Former Lululemon CEO Late-Shames New York Times Reporter and Believes in ‘Jewish Standard Time’

Image by YouTube

By Maia Efrem February 3, 2016

Just when you thought you could not be more annoyed with every word to come out of Chip Wilson’s mouth, the former Lululemon CEO proves you wrong.

The ousted founder of the powerhouse behind the pricey athleisure-wear brand has never been one to mince words, care about political correctness or even give a damn for basic human decency. And if there’s anything he knows, it’s what kind of people he does not want walking around in his clothes: the .

So when an apologetic Katie Rosman, a Jewish New York Times reporter writing a profile of him and his new apparel company Ace and Kit, showed up 15 minutes late to a meeting with Wilson and eight of his employees, he proceeded to deliberately humiliate her in front of everyone.

“If he were 15 minutes late to a [design] meeting, he went on to explain, the designers might get the idea that it’s acceptable to deliver to the production department a bit past deadline. Then? The product would arrive late at the stores, which could lead to items ending up on the clearance rack. ‘If we’re selling the product at a discount,’ he said, ‘there is less money to market the product. If there is less money to market the product, then a different type of customer than the one we’re seeking will come into the store. There will be less money to put into the product’s quality and, ultimately, less profit. The whole system falls apart. It’s fascinating.’”

“’Now we know,’” Wilson added, ‘that when we have breakfast with Katie, we don’t really have to be there when we say we will be there.’”

When an Ace and Kit publicist tried to disarm the situation, saying she often arrives late for cocktails and meals, Wilson put his foot in his mouth, “Jewish Standard Time,” he said in reply. “It’s showing you didn’t respect your friends’ time.”

Rosman tweeted that it was quite an experience.

In my years of reporting, I’ve never quite had an experience like being late-shamed by Lululemon founder Chip Wilson https://t.co/jO0iKkdRuO

— katie rosman (@katierosman) February 2, 2016

Wilson is probably the first one to arrive at weddings, there’s never any Manhattan traffic blocking his car and the school bus was never late to pick up his kids in the morning. Must be nice.

Maia Efrem is the former research editor and assistant to the editor and was also responsible for the Forward’s annual Salary Survey. Previously she served as the editor of Blognik Beat, a blog written by students who emigrated from or have ties to the Former Soviet Union. Maia is a graduate of Hunter College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO