What do you think?
Rate this book
Little Black Stretchy Pants
The Story of Lululemon : New and Expanded Edition
This is a book about ordinary people who took an opportunity to be creative, innovative, and to maximize their potential. Explore this incredible story with this updated and expanded edition featuring newly released chapters, and a specially commissioned new cover design.
Chip Wilson takes the reader through the journey of lululemon from his unique perspective as the founder. This is the journey of a man who created a powerful culture, a distinct business model, and an empowering people development program—then got out of the way. Today, lululemon’s exponential growth, culture, and brand power are unparalleled as a result of those employees who chose to be great.
This book is also about missed opportunities, evolution, successes, and valuable learnings along the way. Chip Wilson was playing to win—while the directors of the company he founded were playing not to lose.
This is a book about ordinary people who took an opportunity to be creative, innovative, and to maximize their potential. Explore this incredible story with this updated and expanded edition featuring newly released chapters, and a specially commissioned new cover design.
Chip Wilson takes the reader through the journey of lululemon from his unique perspective as the founder. This is the journey of a man who created a powerful culture, a distinct business model, and an empowering people development program—then got out of the way. Today, lululemon’s exponential growth, culture, and brand power are unparalleled as a result of those employees who chose to be great.
This book is also about missed opportunities, evolution, successes, and valuable learnings along the way. Chip Wilson was playing to win—while the directors of the company he founded were playing not to lose.
393 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 16, 2018
2351 people are currently reading
1763 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
December 15, 2018
I am surprised to not see more low star reviews. This book started out interesting but the author quickly became obnoxious with his pompous attitude and contradictory life views. He talks about accepting responsibility for your mistakes, yet blames everyone else for his own. Chip seems to think he’s perfect and if not for the board members and CEO he was part of the selection for Lululemon would be owning the 30 something Super Girls of the world (as long as they are a size 12 and under). He boasts that he’s always thinking 5 years in the future because he’s such a visionary, yet is obsessed with the past five years of performance at Lululemon.
He briefly touches on the interview where he said Lululemon’s clothes aren’t for everyone, effectively fat shaming any woman over 150 pounds, and tries to make it seem as if it was simply media spin. He conveniently leaves out anything that portrays him in a bad light, however still managed to come across as a bratty child who was mistreated and stifled by the board of directors when he wanted to spend frivolous amounts of money for things like meditation training.
It’s clear Chip wants to do things his way or not at all, and then theorize on how Lululemon would be billions of dollars more successful if they just listened to him. I would love to see this story written from an objective perspective rather than the skewed view of a bratty ousted CEO who takes no responsibility for his own decisions or whimsical behavior.
He briefly touches on the interview where he said Lululemon’s clothes aren’t for everyone, effectively fat shaming any woman over 150 pounds, and tries to make it seem as if it was simply media spin. He conveniently leaves out anything that portrays him in a bad light, however still managed to come across as a bratty child who was mistreated and stifled by the board of directors when he wanted to spend frivolous amounts of money for things like meditation training.
It’s clear Chip wants to do things his way or not at all, and then theorize on how Lululemon would be billions of dollars more successful if they just listened to him. I would love to see this story written from an objective perspective rather than the skewed view of a bratty ousted CEO who takes no responsibility for his own decisions or whimsical behavior.
October 4, 2018
Too many of us Millennial entrepreneurs and business leaders think that all you need to be the next big brand is a great idea and a business license.
In Little Black Stretchy Pants, Chip Wilson opens our eyes to the reality that behind every successful brand is a heroic story of a leader who pursued a dream, worked countless hours, made sacrifices, learned tough lessons, had their heart broken, and built a world-class business. This is not a tell-all book. This is a critical case study on daring to run your business a little differently can make things better for both people and planet.
I highly recommend this book.
In Little Black Stretchy Pants, Chip Wilson opens our eyes to the reality that behind every successful brand is a heroic story of a leader who pursued a dream, worked countless hours, made sacrifices, learned tough lessons, had their heart broken, and built a world-class business. This is not a tell-all book. This is a critical case study on daring to run your business a little differently can make things better for both people and planet.
I highly recommend this book.
May 26, 2019
This read was both interesting and painful. I was often distracted from the content because of spelling mistakes, seemingly disorganized timelines, and most of all, self-aggrandizing, sweeping, obviously inaccurate statements. But perhaps at the end of the day, that’s the beauty and uniqueness of this book — it’s a founder’s authentic voice. And there’s no denying the success of what he built.
January 27, 2019
Before reading the book, I thought that the book would just another glowing biography of a founder. Instead, the book exceeded all my wildest expectations. The author/Lululemon founder brought the reader an in depth look at his analysis and reasoning behind every single business step and gave the reader a valuable lesson on the athletic clothing industry.
January 9, 2019
The first half of this book is much better than the second half.
Chip Wilson is a maverick, eccentric founder, with a murky reputation to match. Which doesn't seem to be all that unusual among the industry-shakers of the world. Bezos, Jobs, Musk, Zuckerberg, and many others who have helped redefine the way the world looks and operates also have similarly murky reputations, punctuated by headlines and rumors of scandals.
It appears that Little Black Stretchy Pants is Chip Wilson's effort to exonerate/explain himself, but his efforts are marred by a mixed message and a book that can't seem to find its genre. The book starts out like a business book. Chip begins by describing the patterns that set him apart as a clothing retail entrepreneur, including the rise and fall of his previous company, Westbeach, and how lululemon came to be. Whether he really is the father of vertical retail in the apparel industry or not (he thinks he is), it's clear that he was definitely doing something that hadn't been done in his corner of the world, and his approach to the business of lululemon at the beginning certainly worked pretty well for him.
The second half of the book strays from the realm of solid business advice and turns into a public decrying of boards and upper-level management. His efforts to remain objective don't quite hold up, and he comes across a little bitter and a lot arrogant. From a certain standpoint, this does make sense. lululemon was his baby, and it did get pulled out from under him. Most people would be indignant and infuriated by that. But he also isn't the only one capable of running a vertical retail business, nor is his way to run the business the only right way to do it, a fact that he never really seems to acknowledge. Essentially, if the CEO isn't running lululemon exactly the way he intended it to be run, Chip Wilson thinks they're wrong.
Biased and obviously one-sided, this inside look at the company that shook up the way people wear performance sportswear (I'm sitting in a pair of yoga pants right now--though not lululemon ones) was an interesting read. I found myself googling lululemon headlines to get the other side of the story (since there so obviously was one) and ended up with a more balanced view of the history of lululemon than I would have gotten if I'd just read this book.
I've read other books by other company founders and enjoyed them more than this one. This was written from a defensive position, and that stance hurts what could have been a really cool exploration of how vertical retailing and technical precision fabrics changed an entire industry.
Chip Wilson is a maverick, eccentric founder, with a murky reputation to match. Which doesn't seem to be all that unusual among the industry-shakers of the world. Bezos, Jobs, Musk, Zuckerberg, and many others who have helped redefine the way the world looks and operates also have similarly murky reputations, punctuated by headlines and rumors of scandals.
It appears that Little Black Stretchy Pants is Chip Wilson's effort to exonerate/explain himself, but his efforts are marred by a mixed message and a book that can't seem to find its genre. The book starts out like a business book. Chip begins by describing the patterns that set him apart as a clothing retail entrepreneur, including the rise and fall of his previous company, Westbeach, and how lululemon came to be. Whether he really is the father of vertical retail in the apparel industry or not (he thinks he is), it's clear that he was definitely doing something that hadn't been done in his corner of the world, and his approach to the business of lululemon at the beginning certainly worked pretty well for him.
The second half of the book strays from the realm of solid business advice and turns into a public decrying of boards and upper-level management. His efforts to remain objective don't quite hold up, and he comes across a little bitter and a lot arrogant. From a certain standpoint, this does make sense. lululemon was his baby, and it did get pulled out from under him. Most people would be indignant and infuriated by that. But he also isn't the only one capable of running a vertical retail business, nor is his way to run the business the only right way to do it, a fact that he never really seems to acknowledge. Essentially, if the CEO isn't running lululemon exactly the way he intended it to be run, Chip Wilson thinks they're wrong.
