Dive Brief:

• Lululemon Athletica’s founder Chip Wilson is reportedly exploring taking the company private, sources have told the Wall Street Journal.

• Wilson is a director with a 27% stake in the company. He was CEO until 2005 and chairman of the board until last year.

• Wilson has recently made moves to regain more control of the company, voting against three board members last month in protest against the company’s direction.

Dive Insight:

Plenty of observers have placed a lot of the blame for Lululemon Athletica’s troubles on the shoulders of founder Dennis “Chip” Wilson. But without him at the helm, the retailer has continued to struggle to right itself in the face of intense competition in the high-end activewear sector it had led for so long. Wilson’s earlier expression of frustration with the company’s board of directors and these talks show that he’s serious about having greater influence over the company’s director. How likely a buyout of the company is remains to be seen.