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Executive Resume Patrick Argenti 176 Main Street Southport, CT 06890 Phone: (914) 414-1000 Email: [email protected]

Leadership Insights and Corporate Objective Turnaround Leadership, Strategic Alliances, Innovative Retailing, Capital Formation, Import/Export Strategies, EBITDA-Driven Tactics, Team Building Dynamic go-getter with a talent for driving accelerated growth and maximizing profitability in today’s marketplace. Exceptional skills in innovation, street savvy decision-making, creativity in merchandising, and identification of exploding market opportunities. Capable of achieving extraordinary turnaround performance and building a winning organization, whether for an existing company owner or through its purchase. Drove an organization from startup to $20 million in two years and over $110 million in ten years. In another organization, took EBITDA from $4 million to over $24 million in three years. Courageous business leader with excellent insights on how to make the right decisions, at the right time, and for all the right reasons.

Professional Experience Silver Miracle, Inc. Bedford, NY

Founder/CEO 1997 to present Developed and perfected the private label concept—passing along great products at great prices to customers who were interested in increased gross margin dollars through private label concepts. Leveraged a design studio and major ties with China to achieve significant gross margin markups. Built an import-export business for Miami Cruise Line Services (MCL). This had been strictly a retail operation that supplied the ships with all kinds of products, including apparel. Designed and merchandised the Glacier Gear and Cote d’Azur branded labels that are still available on 80 percent of the cruise line ships around the world.  Developed a “secret sauce” (see the accomplishment summary entitled “Formulated a ‘Secret Sauce’ to Increase Profitability”) to turn Miami Cruise Line’s business around and drive EBITDA to new levels, as illustrated in the following graph:

Proposed Increased EBITDA

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 Drove MCL’s annual sales to achieve a 30-percent increase; maintained double-digit profitability.  Initiated efforts to negotiate the purchase of MCL, including producing a road show for investors and raising $120 million from the VC community. Patrick Argenti Page 2

Patrick A, Inc. New York, NY

Co-Founder/CEO 1992 to 1996 Pioneered the “vertical concept” (see the accomplishment summary entitled “Leveraged Chinese Partnership to Build a Successful Venture”) by becoming the first New York manufacturer to align with a partner in China in order to be more competitive. Spearheaded product development, sales, and distribution while the Chinese partner handled bank financing, agency fees in Hong Kong, and a complete staff in China. Built this company from ground zero: hired 65 employees, built an exclusive design team, and developed a distribution facility.  Catapulted revenues from zero to $10 million in year one and ultimately to $70 million by year five.  Introduced an exclusive new fabric (30mm silk crepe sandwashed) woven in the outer cities of Shanghai that became the company’s base cloth for silk pantsuits marketed by American retailers.  Negotiated $1 million signing bonus from the Chinese factory.  Profitably negotiated my 45 percent interest into a joint venture partnership.

Argenti, Inc. New York, NY

Co-Founder/CEO 1980 to 1991 Grew this startup company’s revenues from zero to $20 million in two years. Attracted investor partners to fund the startup; bought out all partners by the end of the second year. Built successful alliances with Asian factories and sourced products all over Hong Kong and China. Introduced a unique new concept called “magical price points” (see accomplishment summary entitled “Built ‘Magical Price Point’ Concept to Catapult Sales”), selling high- quality silk dresses at competitive price points initially rather than waiting for a sale, giving the value to the consumer up front. This entailed negotiating a highly competitive cost price (landed duty paid) in exchange for keeping the factories busy 12 months out of the year.  Built company from ground zero to $120 million in sales, including $20 million in international sales.

Domestic and International Sales

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 Delivered a 600 percent return on investment and a 37 percent EBITDA to the original investors; maintained high profitability for all years of operation.  Established impeccable banking relationships with leaders and investors worldwide. Negotiated tens of millions of dollars in letters of credit.  Launched major advertising campaign featured in NY Times magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and Glamour, making Argenti a recognizable branded label.  Placed products with more than 500 retailers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and South America, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, Marshall Fields, Harrod’s of London, Gallerie Lafayette in Paris, and Hudson Bay Stores in Vancouver Canada. Patrick Argenti Page 3

Education  Fordham University, NYC, Business Management 1971-1973.

