Yvon Chouinard has always been an atypical entrepreneur. It will be so even in his succession. At 83, the founder of the American outdoor clothing brand Patagonia announced on Wednesday September 14 that he had transferred 100% of the capital of his company and his voting rights to two structures responsible for ” Protect the planet “mission endorsed by the company since 2018.
In a letter addressed to its 3,650 employees, the one who “never wanted to be a businessman” proclaim that “Earth is now the one and only shareholder of Patagonia”. To succeed him in the capital, this convinced environmental activist has imagined his own model, ruling out the option of a sale followed by a donation of the money thus collected, or the project of an IPO. In his eyes, the first solution did not offer the guarantee “that the new owner maintains [ses] values and keeps employees employed all over the world”.
The second would have been a “disaster”since, according to him, “Any listed company, despite its good resolutions, is under pressure to create short-term gains”. So he had to take another path. The capital of the company, whose annual sales exceed 1 billion dollars (993 million euros), is now held up to 98% by the Hold Fast Collective and 2% by the Patagonia Purpose Trust. The first structure reaps the dividends attached to its shares. The second, which has 100% of the voting rights, decides on their allocation.
Comprised of board members, and soon to be experts and advisors, the Patagonia Purpose Trust has the “responsible for ensuring that the intentions of its founder are respected and for continuing to demonstrate (…) that capitalism can work for the planet”, specifies the company by press release. As such, it will decide on the amounts of dividends allocated to the company’s investments. The rest will be entirely distributed to associations “who are fighting against the climate crisis”.
Model for social and environmental responsibility
Patagonia is considered a pioneer by all those who advocate for corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSR). The brand was born from Mr. Chouinard’s old passion for climbing, especially in Yosemite National Park (California). In the 1950s, he first made his own steel pitons and, in the back of his car, sold them to climbers in order to finance his hobby.
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