Lululemon has named Esi Eggleston Bracey, a former Unilever exeuctive, to its board. She's the second new board appointment in as many months.WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images
Lululemon Athletica LULU-Q is appointing an executive with significant branding and marketing experience to its board as the athletic apparel maker’s founder presses management to revive its brand.
Esi Eggleston Bracey, who was chief growth and marketing officer at Unilever until earlier this year and previously held senior positions at Procter & Gamble, will become a director immediately, the company said on Tuesday.
News of her impending appointment was first reported by Reuters.
Esi Eggleston Bracey is a former chief growth and marketing officer at Unilever.HO/The Canadian Press
At Unilever, which makes Dove personal care products, she led the global transformation of marketing across a portfolio of more than 400 brands. She also worked at cosmetics maker Coty, where she helped reposition its CoverGirl brand.
Since 2021, Eggleston Bracey has been a director at houseware and kitchen supply company Williams-Sonoma and serves on its audit and finance committee.
She will stand for election at Lululemon’s annual meeting, which has been scheduled for June 25. Director Shane Grant, who is chief operating officer, Americas at Colgate-Palmolive, said he will not stand for re-election.
Lululemon’s decision to add a second new director in as many months comes days after it named a new chief executive officer and continues to tangle with its founder, Chip Wilson, who has said the company has lost its “cool” factor.
Lululemon shares drop as new CEO appointment leaves investors unimpressed
Heidi O’Neill will start as chief executive officer in September after her non-compete agreement with Nike ends. In March, Lululemon added former Levi Strauss & Co CEO Chip Bergh as a director. Wilson, who founded Lululemon in 1998 and left the board in 2015, wants investors to elect three directors he selected and has said a new CEO should have been picked only after a broader board refreshment.
A representative for Wilson did not have an immediate comment but a person familiar with Wilson’s thinking said the appointment illustrates that the company has made multiple defensive moves.
Lululemon’s decision to add Eggleston Bracey signals the board and management are taking steps to revive a brand that popularized the term athleisure when people wore its signature yoga pants to the gym and, during COVID, to the home office and almost everywhere else.
Lululemon went public in 2007 and its stock hit a high at US$511 in late 2023. It traded at US$146.44 on Tuesday, after a 45-per-cent drop over the last year, which leaves it with a market valuation of US$17-billion as it faces increased competition from newer rivals like Alo Yoga and Vuori in the United States.
But some investors have also praised strong international sales numbers and innovative products like stretchier pants, noting the signs of improvement are becoming visible. Still the proxy fight with Wilson, who owns roughly 8.6 per cent of the company, looms large after documents show there have been discussions between the two sides but no settlement agreement has been reached.