The reported divorce filing by Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, 71, from his wife and longtime business partner Shannon “Summer” Wilson, 52, has put the billionaire entrepreneur back in the spotlight, marking another personal and public challenge in a career that has seen both enormous success and repeated controversy.
Wilson, an American-born businessman who resides in Canada, initiated a family law case in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in April. The filing drew wider attention this week following a closely watched Bloomberg report.
Details about what led to the end of the couple’s 20-year marriage have not been made public. People familiar with the situation told the outlet that the Wilsons had discussed their separation within their circle of friends.
According to Bloomberg, sources also said the couple did not have a prenuptial agreement, leaving questions over how their assets may ultimately be divided. Wilson’s fortune has been estimated at roughly $6.1 billion.
Wilson launched Lululemon in 1997, helping turn the Vancouver-based startup into one of the most recognizable names in premium activewear. The brand opened its first physical retail store in Vancouver in 2000.
Long before Lululemon became a global athletic apparel powerhouse known for leggings, performance gear and lifestyle clothing, its early focus was on yoga wear designed for studio practice.
Wilson’s role inside the company diminished after a series of controversial remarks drew criticism. He stepped down as Lululemon chairman in 2013 and fully exited the board in 2015.
Even after leaving leadership, Wilson has remained deeply tied to the brand financially. He is still Lululemon’s largest individual shareholder, holding an 8.97 percent stake in the company.
Chip Wilson founded the cult-favorite activewear company Lululemon in 1997, opening the first brick-and-mortar store in 2000 in Vancouver. He’s seen in 2017
When news broke that Wilson, 71, had filed for divorce from his wife and business partner, Shannon ‘Summer’ Wilson, 52, after 20 years of marriage, it was just the latest in a long line of controversies to plague the business mogul
But his time in the spotlight as a CEO hasn’t come without a series of public gaffes and controversies.
Back in 2004, during his early days as CEO, Wilson was quoted as saying that he found it ‘funny’ that Japanese people couldn’t pronounce the ‘L’ in Lululemon during an interview with Canada’s National Post Business Magazine, according to ABC News.
However, in a 2015 profile in The New York Times, Wilson denied ever saying it.
In 2009, he also raised eyebrows when he shared his controversial opinions about birth control, according to Business Insider.
The outlet reported that in a since-deleted blog post, Wilson wrote: ‘Women’s lives changed immediately [after the pill was invented] … men did not know how to relate to the new female. Thus came the era of divorces.’
‘With divorce and publicity around equality, women in the 1970′s/80′s found themselves operating as “Power Women.”‘
‘The media convinced women that they could win at home and be a man’s equal in the business world … The 1980′s gave way to Power Women dressing like men in boardroom attire with big shoulder pads,’ his post continued, per the outlet.
‘They went to three martini lunches and smoked because this is what their “successful” fathers did in the business world.’
His time in the spotlight as a CEO hasn’t come without a massive series of public gaffes
Over the years, Wilson has made many eyebrow-raising comments, which have sparked considerable backlash. He’s seen in 2022
In the same post, he also said that breast cancer had ‘come into prominence’ in the 1990s.
‘Breast cancer also came into prominence in the 1990’s. I suggest this was due to the number of cigarette-smoking Power Women who were on the pill (initial concentrations of hormones in the pill were very high) and taking on the stress previously left to men in the working world,’ Wilson wrote.
He then tied all of it together to explain how Lululemon was formed in the first place.
‘Ultimately, Lululemon was formed because female education levels, breast cancer, yoga/athletics and the desire to dress feminine came together all at one time,’ Wilson said.
In 2013, he made headlines once again over his response to criticism over the quality of Lululemon’s leggings.
Some customers claimed the product was becoming see-through but Wilson suggested that the customers were, in fact, the problem and were too large to wear the items.
‘Frankly, some women’s bodies just don’t actually work for it,’ Wilson said during an appearance on Bloomberg TV’s Street Smart program at the time, speaking about the leggings, per Business Insider.
‘They don’t work for some women’s bodies… it’s really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there over a period of time, how much they use it,’ he said.
In 2013, Wilson stepped down as the chairman of Lululemon after landing in hot water for a string of controversial comments he made. And in 2015, he left the board altogether. He’s seen in 2022
The statement drew outrage, and Wilson later made a video message apologizing.
‘I’m sad. I’m really sad. I’m sad for the repercussions of my actions,’ he said in the video, which has since been deleted from the internet, per TODAY.
‘I’m sad for the people at Lululemon who I care so much about that have really had to face the brunt of my actions,’ he continued.
‘I take responsibility for all that has occurred and the impact it has had on you. I’m sorry to have put you all through this.’
Following the string of controversial comments, Wilson later stepped down as chairman of the company.
In a 2015 interview with CBS This Morning, he said Lululemon lost $6 billion in market share due to his statements.
But it doesn’t end there.
In 2018, he published a book called Little Black Stretchy Pants, in which he insinuated that he wasn’t completely opposed to child labor.
Before it grew into the wide-spanning athletic-wear brand it’s known for today, the company primarily made clothes that were meant to be worn during yoga (stock image)
In his book, he was quoted in Business Insider saying: ‘Working young is excellent training for life.
‘In North America, I noticed that there were some kids not made for school, who dropped out with nowhere to go.
‘In Asia, if a kid was not “school material,” he or she learned a trade and contributed to their family. It was work or starve. I liked the working alternative.’
Wilson also made his stance on diversity, equity and inclusion quite clear in a 2024 interview with Forbes, slamming Lululemon for its efforts.
Since stepping away from the company, he has said a number of negative things about the brand.
‘I think through this whole diversity and inclusion thing that they’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,’ Wilson told Forbes.
Wilson emphasized that he believes successful brands don’t have to appeal to everyone.
He explained that when he started Lululemon, one of his sayings printed on the shopping bags read: ‘Coke and Pepsi are the tobacco of the future.’
‘I [didn’t] want people who are drinking Coke and Pepsi. Because I could see the obesity epidemic happening in the US even in 1995,’ he said.
‘So what I’m really getting at there is Lululemon has the opportunity to become a brand, but in order to become a brand, you’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in,’ he continued.
‘And right now I think they’re fearful. Instead of living out of possibility, they live out of the fear of media backlash of not including everybody–and it’s just something I don’t agree with,’ he concluded.
In response, a spokesperson for Lululemon said that Wilson’s comments did not reflect the company’s views or beliefs.
‘Chip Wilson does not speak for Lululemon, and his comments do not reflect our company views or beliefs,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Chip has not been involved with the company since his resignation from the board in 2015 and we are a very different company today.’
Wilson now holds around 8.6 percent of Lululemon’s shares, equating to just less than $1 billion, Bloomberg reported.
His wife also holds around a one percent stake in the company, valued at roughly $100 million, according to the outlet.
Lululemon has shares sitting at their lowest in eight years, with stock that fell by 17 percent last week.
Former Nike Inc executive Heidi O’Neill is set to come in as chief executive on September 8, the outlet reported.
