Sedona Sweginnis | Newsroom Manager & Head Editor
March 20, 2026
Lululemon, the pioneer of the vastly popular genre of athleisure wear, hired Chip Bergh, former president and Chief Executive of Levi Strauss, onto its board this week to aid the corporation in rebuilding after under-performance in recent financial quarters. Bergh will be replacing David Mussafer, bringing Mussafer’s service as head director of Lululemon, which has lasted since 2014, to a close.
The company has been struggling with maintaining profits recently, especially in the United States, its largest market. Lululemon’s stock has fallen significantly, especially in the past quarter, pushing the brand farther from the height of its success and demand between 2020 and 2024. Fading trends coupled with the lack of cutting-edge new designs have hampered success.
Additionally, under the emergence of increasingly popular new competitors in the athleisure genre, such as Alo and Vuori, Lululemon has continued to struggle to regain traction in the U.S. market. The rise of these higher-end competitors, in tandem with the immense growth of extremely accurate and easily-accessible dupes, discourage consumers from continuing to frequent Lululemon.
Amidst these struggles, the company has been facing pressure and harsh criticism from its estranged founder, Chip Wilson, who remains a significant shareholder in the company. Wilson has pushed for rebuilding the board in order to realign the company with the pulse of the public and revamp suffering sales in the United States. Although he believes bringing Bergh into the administration will help positively reroute the company’s current trajectory, he stands firm on the assertion that there is still much work to be done.
Senior Celia Mann, a frequent Lululemon customer and World-ranked CrossFit athlete, noted that “their current products” that Lululemon has been coming out with are “very unique,” but she thinks that “new board members” will bring “more fresh ideas and opportunities of new styles of athletic wear” that “the brand needs.”
With impressive experience in the clothing branch of the business world, Bergh brings forth unique experiences and knowledge of how to maintain success as the originator of a clothing genre that has exploded with popularity and, in turn, competitors. Athleisure wear has expanded rapidly, but much work must be done to preserve Lululemon’s future as a giant of the industry.
Although it has seen growth in foreign markets, Lululemon still heavily relies on the vast U.S. market for its prosperity. The company’s recent attempts to increase demand in the U.S., such as redesigning old favorites, have been much more costly than helpful to the corporation. As Mann explained, the brand has been “making only slight changes to original products and trying to sell them as new ones,” which has been detrimental to its success because the new designs are costly and for the most part the “old ones were already in high demand.” For the sake of the company and its consumers, one can only hope that Bergh and the rest of the board address these blunders and move in a better direction for the future of Lululemon.
Additionally, Addison Carey, a junior and strong member of the 2025 San Clemente High School varsity girls cross country state-finalist team, expressed that “as someone who is always in workout clothes,” she has always gone to Lululemon for the quality and longevity of her athletic clothing. She is hopeful that “Lululemon and its price tag will be even more worth it if the quality goes up” under new leadership because Lululemon products can be kept “for years and years.” Looking towards revamping the company, longevity and timelessness are very important in securing dominance in the clothing industry, as Bergh has experienced previously with Levi’s.
Dedicated patrons of the brand can only hope that Bergh, and possibly additional administrative changes, will be able to realign the course of the company and help it to regain its previous success.
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