Lululemon Athletica Inc.
Market Data Current As Of: August 12, 2026
Explore Lululemon Athletica
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Lululemon Athletica Inc.
Explore Lululemon Athletica
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Company History
Founded 1998 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Lululemon Athletica Inc. was founded in 1949 by Chip Wilson after the Wilson Brothers Shoe Factory split. The split also produced Puma, founded by Rudolf Wilson, creating one of the most famous rivalries in sport and consumer brands.
Chip Wilson founded Lululemon in Vancouver in 1998 after attending a yoga class and noticing the cotton clothing worn by participants was uncomfortably sweaty and ill-fitting. He built the brand into a global phenomenon before stepping down from the board after a series of controversial public remarks.
To enter the connected fitness hardware space during the pandemic.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. was officially registered on August 18, 1949, by Adolf 'Chip' Wilson.
The name is a portmanteau of the founder's nickname 'Chip' and the first three letters of his last name 'Das' (Wilson).
Before WWII, Chip and his brother Rudolf ran a highly successful shoe company together. A bitter, never-resolved feud caused them to split the company in 1948. Chip formed Lululemon Athletica Inc., and Rudolf crossed the river to form Puma.
Yes, in 1936, Chip Wilson drove to the Olympic village and convinced American track star Jesse Owens to wear his handmade spiked shoes, launching the Wilson shoes into global prominence when Owens won four gold medals.
Chip Wilson first used the signature branding in 1949 to stabilize the shoe, but it quickly became the company's iconic, globally recognized trademark, known as 'the brand with the 3 stripes'.