Biased and obviously one-sided, this inside look at the company that shook up the way people wear performance sportswear (I'm sitting in a pair of yoga pants right now--though not lululemon ones) was an interesting read. I found myself googling lululemon headlines to get the other side of the story (since there so obviously was one) and ended up with a more balanced view of the history of lululemon than I would have gotten if I'd just read this book.
I've read other books by other company founders and enjoyed them more than this one. This was written from a defensive position, and that stance hurts what could have been a really cool exploration of how vertical retailing and technical precision fabrics changed an entire industry.
April 9, 2020
I am a fan of Lululemon products but also heard of its founder being a racist and sexist asshole. This book was recommended to me and honestly it totally changed my mind about Chip Wilson. Lululemon definitely created a tribe uniting women based on their desire to have fun, stay healthy, and thrive for greatness in life. This book gives me a new found respect for Wilson for his attention to details, commitment to create the most practical products that look and feel great, and mostly his desire to develop his employees by making them take the Landmark Forum. I took the Landmark Forum and I totally agree with him that it is a valuable personal development training. The course provides a basic framework for effective communication that cuts out all the BS.
Rumor has it that he picked the name Lululemon so that the Japanese can't pronounce it. He mentioned in the book that based on his dealing with the Japanese, he realized they value Western sounding names (true in most Asian countries). Since Japanese doesn't have an equivalent of the 'L' sound in the language, Lululemon sounds very Western and would have a prestigious phychological value in Japanese consumers' mind.
As for the controversy of Lululemon's pants not for everyone, he noticed that some women were buying pants smaller in size for compressing/slimming purposes. I am guilty of that so I can see where he is coming from. When worn sizes too small for the body, it may be ok during normal walking but when the pants are subjected to extensive stretching from yoga or other activities, the seam and fabric may not be able to tolerate the stress. He could have explained it better but the media definitely taken the statement out of context for the wow effect.
One can't deny that the man is smart, dedicated to creating great products, and visionary. There's definitely lessons to be learned from this book: commitment, creativity, integrity, setting goals, learning from mistakes, and taking risk. Wilson is humble to share his mistakes and strategies for success.
I'd recommend this book especially for someone who is entrepreneural. It is fun to read about the product design, how the business world works, and how to start a cultural movement. It makes me appreciate my pants more 😄
Rumor has it that he picked the name Lululemon so that the Japanese can't pronounce it. He mentioned in the book that based on his dealing with the Japanese, he realized they value Western sounding names (true in most Asian countries). Since Japanese doesn't have an equivalent of the 'L' sound in the language, Lululemon sounds very Western and would have a prestigious phychological value in Japanese consumers' mind.
As for the controversy of Lululemon's pants not for everyone, he noticed that some women were buying pants smaller in size for compressing/slimming purposes. I am guilty of that so I can see where he is coming from. When worn sizes too small for the body, it may be ok during normal walking but when the pants are subjected to extensive stretching from yoga or other activities, the seam and fabric may not be able to tolerate the stress. He could have explained it better but the media definitely taken the statement out of context for the wow effect.
One can't deny that the man is smart, dedicated to creating great products, and visionary. There's definitely lessons to be learned from this book: commitment, creativity, integrity, setting goals, learning from mistakes, and taking risk. Wilson is humble to share his mistakes and strategies for success.
I'd recommend this book especially for someone who is entrepreneural. It is fun to read about the product design, how the business world works, and how to start a cultural movement. It makes me appreciate my pants more 😄
October 15, 2019
Oh boy I will have to review this one carefully.
First; the first half of the origin story is really great - like a shoedog-esque but could of used an editor. That I will give 5/5. He is charming and you get his side, but as the book continues his kookiness/opinionation kind of shows.... uhm yeah that is the second half, so 1/5. I averaged it to 3/5.
The second half is spent 100% bickering about how he could of done things his way in the board. To be fair he has some valid points, but it comes off as childish and pedantic in the end, and very much kills any personal brand building he could of done with this book. Done well this was the shoe dog story + my learnings as a person, done incorrectly he looks like an asshole. But I digress.
All in i think the book is worth the read, especially if you're doing a dive on Lululemon like I currently am doing. However you have to really separate the wheat from the chaff. There are parts of this book that are astoundingly brilliant, like his obsession with brand building and authenticity, and clearly the guy was great at calling trends. But you will probably end the book hating the author - as this was effectively a hit piece against everyone about how his baby was stolen from him. There is a good case for why founders can't get a business to the "next level" and this story helps make that case.
Apparently this was done best in Audible - and there are spelling mistakes in the actual book. The book is narrated by him and he takes clips from his friends who founded the company with him along the way. I think its best to audiobook it.
First; the first half of the origin story is really great - like a shoedog-esque but could of used an editor. That I will give 5/5. He is charming and you get his side, but as the book continues his kookiness/opinionation kind of shows.... uhm yeah that is the second half, so 1/5. I averaged it to 3/5.
The second half is spent 100% bickering about how he could of done things his way in the board. To be fair he has some valid points, but it comes off as childish and pedantic in the end, and very much kills any personal brand building he could of done with this book. Done well this was the shoe dog story + my learnings as a person, done incorrectly he looks like an asshole. But I digress.
All in i think the book is worth the read, especially if you're doing a dive on Lululemon like I currently am doing. However you have to really separate the wheat from the chaff. There are parts of this book that are astoundingly brilliant, like his obsession with brand building and authenticity, and clearly the guy was great at calling trends. But you will probably end the book hating the author - as this was effectively a hit piece against everyone about how his baby was stolen from him. There is a good case for why founders can't get a business to the "next level" and this story helps make that case.
Apparently this was done best in Audible - and there are spelling mistakes in the actual book. The book is narrated by him and he takes clips from his friends who founded the company with him along the way. I think its best to audiobook it.
January 16, 2019
Little Black Stretchy Pants, billed as the unauthorized story behind lululemon, is at its heart a memoir by the author, Chip Wilson. Before launching into the origins of the infamous little black stretchy pants, Wilson sets the stage regarding the factors he felt led to lululemon’s astronomical success. The first factors are intangible: a finger on the pulse of up and coming cultural trends (fads) and an innate sense of the clothing that appeals to said trendsetters. The next factors aren’t: an indefatigable work ethic and deep adherence to a set of core values. Strikingly, as lululemon became more and more of a corporation and less and less of a counter-cultural movement, Wilson finds himself a fish out of water. The same traits that led to his success quickly result in deep rifts between himself and the rest of the executive board. As a book, Little Black Stretchy Pants is a mixed bag. Wilson is not the strongest writer; the book is littered with sentence fragments, unnecessary repetition and is stylistically arrogant, condescending and off-putting. Where Little Black Stretchy Pants shines is in providing deep insights and sound knowledge related to what it takes to make it in the world of corporate business. Additionally, Wilson should be commended for his willingness to be a unique voice in a world where true individuality has fallen out of favor. Like its namesake, Little Black Stretchy Pants isn’t a good fit for everyone and has some issues with transparency, but is a reminder of what can be accomplished with sweat, hard work and fierce determination.
February 3, 2019
The best part of this book was the author's personal pictures throughout the years showing the early days of lululemon and his previous company Westbeach. Found the writing really basic and some of the author's statements were reminiscent of something Trump would say, unfortunately. Too bad as I was really looking forward to this as a good business book as well as interesting story. I do feel for the author after what happened to the company in the more recent years and the way he has been treated.
May 2, 2019
Second book of 2019 I could not finish.
Did not like it at ALL ! ! !
Shoe Dog is 1000 times better.
Did not like it at ALL ! ! !
Shoe Dog is 1000 times better.