Community Activities  Co-founder and board member of the Mt. Sinai Heart Research Foundation in 1986. Prolific fundraiser—the Foundation built a new state-of-the-art heart wing at the Annenberg Building at Mt. Sinai Hospital for Dr. Valentin Fuster and his staff.  Sponsored a program at Sloane Kettering Hospital that provided sick children and their families with vacations to Disney World; a different family went each month. For the children who were too ill to make the trip, VCRs were provided in those rooms so the families could watch Disney movies together.  Active participant in raising millions of dollar for Juvenile Diabetes from 1983 to 1991.  Received “Man of the Year” awards three years running for raising and donating large sums of money for immune diseases and the Aids Virus from Denver Jewish Hospital.  Honorary board member of and donator to Phoenix House, an adolescent drug rehab center.  Contributed to and raised money for many other causes such as the UJA Foundation, the Deaf Children’s Foundation, and a $10,000 prize to a fireman who swam across the Hudson River to New Jersey—he donated his winnings to a Children’s hospital in Westchester.

Publications  New York Times magazine insert featuring Argenti’s nationwide magazine ads.  Several Women’s Wear Daily articles written about Argenti, Inc. and Pat Argenti. Key Accomplishment Summary Patrick Argenti

Built “Magical Price Point” Concept to Catapult Sales

Situation: Competition was fierce; American retailers were desirous of doing business directly with the factories to achieve a higher gross profit margin. As a wholesaler, Argenti Inc. was in danger of losing a large portion of its business if retailers were successful. It would require bringing extraordinary quality and providing pricing that was competitive with the factories to survive and thrive in the marketplace.

Action Plan:  Traveled to China extensively for many years to negotiate excellent prices and search out distinctive fabrics.  Developed a new fabric called silk jacquard that was manufactured in little towns and villages all over China and sold exclusively by Argenti.  Introduced the exclusive jacquard into Argenti’s collection and featured it in a nationwide advertising campaign to create demand.  Launched a campaign to attract partners; negotiated investment agreements.  Provided leadership by example for all key employees, demonstrating a powerful work ethic that became contagious in the workplace. Built a staff that was focused, dedicated, and hardworking.  Retained key staff members with an extensive compensation plan. Employees were paid salaries that exceeded industry standards; vacations and bonuses were far beyond those offered by other companies. Sales contests were rewarded with fully-paid vacations for the winners.  Fostered customer convenience by keeping the showroom open six days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Key staff members were there all day and dinner was provided for them every night. Employees were viewed and treated as family.  Developed a price point system that drew retailers and forced them to give Argenti all their business because they couldn’t compete with price points and quality.

Results: The magical price point concept results were astronomical. Volume and profits skyrocketed for the next ten years. Upon implementation of the magical price points concept, sales were at $20 million. Sales volume increased by $10 to $15 million per year, until annual revenues reached $120, which included international sales of $20 million. During this same period, EBITDA jumped from $850,000 to $9 million. Key Accomplishment Summary Patrick Argenti

Leveraged Chinese Partnership to Build a Successful Venture

Situation: Things were changing rapidly in the apparel industry. “Magical price points” were no longer working. Stores were merging, business was getting tougher, and it was a record-breaking year for retailers in bankruptcy. It became apparent that the business model had to change to foster growth in the industry. A partnership seemed to hold the answer, providing the company with much-needed financial security and back-office support, freeing up time for product development and merchandising freedom.

Action Plan:  Approached by a Chinese company to create a new design and form an alliance. Turned the alliance idea around and proposed a joint venture opportunity; negotiated favorable partnership terms for both parties, including a $1 million “signing bonus” for myself.  Created a new fabric called 30mm crepe silk used to make exclusive silk pantsuits marketed by American retailers.  Executed a groundbreaking plan to merchandise the new pantsuits out of a dress department. This had never been done before. It promoted the concept that the pantsuits were acceptable substitutes for dresses and altered the public’s perception of what was dressy.  Established corporate offices in New York to handle sales, design, and the overall direction of the company and in Hong Kong for execution, production, quality, and fabric weaving.  Hired 65 employees, set up department heads and developed a design studio in New York.  After its initial success, negotiated 45 percent ownership of stock.  Sold the venture in just five years, yielding millions in profit.

