Analysts: Former Ralph Lauren CEO lead candidate for top spot at Lululemon
Is Stefan Larsson poised to return to the retail arena?
The surprising departure of Laurent Potdevin as CEO of Lululemon Athletica Inc. will result in the return of a former star to the retail scene.
“In our view, the lead candidate is Stefan Larsson, the former CEO of Ralph Lauren,” Canaccord Genuity analysts led by Camilo Lyon wrote in a report. “Mr. Larsson’s one-year non-compete ends on May 1, 2018.”
Larsson took the reins at Ralph Lauren Corp.in November 2015, and left the company after less than two years on the job following creative disagreements with company founder Ralph Lauren. He arrived at Lauren from Gap Inc., where he served as global president of Old Navy. Prior to that, he was with fast-fashion giant H&M, which he is credited with helping to turn into a global retail powerhouse.
In its report, Canaccord said it expected Glen Murphy, who has been given the newly expanded role of executive chairman of Lululemon, to play an active role in the brand’s hunt for a new CEO. It noted that Larsson’s tenure at Old Navy occurred while Murphy was CEO of Gap Inc.
The Canaccord analysts said that while the root cause of Potdevine’s departure was not explicitly stated, Lululemon noted that he fell short of meeting the highest levels of integrity and respect for one another.
“Judging by this specific language, we can only assume there were claims of inappropriate behavior,” the analysts wrote. “To the board's credit, it appears that it has moved quickly to quarantine any public fallout that could have ensued if details were to have been made public.”
The surprising departure of Laurent Potdevin as CEO of Lululemon Athletica Inc. will result in the return of a former star to the retail scene.
“In our view, the lead candidate is Stefan Larsson, the former CEO of Ralph Lauren,” Canaccord Genuity analysts led by Camilo Lyon wrote in a report. “Mr. Larsson’s one-year non-compete ends on May 1, 2018.”
Larsson took the reins at Ralph Lauren Corp.in November 2015, and left the company after less than two years on the job following creative disagreements with company founder Ralph Lauren. He arrived at Lauren from Gap Inc., where he served as global president of Old Navy. Prior to that, he was with fast-fashion giant H&M, which he is credited with helping to turn into a global retail powerhouse.
In its report, Canaccord said it expected Glen Murphy, who has been given the newly expanded role of executive chairman of Lululemon, to play an active role in the brand’s hunt for a new CEO. It noted that Larsson’s tenure at Old Navy occurred while Murphy was CEO of Gap Inc.
The Canaccord analysts said that while the root cause of Potdevine’s departure was not explicitly stated, Lululemon noted that he fell short of meeting the highest levels of integrity and respect for one another.
“Judging by this specific language, we can only assume there were claims of inappropriate behavior,” the analysts wrote. “To the board's credit, it appears that it has moved quickly to quarantine any public fallout that could have ensued if details were to have been made public.”