December 1, 2023
First half of the book is decent. It was interesting to learn about Westbeach, Lululemon’s inception, company culture, yoga and health, women’s athletic wear, and the growth of the vertical retail model. The second half of the book is harder to read (more boring) as it becomes less about the product and more about office politics within the board and C-suite execs.
June 11, 2025
Fantastic book!
So cool to see how one of my favorite companies came to be. Such an inspiring entrepreneur and foundational company culture. Very relatable in the Super Girl consumer he had in mind from the start.
Would recommend to anyone interested in lululemon or looking for an easier, more interesting “business book”.
So cool to see how one of my favorite companies came to be. Such an inspiring entrepreneur and foundational company culture. Very relatable in the Super Girl consumer he had in mind from the start.
Would recommend to anyone interested in lululemon or looking for an easier, more interesting “business book”.
June 29, 2021
What a self entitled, hypocritical, whiny ass. I will give him credit for coming up with an idea and creating a multi billion dollar company out of it. However, the book tends to get extremely tedious as he explains his “humble beginnings from poverty and nothing.” (As he describes how great he was at sports—how thanks to his stepmother he was able to travel the world for free six times a year, and pretty much everything but what he ate.) He’s all about Landmark training, which is an expensive pop psych type group that in part is about making choices and accountability—something he himself sucks at. Everything is everyone else’s fault. Except for using child labor. He genuinely believes he is doing them a favor. The NYT piece that shorted his stock over false advertising with his seaweed shirts? Sensationalist media scavengers out to get him. Even AFTER his interview blew back in his face about the pilling, he’s claiming women wear pants 1-2 sizes too small. As a woman, nope. Even worse, in a future chapter, he then claims women buy 1-2 sizes LARGER to accommodate shrinking. So which is it?
For someone who is about integrity and choices, he blames the board for everything. That’s not to say that the board didn’t make its fair share of mistakes, as corporate boards are supposed to look out for both short AND long term interests in a company.
Chip just wanted his way and ONLY his way. He claims to take credit for ideas that are used in companies now (mindfulness is one) that I’m sure weren’t his to begin with based on previous statements. He states repeatedly that he just “knew” how cigarettes made you sick in the 1970s. Um, duh! The government knew in the 1930s that they did and while I can’t recall the name or the year, a surgeon general finally admitted it in the 1960s. He kept harping on Coke and Pepsi, how they make people fat, how they’re just like cigarettes even occasionally. He ONLY wants as his customers the “Super Woman:” age 22-32, highly educated, professional, driven, and athletic. He required all of his employees to go through Landmark/EST training. I just can’t with him. I could go on, but nope, into the files this book goes.
For someone who is about integrity and choices, he blames the board for everything. That’s not to say that the board didn’t make its fair share of mistakes, as corporate boards are supposed to look out for both short AND long term interests in a company.
Chip just wanted his way and ONLY his way. He claims to take credit for ideas that are used in companies now (mindfulness is one) that I’m sure weren’t his to begin with based on previous statements. He states repeatedly that he just “knew” how cigarettes made you sick in the 1970s. Um, duh! The government knew in the 1930s that they did and while I can’t recall the name or the year, a surgeon general finally admitted it in the 1960s. He kept harping on Coke and Pepsi, how they make people fat, how they’re just like cigarettes even occasionally. He ONLY wants as his customers the “Super Woman:” age 22-32, highly educated, professional, driven, and athletic. He required all of his employees to go through Landmark/EST training. I just can’t with him. I could go on, but nope, into the files this book goes.
December 6, 2020
Honestly, if lululemon (yes, with a lowercase 'l') stock had not gone bonkers in the pandemic, I'd have never heard of them, used their products, or would have wanted to know more about their eximious story. But the pandemic propelled Yoga at home and lululemon athleisure clothing seemed to be the obvious choice for most, despite their higher-end price tag. A little research about their founder Chip Wilson (who's the author of this almost autobiographical work) piqued my curiosity about some of the outlandish things he has done, that made me pick this book up. And, it didn't disappoint me. It's also probably worth mentioning here that, literally, don't judge the book by its cover! Or the name. Or the font that makes STRETCHY look silly no matter how you stretch it. The cover page is the butt of a woman wearing a lululemon "Little Black Stretchy Pant", but as you'll see in the book, lululemon has always been decades off in the future with respect to the kind of PR they do.
Little Black Stretchy Pants is the story of Chip Wilson, the founder and the former CEO of lululemon, an American/Canadian athletic apparel retailer. It obviously also includes stories from his pre-lululemon years, which are actually a lot more interesting in their adventurous quotient, most predominantly about Chip's previous company Westbeach and its forever playing on the borderline of huge success and catastrophic failure, eventually ending up as a mediocre story of entrepreneurship. Chip's adventures in his teen, pre-Westbeach years almost read like the classic novel "On the Road", and is a treat to be a part of as a reader. His stories from Alaskan pipelines almost win the race for the boldest and the most enterprising phase of his life, and would have won if it weren't for lululemon. Most definitely, Chip was a hustler, entrepreneur, and started very early. His mother being a seamstress offered him early interest in clothing and the business of retail. His Alaskan pipeline days were very captivating to read about, specifically the part where he describes how he read a gazillion books (mostly fiction) that influenced him for the rest of his life. The role of Atlas Shrugged, Dagny Taggart, John Galt, and Ayn Rand in his business life keeps coming up throughout the book.
Chip, before starting Westbeach, had amassed $600K at the age of 19, which I find truly remarkable. And all that from working long hours at the Alaska Pipeline is even more impressive! But the primary topic of his early businesses can be termed "Idea Arbitrage", a term I want to use to refer to taking an idea from one geographical entity or time, and applying it at a different place or point in time for a potential profit! A lot of his early athletic apparel transactions were idea-arbitrages between California and Canada! But if there's one person we have to thank for thinking about niche athletic clothing - like clothing for Ironman competitions, for Yoga etc, it has to be Chip. Although Chip wasn't a dropout, he knew his strongest skill was Economics and the weakest one, Accounting. His opinion that "Economics is an art" is worth pondering over.
The bulk of the book is dedicated to the story of lululemon, all the way from its inception to 2018. Lululemon had a lot of firsts and I'm going to highlight a few of them I found intriguing. With lululemon, Chip applied the concept of Vertical Retail on a large scale. Vertical Retail refers to the manufacturer acting also as a retailer. Starbucks is the most famous example. Lululemon, named so that it has a lot of 'l' in it so it sounds American to Japanese buyers, became a technology pioneer in athletic apparel with innovations ranging from bbq shorts, reversible shorts, anti-ball-crushing shorts for men, Luon technology, silver in the cloth acting as anti-stink, commissioning University of Manchester to study breast movement to design the perfect athletic bra, laser venting, cell phone pockets, laser venting etc to name a few. The Apple Genius equivalent of lululemon is an "Educator", which sounds sort of silly, but nevertheless aligned with the values of lululemon. Lululemon also pioneered focus groups, the concept of in-store Yoga, offering Landmark courses for employees, lifestyle education to customers amongst others. Their ads, in particular, were extremely radical for their time. The clever ads on not using child-labour, "small is good", their PR strategy of inviting people naked to their store opening in Vancouver etc were clearly ahead of the times! Chip was against using data analytics to understand the business, but I would think it would have helped them quantify the sales better, given they used instinct alone in predicting a spike in sales during the new year gym-Yoga resolution time. But the most inspiring thing for me in their values is the fact that they stick to promoting healthier lifestyles even in extreme conditions. Chip hung the "no-smoking" board in his Westbeach stores long before any link between smoking and its adverse health effects were established, and at the time smoking was a norm. And at lululemon, Chip advocated for no-Cola strategy. He predicted long before it was established that colas were making Americans obese.
Other than these, the book includes many of the usual challenges that any business would encounter - the IPO challenge, acquisition prospects (Victoria Secret tried unsuccessfully to acquire lululemon once), hiring and firing of CEOs, the usual animosities among the board members etc. Although these almost strike the reader as mundane, it's easy to understand that they are inevitable and need to be told. Overall. I found this book a gem of a find in the rubble of books on entrepreneurship and business, and highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in start-ups, corporates, retails, or just in reading the stories of hustlers.
