May 27, 2026 "Lululemon reaches agreement with founder to appoint some of his board nominees": Today I found this article by Tara Deschamps on BNN Bloomberg:
Lululemon Athletica Inc. has headed off a showdown at its upcoming meeting by signing an agreement with its estranged founder who was hell-bent on spurring change at the retailer.
The agreement announced Wednesday puts two of Chip Wilson’s three nominees on the board of the Vancouver-based company in exchange for the entrepreneur quelling his attacks on the brand.
The nominees due to take a seat, pending shareholder approval, are
former ESPN chief marketing officer Laura Gentile
and former On co-CEO Marc Maurer.
Wilson’s other nominee ex-Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg was not part of the deal,
but Lululemon has agreed to appoint an additional director with product and brand expertise in apparel by Oct. 1.
Lululemon’s executive chair Marti Morfitt hailed the arrangement as way to keep Lululemon’s “focus on continuing to strengthen its performance,”
while Wilson said it signals
“meaningful progress toward restoring the company’s product-first vision
and unlocking tremendous value for shareholders.”
Wilson, who left Lululemon’s board in 2015 but still holds almost nine per cent of its common shares, started his crusade against the company last year, when CEO Calvin McDonald announced his departure amid a sagging market performance and increased competition.
Wilson used it try to elicit change, predominately at the board level.
He took out advertisements in the Wall Street Journal, where he likened the company to a “plane crash” and “sinking ship.”
He also paid for trucks displaying advertisements that “denigrated the brand” to sit outside its Vancouver headquarters this past March and by one of its New York stores in April.
Lululemon, which recently named ex-Nike exec Heidi O’Neill as incoming CEO, was open to considering Wilson’s board nominees, but accused him of blocking the company from interviewing the people and demanding other concessions.
Their board slates were due to square off at the company’s June annual meeting.
Under the deal, Wilson has agreed to standstill, non-disparagement, voting and related conditions for about 18 months until 30 days prior to the nomination deadline for Lululemon’s 2028 annual meeting.
In lieu of expense reimbursement,
Lululemon and Wilson have agreed a donation will be made supporting
athletics,
art,
and landscaping at Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver,
where the company was founded.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
May 27, 2026 "Abercrombie & Fitch beats quarterly profit estimates on steady U.S. demand": Today I found this article on BNN Bloomberg:
Abercrombie & Fitch beat first-quarter profit estimates
as steady domestic demand offset weakness
due to the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran,
sending the apparel retailer’s shares up 12 per cent in early trading on Wednesday.
The company flagged some weakness in its Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) segment, but stuck to its full-year forecast.
Abercrombie, which positions itself between premium and mass market,
and offers aspirational apparel at accessible prices,
retained its base of affluent customers who spend freely at a time
macroeconomic uncertainties worry lower-income households.
The company said it has applied for refunds of around $100 million it had paid as U.S. import tariffs,
following a Supreme Court ruling against the duties.
It now expects a roughly 20 basis point annual impact from tariffs, down from its prior forecast of 70 basis points.
Abercrombie reported quarterly adjusted net income per share of $1.47, above analysts’ expectation of $1.28.
A 2 per cent rise in net sales to $1.1 billion for the three months ended May 2 broadly met average estimates, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The New Albany, Ohio-based company said
sales jumped 24 per cent in its Asia Pacific segment,
but declined 10 per cent in EMEA
— its second-largest by revenue.
Sales at Americas, its leading geography, grew 3 per cent.
It had warned of a “slight sales hit” from the Middle East conflict in March.
CEO Fran Horowitz said consumers were “showing up” and Abercrombie was positioned well with two healthy brands.
“We’re not seeing any change in performance across cohorts,”
she added on a post-earnings call.
Analysts looked at the results and the maintained outlook,
despite a choppy macroeconomic
and geopolitical backdrop,
as a boost to confidence in the medium term.
However, Consumer Edge analyst Michael Gunther cautioned that
a resurgence in student loan defaults could weigh on Abercrombie,
which relies more heavily than its peers on young, debt-burdened consumers.
(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
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