Chip Wilson Keeps Lululemon’s Proxy Battle Going

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Good morning, friends! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving me a bit of your time. Happy Friday! Cheers to the weekend. It’s kind of a big one for sports and fashion — we’ve got the Kentucky Derby and the Miami Grand Prix this weekend. Lots of racing and big hats.

Today, we cover the latest in Lululemon’s proxy battle with Chip Wilson. Things are coming to a bit of a head just a month out from the company’s annual shareholder meeting. The stakes keep climbing as the days go by.

Plus, wearables are officially in tennis now. Oura forged a new partnership with the US Tennis Association and will be featured heavily at the US Open. That’s a game-changing moment for the sport.

Quick hits:

• Good news for Puma! The company beat expectations on its first-quarter earnings report. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
• BoF’s Marc Bain put together a fantastic piece on why so many people hate AI despite AI use continuing to climb. That’s 2026 in a nutshell, isn’t it?
• Former BoFer Daniel Yaw-Miller wrote in his SportsVerse newsletter that the Met Gala needs athletes more than athletes need the Met Gala. I high-key agree with him.
• It seems like Nike might be getting into the pre-order business soon if this new job posting is any indication. This is a move a lot of people have been hoping for.

Let’s jump in.

Lululemon’s Proxy Battle Continues

If you thought that Lululemon’s proxy battle would cool off after the company appointed Heidi O’Neill as its chief executive, think again. The temperature has continued to rise over the last few days.

The latest: Company founder and former CEO Chip Wilson sent a letter to investors on Wednesday, not only championing his own selections for the company’s board of directors, but also criticising the current board for diluting the brand with its choices over the last few years.

What he’s saying: Wilson continued to argue that the company is creatively bankrupt and has been led astray by the current board.

“All the roads of Lululemon’s value destruction lead back to one place: the Boardroom,” Wilson wrote. “The board’s challenges are rooted in a persistent misalignment of governance that perpetuates the cycle of poor leadership selection and talent flight, furthering strategic confusion.”

As the letter went on, Wilson got more granular. He called out the board’s latest appointments, including O’Neill.

• He argued that O’Neill’s appointment — and the market’s reaction to it — was a clear reflection of the board’s “stubborn insistence” on keeping with its current course instead of resetting things.
• Wilson also argued that the appointment of Egi Eggleston Bracey and Chip Bergh to Lululemon’s board was a tacit acknowledgement that change was always needed, but the board didn’t prioritise the requisite experience to turn the company around with its selections.

The other side: Meanwhile, Lululemon is actively working to block Wilson’s selections for the board. The board of directors told investors that it “does not endorse any of Mr. Wilson’s nominees” in a preliminary proxy filing, and that any shareholders who voted for Wilson’s nominees have every legal right to change their vote.

The company also accused him of sharing his “playbook” with two of Lululemon’s biggest competitors, Vuori and Alo.

Despite Wilson’s criticisms, the company expressed full confidence in its board of directors in a statement to The Business of Fashion, calling it “highly experienced” and “well-equipped to provide effective guidance on the company’s direction.”

“We have attempted in good faith to find an amicable resolution with Mr. Wilson as outlined in our preliminary proxy filing,” the statement continued. “However, he did not allow the board to meet his director nominees for months, has insisted all three of his nominees be appointed to the board while changing his list of other demands on multiple occasions, and has repeatedly attacked the company publicly during our attempts to achieve a constructive outcome.”

Why this matters: This is getting ugly. It’s Chip Wilson vs. Lululemon’s board, and it’s happening while the company is in the middle of a CEO transition, with the aforementioned O’Neill set to start in September. Saying this isn’t the ideal situation for a new CEO to step into is putting it kindly. The timing couldn’t be worse.

The big date: The good news is that there’s a solid chance that things will be settled before then. The company is set to hold its annual shareholder meeting on June 11, at which investors will vote on the members of the board. The direction of the company’s future will be determined then.

Until then, it seems, we’ll continue to be subject to this back and forth.

Wearables Are Finally in Tennis

The debate about wearables in tennis is over, at least as far as the US Open is concerned, anyway.