Little Black Stretchy Pants is the story of Chip Wilson, the founder and the former CEO of lululemon, an American/Canadian athletic apparel retailer. It obviously also includes stories from his pre-lululemon years, which are actually a lot more interesting in their adventurous quotient, most predominantly about Chip's previous company Westbeach and its forever playing on the borderline of huge success and catastrophic failure, eventually ending up as a mediocre story of entrepreneurship. Chip's adventures in his teen, pre-Westbeach years almost read like the classic novel "On the Road", and is a treat to be a part of as a reader. His stories from Alaskan pipelines almost win the race for the boldest and the most enterprising phase of his life, and would have won if it weren't for lululemon. Most definitely, Chip was a hustler, entrepreneur, and started very early. His mother being a seamstress offered him early interest in clothing and the business of retail. His Alaskan pipeline days were very captivating to read about, specifically the part where he describes how he read a gazillion books (mostly fiction) that influenced him for the rest of his life. The role of Atlas Shrugged, Dagny Taggart, John Galt, and Ayn Rand in his business life keeps coming up throughout the book.
Chip, before starting Westbeach, had amassed $600K at the age of 19, which I find truly remarkable. And all that from working long hours at the Alaska Pipeline is even more impressive! But the primary topic of his early businesses can be termed "Idea Arbitrage", a term I want to use to refer to taking an idea from one geographical entity or time, and applying it at a different place or point in time for a potential profit! A lot of his early athletic apparel transactions were idea-arbitrages between California and Canada! But if there's one person we have to thank for thinking about niche athletic clothing - like clothing for Ironman competitions, for Yoga etc, it has to be Chip. Although Chip wasn't a dropout, he knew his strongest skill was Economics and the weakest one, Accounting. His opinion that "Economics is an art" is worth pondering over.
The bulk of the book is dedicated to the story of lululemon, all the way from its inception to 2018. Lululemon had a lot of firsts and I'm going to highlight a few of them I found intriguing. With lululemon, Chip applied the concept of Vertical Retail on a large scale. Vertical Retail refers to the manufacturer acting also as a retailer. Starbucks is the most famous example. Lululemon, named so that it has a lot of 'l' in it so it sounds American to Japanese buyers, became a technology pioneer in athletic apparel with innovations ranging from bbq shorts, reversible shorts, anti-ball-crushing shorts for men, Luon technology, silver in the cloth acting as anti-stink, commissioning University of Manchester to study breast movement to design the perfect athletic bra, laser venting, cell phone pockets, laser venting etc to name a few. The Apple Genius equivalent of lululemon is an "Educator", which sounds sort of silly, but nevertheless aligned with the values of lululemon. Lululemon also pioneered focus groups, the concept of in-store Yoga, offering Landmark courses for employees, lifestyle education to customers amongst others. Their ads, in particular, were extremely radical for their time. The clever ads on not using child-labour, "small is good", their PR strategy of inviting people naked to their store opening in Vancouver etc were clearly ahead of the times! Chip was against using data analytics to understand the business, but I would think it would have helped them quantify the sales better, given they used instinct alone in predicting a spike in sales during the new year gym-Yoga resolution time. But the most inspiring thing for me in their values is the fact that they stick to promoting healthier lifestyles even in extreme conditions. Chip hung the "no-smoking" board in his Westbeach stores long before any link between smoking and its adverse health effects were established, and at the time smoking was a norm. And at lululemon, Chip advocated for no-Cola strategy. He predicted long before it was established that colas were making Americans obese.
Other than these, the book includes many of the usual challenges that any business would encounter - the IPO challenge, acquisition prospects (Victoria Secret tried unsuccessfully to acquire lululemon once), hiring and firing of CEOs, the usual animosities among the board members etc. Although these almost strike the reader as mundane, it's easy to understand that they are inevitable and need to be told. Overall. I found this book a gem of a find in the rubble of books on entrepreneurship and business, and highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in start-ups, corporates, retails, or just in reading the stories of hustlers.
September 3, 2020
Provocative and blunt to the point of possibly driving some discomfort dependent upon the reader. Chip is unapologetic in his account of his life, his family and his company but also reflective and assumes all responsibility. If you’re looking for something that doesn’t “fit neatly in to a box” and provides one person’s roadmap of hard work, success and disappointments, this is for you. Thank you Chip for sharing your journey.
May 19, 2020
Vanity books have become the TikTok of literature, for me.
Just about every business book I read was a massive ego trip for the author. The ego in this one burned so brightly I thought my kindle was going to explode and singe my hands. Every douchy CEO or executive stereotypically has a team of "yes men." I think the new force of Mr. Wilson's yes mean is supposed to be his readers.
Half of his story was about his first company, Westbeach. The second the company he's known for. How he built LuLuLemon was an updated and more refined version of how he built Westbeach, so his former company is really where you get to know him.
Right away, I knew reading about Westbeach was going to be an acid trip of jumbled beliefs stretching from business to personal development. Inconsistencies in his storytelling pop up like geysers. The very first was when he talked his final time with his snowboarding / surfing baby. He said having to share decisions with a team lead to compromised outcomes. It would've been better had he steered the ship on his own. Um...if that's the case, why did it fall into financial ruin, in the first place? In fact, a lot of the time he talks about how successful Westbeach was, yet, for most of the company's existence, it was cash-strapped. There's a lot of mentions of needing lines of credit. So I guess it was credit card rich?
Mr. Wilson has a habit of putting out two strong ideas near each other in a paragraph and never really explaining how they're related. Another example set in Westbeach's final days under his ownership was when he said the Japanese yen fell, market competition increased, and people were no longer able to appreciate his product. So market competition and fluctuating currency mean consumers become dumber?
In his very eccentric early youth, he talks about how much he admires his grandmother's business sense. Then he mentions she lost all her money in an MLM scandal in the 1960's. (Probably Holiday Magic.) Then she recovers money through another MLM? How is that good business sense? If it worked out, great, but please, explain why.
A lot about his life and the major decisions behind it are never elaborated on. Throughout college and early adulthood, he makes one seemingly impulsive decision after another. Working on the Alaskan pipline. Buying a house. It goes on. He talks about thinking of life's meaning as an influence in his decision, but, really, I think the guy is just hyper.
His time at Dome Petroleum makes no sense, and it seems he's trying to cover being a crappy employee by writing about all the other things he wanted to do. He talks about being sent to classes for improvement training. He flunked them because he was pondering the big questions like 'Will I get married?' How does thinking that leads you to bombing classes your work sends you to just so you can be competent at your job? Also, how was he running those booths of swimsuits while working at Dome?
Who knows. But I doubt The Great Mr. Wilson wants us to ponder those questions too hard. He wants us to focus on how great he is, and he gives plenty of quotes to encourage us to think highly of him. Seriously, I've never read a book written like this. A lot of quotes from other people who knew him are shoved into his stories, only, EVERY QUOTE FROM AN EMPLOYEE OF HIS IS ABOUT HIM! Whenever he wants to show how great he is, a quote by someone else is inserted talking about him. For a while, I thought it was the norm about his company for his employees to talk about him in front of him, as if he was invisible. Then I thought he was simply paraphrasing what other people said about him, which left the question of how he knew people talked about him so positively, in the first place. Then I thought he was editing what people said about him to his face, so he could talk about himself in the third person, without having to reference too much the other person who paid the compliment. Then I came to the conclusion he simply interviewed his former employees from the past about their time with him to extract a good word to put into his book; only he doesn't disclose he sought them out!
Perhaps he's being sneaky with his writing. Perhaps I was slow to catch on to the shameless promotion because of the poor writing. The tone is that of an exciting elementary schooler rattling off an essay on his epic summer vacation.
In conclusion, I read a 200+ page statement on why we'ee obligated to think as highly of him as he does.
