Lululemon Bets New Leaders Will Help It See Through Woes

By Mark Memmott

Published December 11, 2013 at 10:39 AM CST

Lululemon clothes at a store in Pasadena, Calif.

Yoga clothier Lululemon began the year with an embarrassing problem — pants that allowed way too much of women's bottoms to be seen through their sheer fabric.

As 2013 approached its close, the company had to cope with another public relations challenge: chairman and founder Chip Wilson's comment that "quite frankly, some women's bodies just actually don't work" in Lululemon's pants because of "rubbing through the thighs."

Along the way, its product chief stepped down and CEO Christine Day announced she too would be leaving.

Now, it's with the hope that the company can move ahead that it has announced that:

-- Wilson "is resigning from the position of non-executive chairman. Mr. Wilson will step down from the role effective prior to the company's annual meeting in June 2014. The Board has selected Michael Casey, lead director of the board of directors, as the next chairman of the board."

-- Laurent Potdevin, who most recently has been president of TOMS Shoes, will succeed Day as CEO in January.

According to The Financial Times, "industry analysts welcomed the appointment of Mr. Potdevin as the new chief executive of Lululemon. The team at Credit Suisse said Mr. Potdevin, 46, was a solid hire given his strong brand management and consumer engagement."