Tommy Hilfiger's p Secret Weapon u R S U I T S
70 What have you done for me, philately?
• ' 72"' • David Rockefeller's exceedingly profitable hobby
, ••; . Waging war in California wine country
Never floss again
76 Ali Hajimiri's approach to the camera? Think small
The all-American brand has its mojo back, thanks to Avery Baker's gospel of instant gratification March 12, 2018 By Antonina Jedrzejczak Photograph by Gabriela Herman Edited by Chris Rovzar
Businessweek.com STYLE Bloomberg Pursuits March 12,2018
ommy Hilfiger had the final night other brands were testing similar strate• visitors to the website were there for of February's Milan Fashion gies. "We looked around and said, 'This the first time. T Week all to himself. Inside the industry is changing, the consumer is Any causality between engagement city's Congressi fairgrounds, the design• changing. If we don't get somehow and sales is difficult to establish, but the er's latest big-budget extravaganza sent in front of that we're going to get left company reported $1 billion in revenue models down a racetrack-themed run• behind,'" Baker says. for the third quarter of 2017, up 10 per• way in colorblocked leather pants and Two years later, no brand on the cent from a year earlier. "If just one way crop tops. Nearby, equally eye-catching scale of Tommy Hilfiger-it's a $6.6 bil• of leveraging technology works, try• "mechanics" in helmets and uniforms lion business with 17,000 employees- ing all of them is worth it," says Marc worked on Formula One cars in make• is embracing fashion immediacy with Beckman, the chief executive officer of shift pit crews. such gusto. Michael Kors and Tom Ford advertising agency DMA United. "They It was the fourth and final collection dropped their efforts within a year. really do take risks." co-designed by model-of-the-moment Traditional brands from LVMH Moet More than any data, these efforts Gigi Hadid in a lucrative partnership Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Kering point toward Tommy Hilfiger as a com• that started in the fall of 2016. Like the SA have been skeptical, if not openly pany that's looking to the future. The previous three collections, all of the hostile, to the idea. Meanwhile, Tommy past decade hasn't been kind to Ralph clothes shown in Milan were instantly Hilfiger has gone all-in on the live expe• Lauren, J.Crew, Gap, and other pur• available as part of Tommy Now, the rience, overhauling production and sup• veyors of American nostalgia. Tommy company's "see now, buy now" ini• ply chains to do so. Hilfiger, though, is "an impressive tiative, which erases the standard six- story," says Michael Dart, a partner month wait between the runway and at the management consulting firm retail and allows for something rare: The lessons of the A.T. Kearney and author of Retail's instant gratification. early 2000s are still Seismic Shift. "Other American her• As soon as the show began, savvy itage brands have lost some of their shoppers could order $130 sweat• fresh. "Had I not identity. Tommy's success doesn't feel shirts or a $460 pair of sheer over• like a bubble." alls through the label's website, its gone through that Baker joined the company in 1998, social media accounts, the event live- experience, I might at the height of Tommy mania. In the stream, and TommyNow Snap, an 1990s, the graphic, colorful, slouchy- image-recognition app. Elsewhere, be making different meets-sporty look was adopted by artificial-intelligence-powered chatbots decisions" preppy teenagers in Connecticut as used Facebook Messenger to act as vir• well as Compton, Calif.-raised Snoop tual stylists for thousands of customers. Dogg. Baker was a recent graduate from There was a buzz of interest on every The brand has created big-budget Northwestern University and had spent platform, a far cry from the year 2000, runway affairs such as "Tommy Pier" at a year in Taipei working as a bartender, when the brand's stock plunged 75 per• the South Street Seaport in New York, an English teacher, and an aid to Annette cent in a single quarter. which included tattoo artists and a Ferris Lu, who went on to become the vice Avery Baker remembers that year wheel; "Tommyland," in Los Angeles, president of Taiwan. well. In an airy conference room in the which staged a show on the Venice Her first gig at Tommy Hilfiger was company's New York offices, Hilfiger's Beach boardwalk at an estimated cost overseeing advertising for the kids' longtime lieutenant is eager to take of $7 million; and "Rock Circus," a con• clothing department, and it came with a victory lap. She's dressed in a navy cert at London's Roundhouse, a venue perks. The Backstreet Boys performed blue silk Tommy pajama-style one- that's hosted the likes of the Beatles and at her first office Christmas party. The piece paired with a gold choker. Her Jimi Hendrix. first shoot she went on was with Britney tall frame, tousled blond locks, and These kinds of ventures are typically Spears, whom the brand signed a week ail-American good looks make it easy measured in engagement, and by that before... Baby One More Time launched to imagine her on a runway. But she's criterion, Tommy Now has been a suc• her to stardom. "All of my friends were Tommy's chief brand officer, a title cre• cess. According to Baker, users spend calling saying, 'I can't believe you got a ated for her to reflect the far-reaching an average of five minutes per ses• job at Tommy Hilfiger!'" Baker says. influence she has inside the company. sion on the app, and 87 percent use it By 2000 the good times were over, She directed the launch of Tommy Now again. Social media impressions across as the brand became diluted and over• in February 20l6-"My baby," she calls Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter hit extended. "You can't grab the hip- it-around the same time Burberry 2.6 billion in 2017, up 100 percent from hop kids, the white suburban kids, the Group, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors the previous year; on the day of the middle-aged trendoids, and the celeb• Holdings, Tom Ford International, and Milan show, more than 65 percent of rity Oscar crowd all at the same time," STYLE Bloomberg Pursuits March 12, 2018
Haysun Hahn, then-director of trend youth, and there's something about it GIGI HADID forecasting group Futuremode Inc., told that continues to resonate." The social media the Los Angeles Times that year. In 2006 superstar and As '90s nostalgia sweeps the fash• private equity firm Apax Partners LP model-of-the- ion world, Baker is capitalizing on the moment became the bought the company for $1.6 billion with face of the brand brand's rich archives. Current designs Hilfiger staying on as principal designer. in 2016 such as baggy crewneck sweatshirts But within the brand, Baker's own provide a more grownup take on the stock was soaring. A label's flag motifs and hearken back to Philadelphia native, she LEWIS die days when both TLC and Kate Moss HAMILTON moved to Amsterdam and wore them. She also revived the Tommy A Formula One is based at the company's champion, Hamilton Jeans logo collection that was so popu• headquarters there. As will wear Tommy lar in the '90s. Likewise, logo-printed Hilfiger at races Hilfiger's North American in 2018 waistbands have made a comeback on presence shriveled, she blogs and street-style tastemakers, and helped reposition it abroad, eventually those motifs have been integrated into turning the brand known for its red, new designs. There is still much ground