Just about every business book I read was a massive ego trip for the author. The ego in this one burned so brightly I thought my kindle was going to explode and singe my hands. Every douchy CEO or executive stereotypically has a team of "yes men." I think the new force of Mr. Wilson's yes mean is supposed to be his readers.
Half of his story was about his first company, Westbeach. The second the company he's known for. How he built LuLuLemon was an updated and more refined version of how he built Westbeach, so his former company is really where you get to know him.
Right away, I knew reading about Westbeach was going to be an acid trip of jumbled beliefs stretching from business to personal development. Inconsistencies in his storytelling pop up like geysers. The very first was when he talked his final time with his snowboarding / surfing baby. He said having to share decisions with a team lead to compromised outcomes. It would've been better had he steered the ship on his own. Um...if that's the case, why did it fall into financial ruin, in the first place? In fact, a lot of the time he talks about how successful Westbeach was, yet, for most of the company's existence, it was cash-strapped. There's a lot of mentions of needing lines of credit. So I guess it was credit card rich?
Mr. Wilson has a habit of putting out two strong ideas near each other in a paragraph and never really explaining how they're related. Another example set in Westbeach's final days under his ownership was when he said the Japanese yen fell, market competition increased, and people were no longer able to appreciate his product. So market competition and fluctuating currency mean consumers become dumber?
In his very eccentric early youth, he talks about how much he admires his grandmother's business sense. Then he mentions she lost all her money in an MLM scandal in the 1960's. (Probably Holiday Magic.) Then she recovers money through another MLM? How is that good business sense? If it worked out, great, but please, explain why.
A lot about his life and the major decisions behind it are never elaborated on. Throughout college and early adulthood, he makes one seemingly impulsive decision after another. Working on the Alaskan pipline. Buying a house. It goes on. He talks about thinking of life's meaning as an influence in his decision, but, really, I think the guy is just hyper.
His time at Dome Petroleum makes no sense, and it seems he's trying to cover being a crappy employee by writing about all the other things he wanted to do. He talks about being sent to classes for improvement training. He flunked them because he was pondering the big questions like 'Will I get married?' How does thinking that leads you to bombing classes your work sends you to just so you can be competent at your job? Also, how was he running those booths of swimsuits while working at Dome?
Who knows. But I doubt The Great Mr. Wilson wants us to ponder those questions too hard. He wants us to focus on how great he is, and he gives plenty of quotes to encourage us to think highly of him. Seriously, I've never read a book written like this. A lot of quotes from other people who knew him are shoved into his stories, only, EVERY QUOTE FROM AN EMPLOYEE OF HIS IS ABOUT HIM! Whenever he wants to show how great he is, a quote by someone else is inserted talking about him. For a while, I thought it was the norm about his company for his employees to talk about him in front of him, as if he was invisible. Then I thought he was simply paraphrasing what other people said about him, which left the question of how he knew people talked about him so positively, in the first place. Then I thought he was editing what people said about him to his face, so he could talk about himself in the third person, without having to reference too much the other person who paid the compliment. Then I came to the conclusion he simply interviewed his former employees from the past about their time with him to extract a good word to put into his book; only he doesn't disclose he sought them out!
Perhaps he's being sneaky with his writing. Perhaps I was slow to catch on to the shameless promotion because of the poor writing. The tone is that of an exciting elementary schooler rattling off an essay on his epic summer vacation.
In conclusion, I read a 200+ page statement on why we'ee obligated to think as highly of him as he does.
March 27, 2022
In The Story of Lululemon: Little Black Stretchy Pants, Entrepreneur and Founder of yoga-inspired athletic apparel company Lululemon Athletica, Chip Wilson writes about founding Lululemon, creating company culture, lessons learned, building great corporate governance, working with family members, his thought process and insights he garnered along the way.
Lululemon was a social experiment to determine if putting people's development above profits would yield extraordinary profits. The experiment proved successful.
There are two parts to a successful business.
First, there is the product and customer—the two aspects which started the business in the first place. This is the part the entrepreneur knows better than anyone in the world.
Second, there is the business of public board governance. It includes the Machiavellian power moves and survival struggles of top executives and board members. This is generally not something the entrepreneur knows very well—certainly not as well as he or she knows the product and the customer.
Bet on yourself – started at 42
I had no way of knowing just how huge yoga would be—and how lululemon would explode like nothing else. The little company that I founded in Kitsilano, Vancouver would go on to redefine how a generation of people dressed and lived. The financial rewards for my family and me would be enormous, but at the time I was rolling the dice. I could have just as easily lost everything multiple times. The journey was exhilarating and terrifying. I was forty-two, I had a young family, and I bet the farm.
Freeing self from past experience
We all have experiences in our past that cut us off from our future potential. This is something personal development has helped me better understand. Our past experiences subconsciously confine what we believe is possible in life. If something didn’t work when I was thirteen, it doesn’t mean it won’t work at another time in my life.
Runner’s High
The runner’s high is a sensation that occurs after thirty-five minutes of a sustained, high-rate heartbeat. The brain releases hormones which take the athlete into an energized mental and physical space. The sensation usually lasts for about four hours. The amazing thing about an athlete's high is the person’s past disappears and is irrelevant.
Partnership
In a partnership, an aspiring entrepreneur can learn how a different combination of skill sets need to come together to make the business work. You need a designer/creative and visionary, you need someone with a good sense of structure and accounting, and you need someone who’s a people person, a genuine lover of people, to handle sales. It’s almost impossible to find all these skills in one person.
Following Intuition
No matter what I told myself, my creative urges intensified. I knew that I could spot athletic trends five to seven years before they emerged, and I knew that this was what was occurring for me now. I was also forty-two and mindful of the fact that my goal had been to retire at forty. I let my mind wander, and, rather than coming up with reasons not to start another business, I simply decided that if I started a new venture, I would approach it differently.
6/13 rule
I came up with several new procedures. One was something I called the “6/13 rule”—if a Guest was looking at a product for six seconds, an Educator had a thirteen-second window to educate them about the item. Barring any follow-up questions, the Educator would then leave them alone until they looked at another item for around six seconds.
Don’t waste a second of your life. You only have 40,000 days to live. The longer you live, the quicker time goes. To a toddler, 10 minutes feels like 10 years. To a 90-year-old man, 10 days feels like half a second. Examine who in your life is eating up your precious seconds.
Lululemon was a social experiment to determine if putting people's development above profits would yield extraordinary profits. The experiment proved successful.
There are two parts to a successful business.
First, there is the product and customer—the two aspects which started the business in the first place. This is the part the entrepreneur knows better than anyone in the world.
Second, there is the business of public board governance. It includes the Machiavellian power moves and survival struggles of top executives and board members. This is generally not something the entrepreneur knows very well—certainly not as well as he or she knows the product and the customer.
Bet on yourself – started at 42
I had no way of knowing just how huge yoga would be—and how lululemon would explode like nothing else. The little company that I founded in Kitsilano, Vancouver would go on to redefine how a generation of people dressed and lived. The financial rewards for my family and me would be enormous, but at the time I was rolling the dice. I could have just as easily lost everything multiple times. The journey was exhilarating and terrifying. I was forty-two, I had a young family, and I bet the farm.
Freeing self from past experience
We all have experiences in our past that cut us off from our future potential. This is something personal development has helped me better understand. Our past experiences subconsciously confine what we believe is possible in life. If something didn’t work when I was thirteen, it doesn’t mean it won’t work at another time in my life.
Runner’s High
The runner’s high is a sensation that occurs after thirty-five minutes of a sustained, high-rate heartbeat. The brain releases hormones which take the athlete into an energized mental and physical space. The sensation usually lasts for about four hours. The amazing thing about an athlete's high is the person’s past disappears and is irrelevant.
Partnership
In a partnership, an aspiring entrepreneur can learn how a different combination of skill sets need to come together to make the business work. You need a designer/creative and visionary, you need someone with a good sense of structure and accounting, and you need someone who’s a people person, a genuine lover of people, to handle sales. It’s almost impossible to find all these skills in one person.
