Lululemon’s New CEO Admits: “We Let Down Our Guest A Little”

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Nothing gets a company really thinking about its past customer slights like disappointing sales numbers, huh? After Lululemon’s quarterly same store sales took a dip for the first time since 2009, its new CEO says the brand has a bit of work to do restoring customers’ faith.

CEO Laurent Potdevin is on the job in the aftermath of that whole “Bend Over To See If Your Pants Are Too See-Through And Maybe It’s Your Fault For Wearing The Wrong Size, Fatty” thing.

He’s busy cleaning up messes made by former CEO Christine Day after she resigned, and is also working on smoothing things over after comments from the recently departed (from the company, not this mortal coil) founder Chip Wilson. He’s the one who made sure to mention that the “rubbing of the thighs” might not make the pants right for some bodies.

Potdevin told CNBC that Lululemon has at this point “let down our guest a little” by failing to innovate the product, which could also be translated as, “messing up that Luon fabric really ticked people off and maybe kept them from buying stuff.”

“When a brand gets an attack, there’s a defensiveness that can look like arrogance, but there’s no arrogance here,” said Potdevin, formerly of TOMS Shoes. “We’re working with humility and a focus on being inclusive.”

Wait, you mean you think everyone should be able to wear super expensive black yoga pants? What an interesting idea.

“Lululemon lost its voice and it stopped sharing what it stands for and how it gives back to the community—we’re working on changing that,” he added.

We ‘let down our guest a little’: Lululemon CEO [CNBC]