Tommy hilfiger captured the American spirit better than anyone else. His clothing and perfume series have won him many followers, from young people who like hip-hop music to bankers on Wall Street.
Tommy hilfiger made a lot of money, witnessed the decline of business and experienced the whole process of brand from decline to revival. Today, TommyHilfiger is not only a local brand in the United States, but the trend of globalization pushes it to Europe and the world. However, in any case, Hilfe is still full of enthusiasm, just like yesterday.
Round Mountain Road is located in Greenwich, Connecticut. The newly-built apartments on both sides of the road are considerate, not only living comfortably, but also looking comfortable. They are all armed-security system, lighting system, irrigation system, vacuum dust collection system and entertainment system. Strangers who are new here can enjoy this extraordinary atmosphere of living and working in peace and contentment on the road around the mountains without looking twice. Some of these houses may have some troubles, and there will always be some places in the world where there will be troubles-debt disputes or unhappy marriages-nevertheless, the appearance of the mountain road around the ring is worthy of a vivid picture of a new rich, and it can be said that owning an industry here is one of the necessary conditions for becoming a new rich. The wealth they hold is different from the wealth they built in Newport and Houston in those years. You can hardly associate them with dangerous industries such as mining or oil industry. Such a pseudo-French manor itself may make people think, but it will never remind you of any words related to danger or daydreaming-at least on the way around the mountain.
The door opened slowly. In the new residence around the mountain road in tommy hilfiger, the designer himself and his fiancee Di Okrebo are preparing dinner in the kitchen. Hilfe Ge made a fortune in the stock bull market in1990s, and became the first fashion designer to list his company on the new york Stock Exchange in that era. His previous marriage lasted for 20 years and brought him four children. Not long ago, he divorced his first wife, Susie, who continued to live in this 25-acre mansion, which was filled with furniture and other decorations bought by the couple from the auction house in peacetime and once belonged to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Hilfe also has a holiday villa named Palm Beach on Mogadishu Island, which is adjacent to mick jagger's villa.
Besides being single again, a series of things happened in Hilfe after the divorce. One of them is that people are less and less interested in his brand. His long-term partners Silas Zhou and Lawrence Steller decided to put the past behind them and move on. In 2006, a private equity company named Apax Partners, led by Fred Gehring, head of the European office in tommy hilfiger, was established and acquired Hilfiger Company for/kloc-0.6 billion US dollars. This change not only caused the change of the head-Dutch Goering became the president of the company-but also changed the design direction of the brand. For many years to come, this will be one of the lucky cases that will be hotly discussed in business school classes. Tommy is back to his best-but this time the main battlefield has become Europe.
Tommy hilfiger's clothing style may be regarded by some people as a portrayal of the ideal American-he dresses appropriately in all weather conditions, has a happy family, is generous, works hard and has a slightly dull personality. Now this image has been transformed into a European. Hilfe is in Europe most of the time now. In fact, as early as 1990, his company had sponsored many Formula One teams and the Rolling Stones Tour, so it was not surprising to see him in Cannes. At first, his partner stroll brought him into the European racing enthusiast community. Many Americans experienced and accepted the naive attitude of Europeans in Monaco, and so did Hilfe. He once recalled his boyhood in a modeling book named AllAmerican edited by him. "I don't really understand the games of those rich people." He admitted it. However, when he entered 1987 and strolled around the company, everything seemed perfect. A former employee of a company said, "I think Tommy gained his taste in his early trip to London, but he should prefer the rock style. Silas and Lawrence have a small' Formatted Saville Street'. They all show respect for quality: drink the best vodka, smoke the best cigars and have a decadent lifestyle. "
In 2005, Hilfe and a group of friends rented a boat and wandered in the south of France. He met his fiancee Okleibo on the beach in San Tropet. Ocleppo is an American who grew up in Rhode Island, aged 4 1 year. This beautiful blonde has lived in Monaco for more than ten years and married Italian tennis player Gianni Ocleppo, who gave birth to two sons. It is said that she is famous in Monaco. "She and Prince Albert II are good friends," said NicholasFrankl, a friend who has known Okleibo for 10 years. "In Monaco, many people have close personal relationships with her. She is part of a small group. " When Hilfe and two others went to see Okleibo, she was sitting on the beach with her two sons. They only gave her a nickname and wanted to invite her to the party that night, but she was turned down.