Following Intuition
No matter what I told myself, my creative urges intensified. I knew that I could spot athletic trends five to seven years before they emerged, and I knew that this was what was occurring for me now. I was also forty-two and mindful of the fact that my goal had been to retire at forty. I let my mind wander, and, rather than coming up with reasons not to start another business, I simply decided that if I started a new venture, I would approach it differently.
6/13 rule
I came up with several new procedures. One was something I called the “6/13 rule”—if a Guest was looking at a product for six seconds, an Educator had a thirteen-second window to educate them about the item. Barring any follow-up questions, the Educator would then leave them alone until they looked at another item for around six seconds.
Don’t waste a second of your life. You only have 40,000 days to live. The longer you live, the quicker time goes. To a toddler, 10 minutes feels like 10 years. To a 90-year-old man, 10 days feels like half a second. Examine who in your life is eating up your precious seconds.
January 6, 2022
As an on again/off again employee of Lululemon over a span of 12 years, I really did enjoy Chip’s story. It felt like a love letter to us employees if anything and to which I didn’t know I needed. I felt his pain and sadness of something he worked so hard to create, only to be taken from him.
Nobody is perfect. He could’ve had better media training. He needed to be taught a lot in terms of how to speak about women, their bodies and grow with the times (which I’m sure he would’ve done if given the chance). It’s also important to remember the man did a lot of things right.
I experienced the culture he built and created in 2009. Employees came first. Our success came first. They didn’t want us to stay there forever, but to go after our goals and dreams. I myself was goal coached to go teach English in Japan. I completed the landmark courses, paid by the company, and can say that I wouldn’t have created the life I live without it. I couldn’t have built my company without working at lulu during these years.
When I returned in 2013, Lululemon was there to return to. But not only had I changed, but so did the company and soon the culture would shift. It was the year of the see-through stretchy pants. As like most, my $200+ a share stock plummeted to $30 and Chip was thrown aside despite him creating a retail company unlike any other. I left as the company struggled to bounce back and rebuild.
Now, I’m back at the company once again and can say it saddens me that the culture is still not what it once was. I’ve read the book “Good to Great,” and it feels sometimes like the company is holding on his coattails of the Great in which Chip built. It still has the partly destroyed foundation, but only few of us trying to keep that alive. They’ve even changed his original core values of the company to which I still question “What was wrong with the original values?”
It’s another Steve Jobs situation of throwing a person out of their own company to please some big wigs so they can make more of a profit.
Regardless of his faults, it’s an inspiring story about a very inspiring company that can be useful in many different ways.
Nobody is perfect. He could’ve had better media training. He needed to be taught a lot in terms of how to speak about women, their bodies and grow with the times (which I’m sure he would’ve done if given the chance). It’s also important to remember the man did a lot of things right.
I experienced the culture he built and created in 2009. Employees came first. Our success came first. They didn’t want us to stay there forever, but to go after our goals and dreams. I myself was goal coached to go teach English in Japan. I completed the landmark courses, paid by the company, and can say that I wouldn’t have created the life I live without it. I couldn’t have built my company without working at lulu during these years.
When I returned in 2013, Lululemon was there to return to. But not only had I changed, but so did the company and soon the culture would shift. It was the year of the see-through stretchy pants. As like most, my $200+ a share stock plummeted to $30 and Chip was thrown aside despite him creating a retail company unlike any other. I left as the company struggled to bounce back and rebuild.
Now, I’m back at the company once again and can say it saddens me that the culture is still not what it once was. I’ve read the book “Good to Great,” and it feels sometimes like the company is holding on his coattails of the Great in which Chip built. It still has the partly destroyed foundation, but only few of us trying to keep that alive. They’ve even changed his original core values of the company to which I still question “What was wrong with the original values?”
It’s another Steve Jobs situation of throwing a person out of their own company to please some big wigs so they can make more of a profit.
Regardless of his faults, it’s an inspiring story about a very inspiring company that can be useful in many different ways.
July 11, 2019
This book was, honestly, not what I was expecting. I think I was looking for, a guilty pleasure and, as my teenage daughters put it, the "tea." However, I kept going through the business philosophy and lifestyle proselytizing. I really thought EST was something thought up for the television series "The Americans" (which I loved -- but I digress).
In any event, as an attorney who has worked with start-ups from beginning through venture investment to IPO, from beginning to venture investment to flame-out, from beginning to venture investment to M&A, etc., I've seen the founders come unhinged, get in the way of progress, and eventually get terminated by the Board. There is a reason behind all of this.
When you go public, you cannot have a Board member, founder or not, go on Bloomberg (or anywhere for that matter) and say anything he or she wants. Everything has to be vetted. Like it or not, public statements affect the stock price, and it causes securities law issues. That is what happens if you take public money. This clearly happened here.
It is also a shame that founders do not get legal counsel early on when they sign transactions, as they always believe these venture guys are "angels" and these early deals are going to pan out and be "great." There are no angels and there is no free lunch. Investors, angel, venture, private, what have you, are in it for a profit. They do not care about the Manifesto.
By the end of the book, I just wanted to shake Chip. Wake up buddy. Put your big boy ABC pants on, man!! It is what it is, I guess. That is what I've learned to tell myself during some very excruciating deals. He needs to move on. I think he and Shannon have with Kit + Ace and their other ventures, and I've seen pictures of the lovely house in Vancouver. With respect to Kit + Ace, the waiver of any conflicts by the Board of lululemon should certainly have been documented better in order to protect the Wilsons, but again, they failed to involved their own legal counsel.
Groan, shrug. I must move on and take my Tylenol, which is the "special" kind they sell in Canada, by the way.
In any event, as an attorney who has worked with start-ups from beginning through venture investment to IPO, from beginning to venture investment to flame-out, from beginning to venture investment to M&A, etc., I've seen the founders come unhinged, get in the way of progress, and eventually get terminated by the Board. There is a reason behind all of this.
When you go public, you cannot have a Board member, founder or not, go on Bloomberg (or anywhere for that matter) and say anything he or she wants. Everything has to be vetted. Like it or not, public statements affect the stock price, and it causes securities law issues. That is what happens if you take public money. This clearly happened here.
It is also a shame that founders do not get legal counsel early on when they sign transactions, as they always believe these venture guys are "angels" and these early deals are going to pan out and be "great." There are no angels and there is no free lunch. Investors, angel, venture, private, what have you, are in it for a profit. They do not care about the Manifesto.
By the end of the book, I just wanted to shake Chip. Wake up buddy. Put your big boy ABC pants on, man!! It is what it is, I guess. That is what I've learned to tell myself during some very excruciating deals. He needs to move on. I think he and Shannon have with Kit + Ace and their other ventures, and I've seen pictures of the lovely house in Vancouver. With respect to Kit + Ace, the waiver of any conflicts by the Board of lululemon should certainly have been documented better in order to protect the Wilsons, but again, they failed to involved their own legal counsel.
Groan, shrug. I must move on and take my Tylenol, which is the "special" kind they sell in Canada, by the way.
July 18, 2019
I do recommend this book for any entrepreneur and mostly for the ones that are in the retail industry.
I found it very pleasing of being able to learn about Chip's ongoing passion for quality, innovation and wellbeing - the three main pillars that for many years, differentiated lululemon from the rest athletic-wear brands. The last chapters (that for many were quite exhausting) talked about how the Board of Directors had a different focus ($) that as a result, began to weaken lululemon's quality and work-culture; there was no synergy between Chip, the culture, and the board members. So he teaches us a few valuable lessons of the possible outcomes of many preventable mistakes when dealing with a public company.
