STYLE
BIG BUSINESS
I N FLU ENCER
The Man at the Top
PVH Chairman and CEO Manny Chirico sits at the top o the o pan responsi le or the nan ial s esses o al in lein and o il ger BY RENEE LUCAS HORAN
C
alvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger are household names with global recognition and mass appeal, cutting across generations and social classes with their iconic marketing campaigns, quality goods and on-brand messaging. At the top sits Emanuel Chirico, chairman and CEO of Calvin and Tommy’s parent company PVH—which earned $8.2 billion in 2016 alone. Chirico has put in over 20 years at PVH, taking over as chairman and CEO in 2007. Since then, he’s seen the retail powerhouse through multiple evolutions, most notably the acquisitions of Tommy Hilfiger in 2010 and Warnaco in 2013 (Calvin Klein was acquired in 2003). Thanks to his financial savvy and ability to orchestrate winning business transactions, PVH is a retail, wholesale and licensing conglomerate covering all major global markets—a long way from the company’s 1881 beginnings, when it was known as Philip Van Heusen. While most consumers may recognize PVH by its iconic marketing campaigns, which have featured everyone from Brooke Shields to Justin Bieber, it’s the behind-the-scenes culture that distinguishes the company. “PVH was always a place where the financial person sat next to the business leader. In this industry, the way you get in trouble is with great ideas that don’t make financial sense or haven’t been fully financially vetted,” Chirico told DuJour at his Manhattan office this fall. “That’s always been a premise of the company and we’ve kept that going. We strive to make sure that the business leaders sit next to financial partners, that they make the decisions together and understand the balance. Being a public company, our first responsibility is to the people who own the company; giving them the appropriate
financial return and protecting the business.” A critical task during Chirico’s time at the company has been adapting to the way people shop. “It can’t be what it was 10 years ago with big shops with hard walls and product and posters. Today its much more digital, it’s much more connected,” he says. “You want them to spend time with your brand. They then create an emotional connection with it, and there’s a comfort level with going back to the brand.” In regards to the legacy brands’ celebrity endorsements and headline-grabbing campaigns, Chirico says that’s only part of the equation. “Lightening strikes when lightening strikes, and you can have these magic moments in a brand’s life,” says Chirico, citing Calvin Klein’s partnerships with Shields, Bieber, Marky Mark, and Kendall Jenner, as well as Gigi Hadid’s partnership with Tommy Hilfiger. “But you can’t count on that every year—it just doesn’t work that way. That’s why when you have something that really works, you must ask whether you can keep it going. And if it does have legs, how much can you drive it and still be fresh with the customer?” As PVH looks toward 2018, they will soon announce new strategic partnerships for the spring that will undoubtedly bolster PVH—with Chirico at the helm—for the future. While he controls the company, and puts trust in the brand managers, Chirico ultimately leaves it up to consumers to determine the brand’s cultural impact. “Will there be magic moments like there were with Brooke Shields or Justin Bieber? I don’t know,” he says. “The consumer decides that.”
Jane Hertzmark Hudis in her New York City off ice Manny Chirico is the businessman behind successful brands like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfi ger
Beauty Queen
Estée Lauder Group President Jane Hertzmark Hudis is the woman r nning o r a orite os eti lines
36 DUJOUR
J P H O T O BY J O H N M I D G L E Y
T O M M Y H I L F I G E R S H O W : N I K L A S H A L L E ’ N / A F P /G E T T Y I M AG E S . M A N N Y C H I R I C O : GA RY G E R S H O F F / W I R E I M AG E
BY RACHEL BARBER
ane Hertzmark Hudis, group president of Estée Lauder, is fascinated by storytelling. As she describes her business strategies for the eight brands she oversees globally—that’s Estée Lauder, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Aerin, Origins, Aveda, Darphin and Bumble and bumble—she talks about each as if they’re a person with an individual story to tell. “Each has their own DNA, their own point of view,” she says excitedly, “their own identity and purpose.” As group president, a main part of Hudis’s job is to be both a storyteller, making sure each brand’s story is communicated correctly, and a listener, being attuned to the consumer’s story to better understand her needs. In order to discover what that consumer wants, Hudis dedicates herself to seeking out her story, constantly travelling to connect with beauty users around the globe. With her brands available in over 150 countries, Hudis recognizes that each potential buyer comes with her own unique perspective. “The way we connect,” she explains, “what consumers are interested in, is
STYLE
different in every single country in the world.” While one woman in the United States may end her day with a routine involving one or two skincare products, a woman in China might use seven or eight. “There’s a connection that all women have, all over the world, and that’s the language of being a woman,” she says, “but the tailoring of this to each country is critical. Storytelling is king—or should I say queen?” she laughs. The age of social media is the perfect time for a storyteller to be at Estée Lauder’s helm. Hudis seems partial to Instagram for this. “You can be in Russia and know what’s happening in New York. You can be in Paris and know what’s happening in Dubai. It’s the great connector,” she says. “It has made for understanding and making consumer connections all around the world, and it has made for a super visually exciting and entertaining platform.” YouTube also affords new opportunities for telling stories. “From all the video content and the how-to’s, it’s really taught women how to use beauty products,” Hudis explains. “We create media for YouTube. We’re inspired by YouTube, and we raise the level of our game because of YouTube.” Hudis seemingly feels no nostalgia for a pre–social media era. No longer are marketers focusing all of their energies on print or TV campaigns, which take months, or even years, to produce. “Brands are posting four, five times a day, constantly creating media for this new world,” Hudis says. Her eight brands are active across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat and Weibo in China. With Estée Lauder’s brands creating content 24/7, Hudis goes so far as to say that the company has evolved from a solely product-driven company to a media company as well. The storytelling doesn’t stop with the brand though. Hudis recognizes the importance of influencers in contributing to each brand’s narrative. She elaborates, “My Bobbi Brown brand just celebrated the launch of Crushed Lip Color, and we hosted a three-day global influencer activation in New York City leading up to Fashion Week. We invited twenty-five top beauty and fashion inf luencers with a combined reach of over 25 million in 16 f lagship markets to experience the city through the eyes of interesting and influential women—including designers, entrepreneurs, chefs and mixologists—who are the brand’s ultimate ‘girl crushes.’” For Hudis, being at Estée Lauder Companies isn’t just about driving the performance of her brands—although that is something she does quite successfully—it’s an opportunity to connect with women across the world and to be a visual storyteller. Formerly an Art History major at Vassar College, Hudis has always had a love of culture, history and visuality. She sees beauty as an art form. “I think that art and beauty are fundamentally connected. They’re intimately connected,” she says. “Interestingly enough, I see many people in this industry who started as art history majors. We are very visual, we’re storytellers.” And Hudis is committed to continuing to hear, and tell, the beauty buyer’s story.
Jane’s Essentials
The beauty picks she won’t travel without Crème de la Mer, $170, LA MER, cremedelamer.com. Advanced Night Repair, $95, ESTÉE LAUDER, esteelauder.com. Crushed Lip Color $29, BOBBI BROWN, bobbibrowncosmetics.com.
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