Lululemon Athletica CEO Calvin McDonald will step down from the company after year where the brand has struggled to against younger rivals like Vuori and Alo and the stock price has dipped nearly 50 percent over the year.
In a call with analysts on Thursday, McDonald admitted a change was needed.
“The timing is right for a change,” McDonald said “I’ve described being CEO of Lululemon as my dream job. It truly has lived up to every expectation and given me the opportunity of a lifetime.”
McDonald will exit on January 31, 2026, but will stay with the company as a senior advisor until March 31. Lululemon’s chief financial officer, Meghan Frank, and chief commercial officer, André Maestrini, will serve as interim co-chief executives while the board of directors searches for McDonald’s replacement.
Lululemon released a formal statment on Thursday alongside its third quarter earnings report as McDonald reflected on his tenure leading the company.
“Serving as CEO of Lululemon has been the highlight of my career, and I am incredibly proud of everything our team has accomplished over the last seven years,” McDonald said. “Together, we have transformed the athletic apparel industry and the opportunity ahead for Lululemon is substantial. I believe the outstanding product pipeline we’ve built, and action plan we’ve put into place, will yield positive results, and deliver value to shareholders in the months and years ahead. I am committed to fully supporting the transition and helping guide our leadership team in my advisory role as they execute against our strategy.”
Lululemon has been a key player in the athleisure segment that it helped fuel in the mid-2010s. The market has since taken on many other challengers in a crowded field that has impacted Lululemon’s ability to remain the de facto leader.
In its third quarter report, the company said while net revenue over the same period was up 7 percent to $2.6 billion, revenue in the Americas net revenue fell 2 percent, while international net revenue rose 33 percent. McDonald said in the report that the company is focusing on boosting it’s efforts in the United States as sales have stalled.
“In the third quarter, our teams remained focused on driving improvements within our U.S. business and maintaining momentum in our international regions,” McDonald said. “We are beginning to make progress against our action plan and continue to expect to see the impact of this work in 2026. As we enter the holiday season, we are encouraged by our early performance, and I would like to thank all our lululemon team members for their hard work and dedication to our guests and communities.”
McDonald has led the Lululemon for seven years but felt increased pressure to navigate a turnaround as the company’s share price continued to fall. In October, Lululemon’s founder Chip Wilson — who has previously criticized how the brand has been managed — openly blasted his former company and McDonald in a full-page advertisement in the The Wall Street Journal, titled “lululemon: in a Nosedive.”
“Lululemon forgot its muse: the woman who inspires culture, not just follows it. By drifting toward the mainstream, and trying to appease everyone, lululemon lost 50% of its market cap earned from ‘brand power’. It lost its edge and with it, the ability to hire the best people,” Wilson said in the advertisement.
Wilson retired as chief innovation and branding officer at Lululemon in 2013 but remained as a board member. He later stepped down after making comments on Bloomberg Television that year about how women’s bodies look in yoga pants.
Shares of Lululemon jumped 10 percent in premarket activity on Friday following the news of McDonald’s departure.
