NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 20:04 ET — Market closed.
- Lululemon shares rose 1.7% to $212.54 at Monday’s close.
- Founder Chip Wilson moved to nominate three directors, setting up a potential proxy contest.
- Investors are watching the CEO search and how the board responds ahead of the 2026 annual meeting.
Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU) shares gained 1.7% to close at $212.54 on Monday after founder Chip Wilson moved to challenge the board, opening the door to a proxy fight over director seats.
The governance clash lands as the athletic-apparel maker searches for its next chief executive after disclosing earlier this month that CEO Calvin McDonald would step down in January without naming a successor. Activist hedge fund Elliott Management has also amassed a stake of more than $1 billion, Reuters reported.
A proxy fight is a campaign to win shareholder votes for board seats. For investors, it can reshape strategy and influence who gets hired to run the company during a leadership transition.
Wilson nominated three independent directors — former On Running co-CEO Marc Maurer, former ESPN chief marketing officer Laura Gentile and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg — Reuters reported. The founder held a 4.27% stake as of December, and the stock is down about 45% in 2025 as competition from newer athleisure brands intensified, Reuters said. “The nominees appear to be fine, although only one of the three (Maurer) has direct experience in Lululemon’s industry,” Morningstar analyst David Swartz said. Reuters
lululemon urged shareholders not to take any action for now and said its board will evaluate the nominations under its governance process and make a recommendation in definitive proxy materials ahead of the 2026 annual meeting. The company said it intends to file a Schedule 14A proxy statement — the SEC filing that carries shareholder voting materials — and a white proxy card used to cast votes. It also pointed to revenue growth over the past decade and said it has repurchased more than $5.5 billion of shares since fiscal 2015.
McDonald plans to step down as CEO and a board member effective Jan. 31, 2026, and will serve as a senior adviser through March 31, the company said. Chief financial officer Meghan Frank and chief commercial officer André Maestrini are set to serve as interim co-CEOs during the search.
Elliott has been working with veteran retail executive Jane Nielsen, former CFO and COO at Ralph Lauren, as a potential CEO candidate, a source told Reuters in mid-December.
The stock traded between $207.50 and $212.90 on Monday and changed hands in volume of about 3.25 million shares, according to Yahoo Finance data. The move left the stock near the top of the day’s range as investors digested the board contest risk.
Before Tuesday’s session, investors will look for any follow-up disclosures from Wilson and for additional filings tied to the contest, including when the company moves from preliminary to definitive proxy materials. Any sign of a settlement — such as adding directors without a full vote fight — could shift expectations quickly.
The CEO search remains the other near-term swing factor. Investors are likely to focus on whether the board signals a timeline for naming a permanent leader and how governance dynamics affect that process.
lululemon’s investor events calendar lists no upcoming events yet, which keeps attention on when the next earnings update is formally scheduled and what management says about U.S. demand and inventory as the leadership change plays out.
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