Results: Grew the company from ground zero to $10 million in year one to $70 million by year five. Drove EBITDA from zero to $1 million in the first year and over $3.5 million by the fifth year. Achieved and maintained double-digit profitability over the entire five-year period. Chinese factory production increased by 20 percent. The fabric concept drove revenues and the factory is continuing to produce it for stores all over the country. After the sale of the venture, the factories continued to grow revenues to $200 million in global sales and design, and partnered with others around the world to create a tremendous public company that still exists on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Revenue Increases

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0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Key Accomplishment Summary Patrick Argenti

Formulated “Secret Sauce” to Increase Profitability

Situation: Miami Cruise Line Services (MCL) provided all kinds of products from liquor, tobacco, and apparel to 80 percent of the cruise ships in the world. MCL had operated for 45 years as a strictly retail operation, aligning itself with suppliers to produce its merchandise. This venture was yielding a low profit margin after paying commissions to the cruise lines. Devised a strategic plan that would help MCL to drastically improve its profit margin by changing the way it did business.

Action Plan:  Silver Miracle, Inc. served as a key vendor for MCL using the private label concept.  Developed a plan to eliminate all vendors and created a new sourcing model that was called the “secret sauce.”  Designed a new formula for the organization’s restructure.  Created a strategy for reengineering merchandising initiatives.  Proposed the elimination of a 45-year-old strategy that was stale and the implementation of an import-export concept that was recognized as the “secret sauce” in the investment banking community.  Formed a new company for the express purpose of approaching MCL’s owners to negotiate its purchase. Initiated a road show to attract investors and raised $120 million from the VC community.

Results: Catapulted MCL’s revenues by $10 million in two years. Sales increased by 30 percent; Silver Miracle delivered a 72 percent gross profit margin, exceeding that of any other vendor. If MCL’s owners had implemented the import- export concept, projected results were $7 million in EBITDA in year one, $9 million in year two, and $11 million in year three. Executive Insights Patrick Argenti

Achieving Success in the Import-Export Business

Sourcing Proper sourcing is crucial in the import-export business. It requires diligent effort in building strong, long-term relationships in many other countries, including Bangladesh, Vietnam, Northern Africa, Thailand, Istanbul, Korea, Japan and many regions within China. This gives the advantage of being able to cross-reference first-cost prices. Once the customer’s needs are established, utilizing this network of alliances will result in building that product for the best price and best quality for that customer.

International Relationships Developing relationships with other business-savvy individuals in different parts of the world can be challenging. Each culture has its own customs and ideas about how business should be done and with whom. It is vital to study and absorb the business concepts and principles of each culture and practice them effectively to gain respect and successfully build international partnerships and business relationships.

China—Our Future China can be the doorway to building relationships in other countries. It has a modern textile and apparel infrastructure—it is the world’s leader in cotton and polyester yarn supply and has access to the best world sourcing. China is noted for having a long history of skilled apparel workmanship with low cost management. The formation of an alliance in China also allows the leveraging of its contacts in other countries to form new relationships.

Design and Merchandising “Artistic” skills, such as sketching and painting, are not necessary to accomplish design success. What is crucial is the ability to come up with the next great idea to move the business forward. An idea born from watching fashions while sitting in a Paris café turned into a $70 million dollar business. This idea was conveyed to the design studio in terms of colors and fabrics for the next year’s season. The concept was furthered by applying a silk jacquard fabric that had been around for centuries to the new application in a specific fashion idea, which yielded $120 million in revenues. This is true merchandising!

Problem Solving Turning “problems” into “challenges” can make all the difference, whether they are production delays, employee problems, design problems, banking errors, customer demands, or about a hundred other problems. Meeting a challenge head-on and hands-on can be as simple as cutting through the muck and mire, making a decision, sticking with it, and moving on to the next problem. Leading by example can train all key players to attack, improvise, solve the problem at hand, and continue to “move the ball up the field.”

Work Ethic/Attitude Most folks think they work hard. But many don’t have a clue about the commitment of giving 100 percent and then some to make a business profitable. The Chinese teach that “the fish stinks from the head down.” Leaders must lead by example. They must be the first ones in the morning and the last ones to leave. They must be positive, strong and have tremendous passion for what they do. Exhibiting all these qualities can inspire employees to develop these same qualities and build a commitment to the company’s profit.

Experience and Expertise Expertise and experience can build confidence and the ability to cross over into other industries. When an individual achieves success in one industry, his/her knowledge acquired can facilitate the next “great idea” that would benefit other businesses in other industries. Success breeds the tendency to keep one’s eyes and ears open to almost anything.