equity us 606.1 million fy 2012 3 number of employees 2 861 divisions lululemon athletica oqoqo ivivva athletica website official website lululemon athletica inc. luwluw l m n styled as lululemon athletica is a canadian athletic apparel retailer . it is a self described yoga inspired athletic apparel company and a designer and retailer of technical athletic apparel which produces a clothing line and runs international clothing stores from its company base in vancouver british columbia canada . the company makes a number of different types of athletic wear including performance shirts shorts and pants as well as lifestyle apparel and yoga accessories . the firm has been a magnet for controversies including product recalls 5 product quality issues overpriced merchandise 6 making misleading statements to artificially inflate its stock price 5 marketing efforts that exclude overweight customers 6 accusations by shareholders of fraud 7 false advertising and controversial statements by a founder . they sell their clothing internationally . key competitors include athleta nike and under armour . contents 1 history and management 1.1 lululemon murder 2 controversies 2.1 false advertising 2.2 product quality issues 2.3 controversial statements by founder 2.4 legal disputes 3 references 4 external links history and management edit the lululemon athletica store in westport connecticut lululemon athletica in promenade the company was founded in 1998 by chip wilson in vancouver canada . 8 in 2001 the company began selling yoga wear . 9 christine day a former co president of starbucks international became chief executive officer in june 2008 ; in 2013 it was announced day would leave her position 10 and she was replaced by laurent potdevin in january 2014 . 11 in december 2010 lululemon recalled some of the store s reusable bags that were made in china from polypropylene based on reports of high levels of lead and concerns about possible lead poisoning . 12 in december 2013 founder chip wilson announced his resignation as chairman and that president of toms shoes laurent potdevin would become ceo . 13 in february 2014 the firm announced plans to open its first full store in europe with a flagship shop in covent garden london . 14 day announced her departure as ceo in june 2013 after one of the company s core products black luon yoga pants were pulled due to the sheerness and lack of quality of the pants . 15 in february 2015 wilson announced that he resigned from the board . 16 17 18 michael casey lead director of the board replaced wilson . 19 store managers have responsibility for the store s layout color coordination and community involvement. ; 20 seventy percent of managers are hired internally according to a company source . 20 lululemon murder edit further information lululemon murder in 2011 employee brittany norwood murdered colleague jayna murray at the lululemon athletica store in bethesda maryland . 21 the case received intense media attention and became known as the lululemon murder . 21 22 23 controversies edit false advertising edit in november 2007 the new york times reported that lululemon made false claims about its vitasea clothing product ; the firm had claimed that its vitasea clothing made from seaweed provided anti inflammatory antibacterial hydrating and detoxifying benefits but laboratory tests failed to find significant differences in mineral levels between cotton t shirts and the fabric vitasea . 24 lululemon was subsequently forced to remove all health claims from its seaweed based products marketed in canada following a demand from a canadian oversight agency the competition bureau of canada . 25 a subsequent report in 2009 suggested that some yoga devotees saw the firm s yoga image as an annoying phony baloney symbol with criticism that its positive messaging is vague with slogans such as friends are more important than money . 8 product quality issues edit there were complaints about shoddily made clothing which was too sheer as well as having holes appear and coming apart after a few uses . 26 27 in march 2013 lululemon was hit by a large recall of its black yoga pants that were unintentionally transparent and too thin ; 28 29 the recall which amounted to approximately 17 % of all women s pants sold in its stores impacted its financial results . 30 lululemon s chief product officer sheree waterson resigned following the fallout from the recall . 31 the financial hit on earnings and damage to the public image of the lululemon brand are credited with the executive s forced departure . 32 controversial statements by founder edit founder chip wilson has made numerous controversial statements . he said his company does not make clothes for plus size women because it costs too much money . 33 he blamed some customers for wearing lululemon s clothes improperly or for having body shapes inconsistent with his clothes in such a fashion as to cause small balls of twisted fabric to accumulate on the clothes known as excessive pilling . 34 during his interview for bloomberg tv in november 2013 he said frankly some women s bodies just don t actually work for it and it s really about the rubbing through the thighs how much pressure is there over a period of time how much they use it . 34 according to one report comments such as these led to wilson s resignation as chairman . 