The Reason That Chip Wilson Plunged Lululemon Into Crisis

Analysis The reason that Chip Wilson plunged Lululemon into crisis again is because of three major issues: lack of media training as a spokesperson, lack of comprehensive crisis management plan in the company, and failure of internal communication. First of all, spokesperson media training is part of crisis preparation. In this case, lacking media training includes training for a TV interview and training for filming a video apology. Prior to Chip Wilson’s interview with Bloomberg TV, managers from the PR department should have conducted a comprehensive media training to Wilson. Topics cover from diagnosing company’s vulnerabilities, to preparing for difficult questions, to how to utilize chances to re-enhance the company’s image, and how to risk-averse after a major crisis. As Wilson’s answer caused another crisis, I assume that he was not ready to answer the questions of sheer pants recall, nor he was ever participated in any media training at all. Erik Bernstein who runs a crisis management blog noted that some people should never act as spokesperson. In fact, what surprised me was that as a company’s founder and chairman of board, it was Chip Wilson’s responsibility to have a general knowledge about the crisis and what caused the crisis and what procedures they have taken to solve the crisis. Even though he was never prepared for those questions beforehand, answers such as â€Å"women’s bodies don’t fit its pants† should have never came up. This crisis could have been