Hilfe changed her strategy, got her mobile phone number and gave her full name on the phone. He also said that she could take her son with her if she wanted, adding, "I have a chef who can cook fried chicken fillet." Thus began a romance. In February 2008, Okrebo wore an engagement ring with a big diamond. In June, Estee Lauder's boss leonard lauder and his wife held a party. Anna wintour, former editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Clive Davis, producer of ace music, producer of hip-hop music, Russell Simmons, owner of PhatFarm clothing brand, and Donald Newhouse, a media tycoon, all attended. At this party, Hilfiger and Ocleppo announced that they would get married in Mogadishu Island in August. Unfortunately, the wedding was cancelled at the last minute, and newspapers and magazines spread rumors that the prenuptial agreement had hit a bottleneck.
A short cobblestone avenue extends from the gate of Hilfe's new house to the front of the big house in the Georgian period. The front door was bathed in sunshine. Hilfiger himself is staying in the library, fiddling with the firewood in the fireplace. The room decorated with partitions looks warm and comfortable. There is a cracked leather sofa and a leopard-print armchair in the room. The bottle of Montrachet wine on the coffee table has been opened.
Above the mantel hangs a picture of Liz Taylor's andy warhol. Hilfe, wearing jeans and a button-down shirt, was obviously satisfied with his fire and comfortable atmosphere. Okleibo stood behind the sofa, the sleeves of his black sweater rolled up to his elbows. She said she wanted to know if the room was a little too hot. They briefly exchanged glances, then Ocleppo went over and opened a door leading to the terrace, while Hilfe sat in an armchair, picked up his red wine glass, and casually mentioned the music that the whole house could hear. "I hope you don't mind listening to the Beatles all night." He said.
At home, Hilfe is very relaxed. As long as there is a little excitement, he will jump up and imitate his friend karl lagerfeld until Okleibo speaks softly to stop him-she must have witnessed this trick many times. Hilfe, 57, is friendly and considerate, but he always seems to be a little clumsy because he feels embarrassed in small talk. To put it simply, he is somewhat constrained by his own memory. It seems that when he narrates his life, he is not thinking seriously, nor is he choosing the facts. Everything just comes out of his mouth. I'm afraid this is the result of repeated training as a celebrity for many years. 1985, at the age of 34, he decided to put his name on the bulletin board in Times Square, but he declared himself to be one of the four largest men's wear designers in the United States in obscurity. At that time, the fashion world could not help laughing. But Hilfe is half jealous, he said, so what? Compared with the competitor's comments, there is nothing worse. Russell Simmons said, "People are always a little snobbish about him. But he knows the customer base better than themselves. " Simmons was sponsored by Hilfe Geiger in the early days when he founded the PhatFarm brand.
Besides, Hilfe never claimed to be a genius. What he wants to do is to get rid of Ralph Lauren's old-fashioned rich style, make his clothes looser and let young city people wear fashionable clothes. This is exactly what he did with his friends. "We don't want to take fashion too seriously," said Joel Holovitz, his earliest partner. "This will be very interesting. For us, this is a profitable thing. "
Hilfe's personality is also part of the reason why he can make a lot of money. He is open-minded, trusts everyone and is not arrogant at all. Goering said: "If he is a little conceited, it is absolutely minimal." He added: "Business is good and bad, but I have never seen him in a bad mood." Hilfe was born in Elmira, new york. His father is a jeweler, his mother is a nurse, and there are eight children in the family besides him. He is the second child-this may explain the origin of his nature of getting along with people. 18 years old, opened the first store, specializing in bell bottoms and incense. "He has great enthusiasm." John Yunis, his friend in Elmira, recalled, "He told me what people in southern France wear and what they look like. Tommy is good at netting people. " He trusted his shareholders, who didn't do anything that made people suspect that they would embezzle the company's oil. Hilfiger recalled 1995, and Zhou suggested that shareholders say, "Let's make Tommy jeans." The so-called designer cowboy brand originated here. At the same time, Zhou also pointed out: "We know nothing about making jeans. It is better to buy a cowboy company. " They bought Pepe jeans in London for 1 100 million dollars, and Goering was in charge of this business, integrating Tommy's brand characteristics into the whole denim production process. Tommy jeans quickly grew into a brand with a market value of 500 million dollars. "Then we'll sell it." Hilfe said, "Silas Shu does this kind of financial work."
