Business career
In 1979, Wilson founded his first retail apparel company, Westbeach Snowboard Ltd, which sold apparel targeted at the surf, skate, and snowboard markets. He sold Westbeach in 1997 and founded Lululemon Athletica in 1998.[10][11]
Wilson was CEO of Lululemon until 2005, when he sold a 48% stake to private equity firms Advent International[12] and Highland Capital Partners.[13] In 2007, an IPO was offered by Lululemon Athletica Inc. on Canadian and US exchanges.[14] In January 2012, Wilson retired from his executive post as chief innovation and branding officer, but remained chairman of the board of directors.[13] In December 2013, he stepped down from his role as non-executive chairman.[15]
In June 2014, Wilson raised concerns that the Lululemon board was not aligned with the core values of product and innovation on which the company was founded, and on which it thrived.[16] Six months after the board's reconstitution, the company's share price rose from a June 2014 low of $36.26 to $65.33, a change in market capitalization of over $4 billion.[17]
In August 2014, Wilson sold 13.85% of his ownership in Lululemon to Advent for approximately $845 million.[18][19][20]
In February 2015, Wilson stepped down from Lululemon's board of directors, saying, "I have achieved the goals I set when I came back, and after careful thought, I believe that now is the right time to step away from the board. I leave behind a new and talented management team and new board construct."[21]
In December 2015, in an interview with Bloomberg Business, Wilson said, "Three years ago, when I was chairman and Lululemon was worth twice as much as Under Armour, I personally was thinking of buying Under Armour."[22]
In June 2016, Wilson published an open letter to shareholders of Lululemon stating that it had "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.[23][24][25]
In 2016, Wilson created House of Wilson, a holding company that includes Wilson Capital, Wilson 5 Foundation, and Low Tide Properties.[26]
In 2019, Wilson sold millions of shares for about $800 million while the stock rallied, further reducing his stake in the company.[27]