Some of my favorite quotes that demonstrate the quality of business development in lululemon are:
- 'Each day I walked into the office and asked myself, "If I had to compete against lululemon what would I do?"' (p.317)
- "If a company wants to deliver amazing value to the shareholder, I believe they must elevate the very people who drive the profits;" (p.320)
- "We were really good at celebrating mistakes and learning from them. A big part of our growth was driven by empowering people and creating an environment that would foster creativity and new ideas" // "One objetive of the operating principles was to ensure we wouldn't make [mistakes] twice" (p.420)
-"Nature leads us to mediocrity for safety and reproduction. Average is as close to the bottom as it is to the top." (p.222)
-"A transformed person loves themselves and has the mental focus to generate a wonderful life. A fulfilled person has so much evidence of success, they automatically want the people around them to be trained in the same way. The leadership of one person automatically beggets the leadership fo those around them." (p.196)
- "I wanted to go to work with people I loved, so I was willing to invest in their greatness." (p.196)
- "A rule I've adhered to for a long time is this: if I ever complain twice about something, I either must act or shut up" (p.384)
I found it very pleasing of being able to learn about Chip's ongoing passion for quality, innovation and wellbeing - the three main pillars that for many years, differentiated lululemon from the rest athletic-wear brands. The last chapters (that for many were quite exhausting) talked about how the Board of Directors had a different focus ($) that as a result, began to weaken lululemon's quality and work-culture; there was no synergy between Chip, the culture, and the board members. So he teaches us a few valuable lessons of the possible outcomes of many preventable mistakes when dealing with a public company.
Some of my favorite quotes that demonstrate the quality of business development in lululemon are:
- 'Each day I walked into the office and asked myself, "If I had to compete against lululemon what would I do?"' (p.317)
- "If a company wants to deliver amazing value to the shareholder, I believe they must elevate the very people who drive the profits;" (p.320)
- "We were really good at celebrating mistakes and learning from them. A big part of our growth was driven by empowering people and creating an environment that would foster creativity and new ideas" // "One objetive of the operating principles was to ensure we wouldn't make [mistakes] twice" (p.420)
-"Nature leads us to mediocrity for safety and reproduction. Average is as close to the bottom as it is to the top." (p.222)
-"A transformed person loves themselves and has the mental focus to generate a wonderful life. A fulfilled person has so much evidence of success, they automatically want the people around them to be trained in the same way. The leadership of one person automatically beggets the leadership fo those around them." (p.196)
- "I wanted to go to work with people I loved, so I was willing to invest in their greatness." (p.196)
- "A rule I've adhered to for a long time is this: if I ever complain twice about something, I either must act or shut up" (p.384)
July 17, 2025
The Story of Lululemon is a raw, compelling memoir that charts the rise of an iconic brand and the complex man behind it. Chip Wilson doesn’t just share how he built Lululemon. He lays bare his obsession with quality, performance, and creating a new category of technical street apparel he called “streetnic.”
What’s most striking is how entrepreneurial Chip was from the start. As a kid, he resold swim gear to teammates, and by his Westbeach days, he was working round the clock - packing, selling, designing, and building the foundation for what would become a billion dollar brand. His intense work ethic stemmed from his competitive swimming background where discipline and pushing limits shaped his mindset.
Chip wasn’t a traditional business school executive. He was a creative savant who valued innovation over metrics. His ability to coin sticky brand language like “Luon” fabric and “Super Girls,” his bold marketing stunts like walking naked into a flagship store to prove the power of brand culture, these reflect a mind that understood not just product but perception.
After Lululemon went public in 2008, the clash between his visionary instincts and corporate expectations became more pronounced. Chip resisted fitting into the world of quarterly earnings and risk averse boards. Some of his choices and public remarks came across as self sabotaging, but also revealed a man unwilling to compromise on what he believed made the brand great.
This book is both a blueprint and a warning for entrepreneurs. It celebrates relentless innovation and product obsession, but also shows how creative fire, without the right structural balance, can burn fast and bright and sometimes out of control.
What’s most striking is how entrepreneurial Chip was from the start. As a kid, he resold swim gear to teammates, and by his Westbeach days, he was working round the clock - packing, selling, designing, and building the foundation for what would become a billion dollar brand. His intense work ethic stemmed from his competitive swimming background where discipline and pushing limits shaped his mindset.
Chip wasn’t a traditional business school executive. He was a creative savant who valued innovation over metrics. His ability to coin sticky brand language like “Luon” fabric and “Super Girls,” his bold marketing stunts like walking naked into a flagship store to prove the power of brand culture, these reflect a mind that understood not just product but perception.
After Lululemon went public in 2008, the clash between his visionary instincts and corporate expectations became more pronounced. Chip resisted fitting into the world of quarterly earnings and risk averse boards. Some of his choices and public remarks came across as self sabotaging, but also revealed a man unwilling to compromise on what he believed made the brand great.
This book is both a blueprint and a warning for entrepreneurs. It celebrates relentless innovation and product obsession, but also shows how creative fire, without the right structural balance, can burn fast and bright and sometimes out of control.
October 28, 2018
This is the fascinating story of lululemon told in a genuinely, honest way by founder Chip Wilson. With his ability to predict athletic trends, he begins designing snowboard and skateboard apparel in Canada before either of these sports were mainstream. After selling his company, Westbeach in 1998, at the age of 42 Chip had the capital to finance a new venture.
In 1998, yoga was not a popular form of exercise, but Chip predicted that it would take the world by storm. It was his vision of creating a new fabric for yoga apparel, a lightweight synthetic technical fabric that wouldn't shrink, sweat, or stink, and innovative design ideas, placing beautiful flat seams on the outside that accentuated the female form and prevented chafing that drove the inception of lululemon.
The details of decades of sacrifices, almost certain financial ruin, and the many mistakes over the years were captivating. The creation of a company culture where the importance of family, love, and a healthy lifestyle is balanced, where the most important people are the Educators (the people on the sales floor), and where the customer is really listened to was novel.
Chip describes the last 5 years as a "missed opportunity". With extreme candor, he outlines what happened and how his experience can be used a a lesson.
I know nothing of the financial world he details with great specificity but I do shop at lululemon and own quite a lot of the product. This story of the birth of this company until today is as interesting to me as Shoe Dog, the story of Nike.
In 1998, yoga was not a popular form of exercise, but Chip predicted that it would take the world by storm. It was his vision of creating a new fabric for yoga apparel, a lightweight synthetic technical fabric that wouldn't shrink, sweat, or stink, and innovative design ideas, placing beautiful flat seams on the outside that accentuated the female form and prevented chafing that drove the inception of lululemon.
The details of decades of sacrifices, almost certain financial ruin, and the many mistakes over the years were captivating. The creation of a company culture where the importance of family, love, and a healthy lifestyle is balanced, where the most important people are the Educators (the people on the sales floor), and where the customer is really listened to was novel.
Chip describes the last 5 years as a "missed opportunity". With extreme candor, he outlines what happened and how his experience can be used a a lesson.
I know nothing of the financial world he details with great specificity but I do shop at lululemon and own quite a lot of the product. This story of the birth of this company until today is as interesting to me as Shoe Dog, the story of Nike.
October 26, 2020
Really enjoyed the majority of this book- especially the first 70%.
It’s fair to say that Chip’s seeming unhappiness with how things have changed as he lost as much control over LuluLemon don’t make him as likeable as possible. But you know what? He’s not trying to be my friend, nor is he just pretending everything is always plain sailing and joy. Whether you like him or not, I appreciate his honest perspective, giving us the insight in to his mind, how he perceives different situations and how he handles them.
Main takeouts:
- Chip saw the trends coming and rode them: surfing -> skateboarding -> snowboarding -> yoga (especially thinking how it would affect his consumer)
- He envisioned his consumer in the future (how she’d shop, what she’d want etc) and then built LuluLemon to deliver for this consumer
- He utilised a combination of processes from The E-Myth, personal development via Landmark and his experience at previous companies to set up LuluLemon for success and scalability.
- He prioritised finding time with his family in his latter businesses
- He created a list of principles personally and professionally
- He is very action orientated- taking risks throughout
Other thoughts:
- It seems like the latter parts of his career- especially once there were outside investors/new CEO’s brought him less happiness than when he ran it.