The news: Oura and the US Tennis Association announced a new partnership on Thursday that will weave the company’s wearable technology into one of tennis’ most popular events, the US Open. The company will supply the athletes with its rings and use them to collect data to help the athletes with their training and recovery.

• Every player in the main draw will have access to an Oura Ring and an on-site fitting.
• Oura will also appear at other USTA events, including the organisation’s national championships, and it’ll work with USTA Coaching to develop a recovery and readiness module for its members.
• Oura isn’t stopping at its partnership with the US Open and USTA. Hard Court’s Jessica Schiffer reports that the company plans on forging partnerships with players as it continues to establish itself within the sport.

Between the lines: Oura has become increasingly active in professional sports. Just last week, it announced a new partnership with US Soccer. It also has relationships with individual teams like the New York Knicks, Real Madrid and others. Wearable technology has become more present in sports year by year.

Yes, but: Wearables have become one of the biggest topics of debate in tennis. The Australian Open forced Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka to remove their Whoop wearables during the tournament earlier this year, triggering conversations on where the technology belonged in the sport — if at all.

Why this matters: Oura’s partnership with the US Open is a true watershed moment. It breaks the ice for wearables within tennis in a way that ends this conversation.

We were always going to land here. The ATP has approved Whoop wearable tech for its players. The WTA forged a partnership with the company in 2024. The tech has been slowly integrating into the sport. Oura’s partnership here is just making it official.

Lyst Index Surprises

The latest version of the Lyst Index is out and there’s not a single sportswear or activewear brand in sight for the first quarter of 2026 — at least as far as the top 20 are concerned. Probably not the greatest sign in the world for casualisation!

• The backdrop: This comes after Nike made the list for the first time in two years to end 2025.

Yes, but: With that said, there were a couple of sportswear appearances on Lyst’s 10 hottest products for the quarter.

• Less surprising: Adidas’ Chinese-style track jacket made an appearance. The jacket, which the brand initially launched as a China exclusive in 2025, made its way to Europe in February. It seems to be making waves now.
• More surprising: Independent skate footwear brand Village PM appeared on the product list with its 1PM sneaker. This was surprising to me. I’ve seen the shoe make appearances in my social feeds, but I hadn’t seen them outside much. Clearly, according to Lyst, I need to get outside more.

My take: The Village PM sneaker on Lyst is a good sign for the independent sneaker designers out there. You don’t have to make a shoe that looks like something that already exists in the marketplace to get people to buy it. Get creative enough, and sometimes your thing just sticks on its own.

It’s great to see that happening here.

People Really Do Like Vans Again

I still can’t quite get a read on what’s happening with Vans. Some days, it certainly seems like people can’t get enough of the brand. Other days, it all feels pretty hollow. Thursday’s release of the Satoshi Nakamoto collab with Vans seems to confirm that the former is true. People genuinely like these shoes.

• People were camped out in the streets of New York for these. They literally fought for them. For pairs of Vans, guys. I’ve never seen this happen for Vans.

Is it all real? That’s the key question. We’ll find out more next month when VF Corp. hosts its fourth-quarter earnings call. The numbers were mildly positive last quarter. But you’d hope that, considering how much hype the company has generated lately, there’d be a halo spreading to the rest of the brand from all this. That remains to be seen.

Personally, I think this is real. But if you’re still sceptical, I totally get it.

#TheKicksWeWear

This is the community section of the newsletter where you send me your best fits and kicks from the week. Feel free to send submissions to michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or shoot me a message via social channels @MikeDSykes.

First, the homie Trudy got us started with these Foam Runners. Fun colourway!

Then the homie Sarah kept the Adidas vibes going with these Ultraboosts. We love a steal and a deal!

Then the homie Killa Kow brought out the Sauconys along with baby boy. Love to see this.

Then the homie Jess closed us out with the Vandy Forces. These are SPECIAL.

Good stuff, gang.

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, reach out to me via email at michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or shoot me a message @MikeDSykes via socials.

Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.

-Sykes 💯