Goering himself can also be regarded as an asset. At first, he worked with Zhou in a polo company in Europe, and later he married an American girl. 1In the late 1990s, when Hilfiger's preppie and hip-hop customers gradually left him, Gehring began to develop the brand's business in Europe. Although the Internet has made globalization common sense, he knows that the difference between Americans and Europeans is as big as Henry James in the19th century. The key to the American market is concentration-stacking as many goods as possible on the counters of department stores; The key to the European market is decentralization-providing small retail stores with products that can accurately cater to those customers with mature tastes. In Europe alone, Hilfiger has set up 5,000 sales outlets, many of which are small shops selling selected goods. In addition, the differences between different regions are also obvious. What Germans like, Spaniards don't necessarily like. "No matter who he is, if he thinks he can get along here with that old brand marketing point of view, he will definitely stumble." Green said, "Your way of thinking must become very localized." Today, the company is headquartered in Amsterdam, and all the design and sales work is undertaken by a team of 65,438+000 people stationed here, including 27 different nationalities. The new york-based design team specially designed a special collection for Macy's-clues that echoed the design of the Amsterdam team can still be seen from this series. Hilfe Ge, who has signed a lifetime contract with the brand, continues to play the role of spokesperson. At the same time, he is also one of the major shareholders of the company, and often travels to various places by his own private jet to participate in the opening ceremony and various brand activities. The new organization seems to be working well.
Last autumn, the company announced that as of September 2008, its sales figures increased by 30.5 percentage points in half a year, of which the US market increased by nearly 65,438+07 percentage points.
Dinner was set in the kitchen, and Okrebo made steak and French fries. This weekend, she may have attended the opening ceremony of Macy's new store in New Orleans with Hilfiger, and her stomach was full of Louisiana local dishes. In her words, "everything blew up." So, they are together again. Hilfe seems a little afraid that their wedding in August will be cancelled, but Okleibo is not nervous at all-even relaxed. She said that things were complicated at one time because her two sons, one is 1 1 and the other is 13, are now leaving her to live in Italy with their father. Although she said it was better for them, she seemed to convince herself. Then she suddenly said, "That summer was terrible." They had a big fight, but after that, although they decided to continue the relationship, other plans were shelved. "We will get married one day." Hilfe looked at Mr Leibo said.
He is very relaxed and happy now. Before nightfall, he suggested that everyone visit his basement-he has a screening room, a gym, a small basketball court and a lot of rock music photos of1960s and1970s. Most of these photos were taken at concerts at that time, and many of them featured the Rolling Stones, but mick jagger, who is now Hilfiger's neighbor and friend, appeared the most. His huge face appeared on a wall next to John Lennon. When you first see this dazzling pile of rock idols, you will think that you have come to a teenager's dormitory, but the high-end collection is far beyond the reach of ordinary middle school students. It's a bit silly for a man who has achieved great success to worship another adult so much. But when you think about it, this room, as well as all other parts of this mansion around the mountain road, all reflect the two sides of Hilfe's case. Perhaps it was this rash enthusiasm that made him great. Compared with the caution of others, everything about him can be made public for everyone to judge. No, he hasn't changed, not at all.