It’s fair to say that Chip’s seeming unhappiness with how things have changed as he lost as much control over LuluLemon don’t make him as likeable as possible. But you know what? He’s not trying to be my friend, nor is he just pretending everything is always plain sailing and joy. Whether you like him or not, I appreciate his honest perspective, giving us the insight in to his mind, how he perceives different situations and how he handles them.
Main takeouts:
- Chip saw the trends coming and rode them: surfing -> skateboarding -> snowboarding -> yoga (especially thinking how it would affect his consumer)
- He envisioned his consumer in the future (how she’d shop, what she’d want etc) and then built LuluLemon to deliver for this consumer
- He utilised a combination of processes from The E-Myth, personal development via Landmark and his experience at previous companies to set up LuluLemon for success and scalability.
- He prioritised finding time with his family in his latter businesses
- He created a list of principles personally and professionally
- He is very action orientated- taking risks throughout
Other thoughts:
- It seems like the latter parts of his career- especially once there were outside investors/new CEO’s brought him less happiness than when he ran it.
January 24, 2020
This was a very enjoyable read.
It is interesting to see how many big apparel businesses (Nike, Lululemon) were built by ordinary people who started by importing and exporting goods before manufacturing their own.
I think the author's sense of humor was great, his narration interesting enough to listen to and his definition of a problem in women's apparel legitimate. He built a brand when being a competitor to Nike and under armour seemed so futile. He created a great product, the best in the world in it's category, and his anger at seeing his brainchild being run the way it was by subsequent CEOs an unfortunate but maybe unavoidable result of him stepping back from the role.
While this is purely from his account and he is explaining the story behind Lululemon, I would have liked to hear a few more numbers or about how and when long term vision and the creative forces behind a company start to show an effect on the stock prices, seeing as this performance seems almost impossible to calculate.
Still, 5/5 would recommend.
It is interesting to see how many big apparel businesses (Nike, Lululemon) were built by ordinary people who started by importing and exporting goods before manufacturing their own.
I think the author's sense of humor was great, his narration interesting enough to listen to and his definition of a problem in women's apparel legitimate. He built a brand when being a competitor to Nike and under armour seemed so futile. He created a great product, the best in the world in it's category, and his anger at seeing his brainchild being run the way it was by subsequent CEOs an unfortunate but maybe unavoidable result of him stepping back from the role.
While this is purely from his account and he is explaining the story behind Lululemon, I would have liked to hear a few more numbers or about how and when long term vision and the creative forces behind a company start to show an effect on the stock prices, seeing as this performance seems almost impossible to calculate.
Still, 5/5 would recommend.
May 24, 2021
This is a book with a fairly transparent agenda. The author probably has a valid case but you can never really tell without hearing the other perspectives. More relevantly as is almost invariably the case it makes the book significantly worse.
That said the early part of the book is very interesting. I give this 4 stars under the premiss you stop reading as the chronology reaches 2009 and 3 stars if you read on. This is done with the proviso that if you enjoy corporate infighting or you actually run a business of significant size you may enjoy or find this useful but from a personal perspective, it wasn't fun.
The book follows the creator through two businesses neither of which I'd heard of before reading. Most CEO autobiographies go through a few challenges but the trajectory is largely upwards. This book is interesting in that it doesn't follow this pattern and as a result removes some of the success bias.
That said the early part of the book is very interesting. I give this 4 stars under the premiss you stop reading as the chronology reaches 2009 and 3 stars if you read on. This is done with the proviso that if you enjoy corporate infighting or you actually run a business of significant size you may enjoy or find this useful but from a personal perspective, it wasn't fun.
The book follows the creator through two businesses neither of which I'd heard of before reading. Most CEO autobiographies go through a few challenges but the trajectory is largely upwards. This book is interesting in that it doesn't follow this pattern and as a result removes some of the success bias.
October 16, 2024
Great book by a business leader who understands marketing and high performance athletic wear. I enjoyed the majority of the book and a healthy reminder that business, in particular scaling, is hard. Chip Wilson's success was a roller coaster of ups and downs. Few business leaders understood their customer like Chip Wilson. He is also a master of marketing.
There were parts of the book in which he seemed to have personal axes to grind. Chip has many positive characteristics but graciousness, the ability to forgive, and understanding are not among his qualities. The book would have been better if he kept his personal critiques of former partners and employees to himself or at least his BFFs over drinks. Crappy in my world to takes shots in a book that would otherwise serve as a powerful memoir. Otherwise, an incredible story of a mans climb to be among the richest men in the world who along the way met incredible people and did incredible work.
There were parts of the book in which he seemed to have personal axes to grind. Chip has many positive characteristics but graciousness, the ability to forgive, and understanding are not among his qualities. The book would have been better if he kept his personal critiques of former partners and employees to himself or at least his BFFs over drinks. Crappy in my world to takes shots in a book that would otherwise serve as a powerful memoir. Otherwise, an incredible story of a mans climb to be among the richest men in the world who along the way met incredible people and did incredible work.
February 13, 2019
Little Black Stretchy Pants is a phenomenal and inspiring book by Chip Wilson the founder of lululemon. This book covers everything from Chip’s youth to starting his first company and then growing lululemon into the giant it now is. Chip Wilson is a fascinating individual and a brilliant entrepreneur who packs endless amounts of business wisdom into the 429 pages of this book. Chip wasn’t afraid to push the envelope - from running ads that said if you show up naked you pay nothing, to giving away part of his company to some of his employees (making 30 of them instant millionaires), to putting the word “orgasm” on the bags, to marrying his designer; I couldn’t put this book down. It’s my favorite read so far from 2019 and one of my favorites of all time. If you’re passionate about business, I highly recommend reading this one.
July 11, 2022
Biographies are always an interesting read, especially if it's based around a founder of a pretty big company. Lululemon is not a company I know particularly much about but hearing Wilson's perspective in this book shows how someone can have huge passion for their own creations and inspires me to have the same passion for my own. Wilson introduces important business concepts of vertical retailing, goal setting, management, negotiations, culture and succession development, and a lot of which I didn't understand but find interest in learning more about. He owns his mistakes with lululemon and seeks to help others avoid the same mistakes.
I also love the quotes on the lululemon bags - definitely worth checking out.
"You can't create the future without first clearing up the past."
I also love the quotes on the lululemon bags - definitely worth checking out.
October 27, 2018
The love of money is............
Having just been through founding and selling a company, this story rang true to the very end. Everyone is out to.power grab. The one with vision is quickly set aside. After all the root is to make big bucks that is all that counts in the end. Who cares that a company has integrity and who makes products for the future when you can make big bucks now? Always the best people are those that began with the vision to help others and to be fair with each other and your customers. I think yours is a typical story. Be happy with your success, love your children. You have the money so start again if you have the time and inclination to absorb your energy. Only keep your eyes open this time.
Having just been through founding and selling a company, this story rang true to the very end. Everyone is out to.power grab. The one with vision is quickly set aside. After all the root is to make big bucks that is all that counts in the end. Who cares that a company has integrity and who makes products for the future when you can make big bucks now? Always the best people are those that began with the vision to help others and to be fair with each other and your customers. I think yours is a typical story. Be happy with your success, love your children. You have the money so start again if you have the time and inclination to absorb your energy. Only keep your eyes open this time.
February 11, 2019
There is no doubt that Chip is an enthusiastic guy who created a great grass-roots brand but he tries to defend himself as a great businessman but the book further reinforces that he is not. He is accusatory of management that runs lululemon and candidly, throws a lot of people under the bus. I respect the loyalty he has to his first employees but he tries to take credit for all of lulus successes and is quick to blame the board and senior executives for every misstep and lost opportunity.
I also don’t want to count how many times he said “vertical retailing” or “critical mass”. He also threw around numbers saying that stock prices would rise X amount or revenue would increase by X billion...on what basis is he getting those numbers???
I also don’t want to count how many times he said “vertical retailing” or “critical mass”. He also threw around numbers saying that stock prices would rise X amount or revenue would increase by X billion...on what basis is he getting those numbers???
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews