Once of the first cases I read for business school was a case on Chip Wilson and Lululemon. The case walked through the trials and tribulations Chip faced as founder, his notorious disagreements with C-suite execs and the BOD (which ultimately led to him resigning as chairman and stepping down from the company's board), a string of marketing faux pas and interrogations around the company's cult like culture. After taking a sabbatical in the land down under whilst selling half his Lululemon shares to PE firm Advent International, Chip helped advise his wife Shannon (at once point Lululemon's founding designer) and son J.J., to create a new company, Kit and Ace. The company is known for its technical cashmere product offerings targeting the modern consumer who values quality experiences, including wearing functional luxury. The NYTimes highlights this new venture, as Chip describes Kit and Ace's muses (see excerpt below). It will be interesting to keep a pulse on this one. Read more, here.
Modern Muses:
'At Kit and Ace, the clothes are also designed for two muses: Kit, a 29-year-old single woman who, Shannon [Chip's wife] told me, “is looking to buy her first apartment, but is still renting. She works in the creative area, like in graphic design or fashion, and loves to bike on weekends”; and Ace, a 32-year-old similarly groovy guy, who drinks strong coffee, “likes to go to breweries and hangs out with his friends. He does CrossFit once a week and spins three times a week, loves brunch on the weekends.” It all sounds a bit like a profile on OkCupid — or like a younger Lululemon.' - NY Times