35 the statements were described in time as fat shaming which led to much criticism among feminist blogs . the report suggested that it was company policy to discourage plus size customers as part of its brand strategy since no customer wants to endure the embarrassment of asking a clerk to go find a bigger size . 36 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 . 37 38 39 legal disputes edit in august 2012 lululemon filed suit against calvin klein and supplier g iii apparel group for infringement of three lululemon design patents for yoga pants . 40 the lawsuit was somewhat unusual as it involved a designer seeking to assert intellectual property protection in clothing through patent rights . on november 20 2012 lululemon filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in the delaware courts based upon a private settlement agreement reached between the parties that dismissed the suit . 41 references edit lululemon athletica inc. announces third quarter fiscal 2015 results . lululemon athletica . lululemon . retrieved 4 january 2016 . a b c lululemon athletica inc. annual report form 10 k . lululemon athletica . 2013 03 21 . retrieved 2014 08 27 . a b lululemon lulu annual sec balance sheet filing via wikinvest company profile for lululemon athletica inc lulu . retrieved 2009 08 03 . a b canadian press april 4 2014 canadian press lululemon poised to defeat lawsuit over recall of sheer black luon pants as draft decision dismisses cases retrieved may 11 2015 ... lawsuit by shareholders ... failing to disclose the quality defects in its luon yoga pants ... making misleading statements and omissions that caused its stock price to become artificially inflated ... . a b 9 november 2013 jessica wakeman the guardian you can keep your overpriced overhyped lululemon yoga pants the founder of lululemon actually blamed fat women for ruining his yoga pants by rubbing their thighs together too much retrieved may 11 2015 ... let me translate from biz speak if your thighs rub together meaning if they touch you might be too plump for lululemon pants . ... july 3 2013 the age australian newspaper downward dogged lululemon sued for fraud retrieved may 11 2015 ... lululemon has been hit with a lawsuit accusing it of defrauding shareholders by hiding defects in yoga pants whose sheerness led to a costly recall and concealing talks that led to the sudden departure of its chief executive ... . a b rob walker july 21 2009 new york times marketing pose retrieved ... it s no surprise that some yoga devotees have zeroed in on it as an annoying phony baloney symbol . elaine lipson a writer and editor in boulder colo. who ... yen for zen ; yoga is to today what aerobics were to the eighties. ; but the new gear is a far cry from yesterday s ; jane fonda sweats . . the globe and mail . toronto . 2011 11 29 . lululemon ceo steps down . the daily beast . retrieved 11 june 2013 . lululemon athletica appoints laurent potdevin as chief executive officer . marketwatch . retrieved 10 december 2013 . sinnema jodie 21 december 2010 . lululemon issues recall for shopping bags due to lead risk . edmonton journal . retrieved 6 may 2015 . people who purchase yoga pants hoodies or headbands from the more than 100 lululemon stores in canada the u.s. and australia often save such bags to carry their lunches to work ogul david . chip wilson lululemon chairman resigns ; toms ceo taking the helm . newsmax . retrieved 10 december 2013 . suzanne bearne drapers . lululemon limbers up to open first uk store in covent garden . february 20 2014 . february 4 2015 . fred meier usa today 7 25 p.m. edt june 10 2013 2013 06 10 . stunner lululemon ceo christine day leaving . usatoday.com . retrieved 2014 04 13 . cs1 maint multiple names authors list link power shifts at lululemon as chip wilson seals deal . globe and mail . 11 june 2014 . michael calia february 2 2015 wall street journal lululemon founder wilson quits board resignation comes about six months after disagreement was settled on yoga apparel maker s strategy accessed may 6 2015 http www.businessinsider.com lululemon founder chip wilson resigns 2015 2 huffington post chip wilson leaving lululemon a b lululemon ceo how to build trust inside your company . cnn money . retrieved 2012 10 18 . a b morse dan march 12 2012 . lululemon marks anniversary of jayna murray s death . the washington post . archived from the original on november 3 2012 . retrieved november 3 2012 . noble andrea 2011 10 24 . selection of jury starts in rockville . the washington times . retrieved 2012 09 19 . morse dan 2011 10 23 . lululemon killing trial begins monday . the washington post . retrieved 2012 09 19 . story louise 2007 11 14 . seaweed clothing has none tests show . new york times . retrieved 2007 11 14 . lululemon ... says the vitasea clothing made from seaweed fiber ... provides anti inflammatory antibacterial hydrating and detoxifying benefits ... there is one problem with its vitasea claims however . some of them may not be true . lululemon vitasea clothing competition bureau takes action to ensure unsubstantiated claims removed from lululemon clothing . government of canada . retrieved 2007 11 16 . los angeles times it seems that lululemon the vancouver based company had to recall some of its yoga pants because they are too sheer . this is not it turns out a minor problem . retrieved ... adorably named lululemon that has a problem with see through yoga pants . many brands when stretched just so are sheer ... . michelle chapman ap business writer november 1 2013 usa today new quality complaints about lululemon pants just a few months after